1. (1) Counties and cities must allow co-living housing as a permitted use on any lot located within an urban growth area that allows at least six multifamily residential units, including on a lot zoned for mixed-use development.

2. (2) Counties and cities may not require co-living housing to:

   1. (a) Contain room dimensional standards larger than that required by the state building code, including dwelling unit size, sleeping unit size, room area, and habitable space;
   2. (b) Provide a mix of unit sizes or number of bedrooms; or
   3. (c) Include other uses.

3. (3) (a) Counties and cities also may not require co-living housing to:

   1. (i) Provide off-street parking within one-half mile walking distance of a major transit stop; or
   2. (ii) Provide more than one-quarter off-street parking spaces per sleeping unit.

   3. (b) The provisions of (a) of this subsection do not apply:

      1. (i) If a county or city submits to the department an empirical study prepared by a credentialed transportation or land use planning expert that clearly demonstrates, and the department finds and certifies, that the application of the parking limitations of (a) of this subsection will be significantly less safe for vehicle drivers or passengers, pedestrians, or bicyclists than if the jurisdiction's parking requirements were applied to the same location.
      2. (ii) To portions of cities within a one-mile radius of a commercial airport in Washington with at least 9,000,000 annual enplanements.
4. (4) Counties and cities may not require through development regulations any standards for co-living housing that are more restrictive than those that are required for other types of multifamily residential uses in the same zone.
5. (5) Counties and cities may only require a review, notice, or public meeting for co-living housing that is required for other types of residential uses in the same location, unless otherwise required by state law including, but not limited to, shoreline regulations under chapter 90.58 RCW.
6. (6) Counties and cities may not exclude co-living housing from participating in affordable housing incentive programs under RCW 36.70A.540.
7. (7) Counties and cities may not treat a sleeping unit in co-living housing as more than one-quarter of a dwelling unit for purposes of calculating dwelling unit density.
8. (8) Counties and cities may not treat a sleeping unit in co-living housing as more than one-half of a dwelling unit for purposes of calculating fees for sewer connections, unless the city or county makes a finding, based on facts, that the connection fees should exceed the one-half threshold.

9. (9) For the purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:

   1. (a) "Co-living housing" means a residential development with sleeping units that are independently rented and lockable and provide living and sleeping space, and residents share kitchen facilities with other sleeping units in the building. Local governments may use other names to refer to co-living housing including, but not limited to, congregate living facilities, single room occupancy, rooming house, boarding house, lodging house, and residential suites.

   2. (b) "Major transit stop" means:

      1. (i) A stop on a high capacity transportation system funded or expanded under the provisions of chapter 81.104 RCW;
      2. (ii) Commuter rail stops;
      3. (iii) Stops on rail or fixed guideway systems, including transitways;
      4. (iv) Stops on bus rapid transit routes or routes that run on high occupancy vehicle lanes; or
      5. (v) Stops for a bus or other transit mode providing actual fixed route service at intervals of at least 15 minutes for at least five hours during the peak hours of operation on weekdays.

[Statutory Authority: RCW 36.70A.050 and 36.70A.190. WSR 25-17-058, s 365-196-885, filed 8/15/25, effective 9/15/25.]