We’re hiring a housing and cities lead researcher! - Develop and drive pro-housing policy - Focus on state legislation in WA - $106-125k, plus 10% retirement

Washington just leveled up. Small elevators = more elevators, more homes, and more accessible cities. @danbertolet.bsky.social

The State Senate just approved Washington's elevator reform bill 41-6 after it was amended in the House, sending it to the Governor's desk. The House's amendments removed language around international harmonization but it still represents a major reform for elevators in smaller buildings.

Bob Ferguson signed a whole slate of housing bills this morning, including HB 2304 on condo reform, HB 2228 on scissor stairs, and HB 1678 (being signed here) allowing cities to aid social housing developers under the Housing Cooperation Law.

Another WA first for housing: SB 6026 just passed the House 69 - 27! Other states have passed bills to allow housing in commercial zones, but WA took it a step further by limiting the amount of ground floor commerical cities can require. Thank you Sen. Alvarado and @davina425.bsky.social!!

WA's elevator bill passed the House last night 93 - 1 !!! Once signed by the Gov, it will be the nation's first state legislation for elevator code reform. Yes, it would have been a bigger win if the global standards intent language had not been amended out. @sightline.org will keep pushing!

Yet another example of how local policymakers burden home building with extra costs that should instead be funded through a broad tax because they provide broad public benefits. www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...

🚨FINAL PUSH🚨 Before Friday's cutoff, let your rep know you support SB 6026 for more homes near jobs!

"You might think that our rules about elevators would help wheelchair users, but they can inadvertently achieve the opposite: overkill in elevator code kills elevators." Thank you @ceceliablack.bsky.social for spelling this out so clearly! www.seattletimes.com/opinion/miss...

Wins from Oly: Scissor stairs (HB 2228) and condo liability (HB 2304) have both passed the Senate!

Overkill in elevator code kills elevators.

What's still in action after this week's cutoff deadline? Our bill tracker is up to date with the latest 👇👇

hey washington housing folks tomorrow at 10.30 am, the WA house housing committee will hold a hearing on SB 5156, allowing smaller and more affordable elevators in single stair buildings. more accessible hom this saves $10Ks *per* elevator please sign in pro here app.leg.wa.gov/csi/Testifie...

After passing the Senate last week, WA's elevator bill has a hearing in the House Housing commitee tomorrow at 10:30am. app.leg.wa.gov/csi/House?se...

The elevator bill has passed the Senate, 42-6!

So, in Seattle, what was the climate impact of all those new people living where they ended up? To know that, you’d have to imagine what would have happened if Seattle had sprawled more. We can look back to Dallas for the what-if.

Now’s the time to let your Senator know how you feel about elevator reforms! Let's unlock affordable, accessible, senior-friendly homes: app.leg.wa.gov/pbc/bill/5156

Happy Friday! Two of our priority bills passed out of the House this week: - HB 2228, to allow space-saving “scissor stairs” in apartment buildings - HB 2304, concerning liability for small condo buildings Both passed with unanimous support🥳

New report: Which booming cities are growing their existing neighborhoods—and which are just paving over farms? @jayleetx.com found that no US metro has done a better job of adding residents to already populated neighborhoods than Seattle.

"Think of it like a small backyard cottage but on wheels — and much cheaper." @joshuamcnichols.bsky.social @kuow.org

WA bill HB 2228 to allow scissor stairs passed the House today, 95 - 0! Thank you Rep. Zahn! app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary/...

If you agree that retail spaces on the ground floor of apartment buildings should be optional, not mandated, here's something you can do: Take pics of vacant storefronts in you neighborhood and post them as a reply here, with info about where they are. And please share this post, thank you!!!

Last year WA's elevator code reform bill, SB 5156, passed the Senate and died in the House, and it's now on deck for the Senate to pass it again. Supporters can help by contacting your Senators and asking them to bring the bill to a floor vote, using this form: app.leg.wa.gov/pbc/bill/5156

🚨ACTION ALERT🚨We want more homes near jobs! HB 2480 would allow more apartments near shopping districts — good thing for workers *and* local businesses. It has its first committee hearing tomorrow, January 28 at 8:00 am. Voice your support:

Short session moves fast. Here's what was introduced and moved through committee last week: www.homes4wa.org/bill-tracker

Legalize it!

🚨ACTION ALERT🚨 HB 1443 to legalize MDUs is stuck in committee and needs caucus action to get to the floor for a vote. Let our elected leaders know that we want more of these unbeatably low-cost, fast-build, and flexible housing options in our cities ASAP.

Urbanist Podcast: Olympia Preview and a Highway Boondoggle www.theurbanist.org/2026/01/22/u...

Excited to be part of the Coalition for Elevator Reform's first brainstorm session. Mark my words, we're gonna get elevators in more buildings & more cities

NEW // Sunday Video: North America Has an Elevator Problem www.theurbanist.org/2026/01/18/s...

This session we’re again working to help pass SB 5156 to make elevators more economical in WA.  Legalizing smaller, lower-cost elevators will help make more small-scale apartment buildings and age-friendly city living accessible to more Washingtonians, no matter their physical abilities. 🆙🆙🆙

🚨ACTION ALERT🚨 Scissor stairs + Permit-ready plans both have hearings tomorrow morning in the same committee session (1/21 at 10:30a). Sign up to testify or show your support —>

SB 6026 (More homes near jobs) would allow more apartments near shopping districts - trading vacant space for homes while increasing the neighborhood customer base, local foot traffic, and economic vibrancy for existing businesses. It has a #WALeg committee hearing TOMORROW, 1/16 at 10:30a.

WA's scissor stair bill has a hearing Friday at 10:30am. If you understand why it would be a good thing to allow scissor stairs, please consider testifying, which is easy to do over Zoom, time limit typically 2 minutes. Link to sign up: app.leg.wa.gov/csi/Testifie... Select "remote" testimony.

The scissor stair bill, HB 2228, is a simple bill to get the state building code council to do a simple thing: adopt code to allow them. They've been legal in NYC and Vancouver, BC for decades and are common in Europe and Asia. lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/biennium/202...

Legislative session is here! Lawmakers in Olympia are weighing hundreds of bills — follow our top priorities through our new bill tracker: homes4wa.org/bill-tracker

NEW VIDEO: North America’s Elevator’s Problem Elevators are absolutely essential to modern cities..... and it turns out North America kind of sucks at them. We partnered with @sightline.org to look into the many issues plaguing our elevator industry, and what it might take to fix it.

One housing solution we're excited about this year: MDUs. Mobile dwelling units are homes on wheels. They are hands-down the fastest, lowest-cost solution we can deploy against our housing shortage. Let's legalize MDUs for grandparents, caregivers, and young people starting out!

We're baaaack! Back on Bsky, that is — we didn't stop working for more affordable, abundant homes in the legislative off-season. This group is jazzed about the bills shaping up for 2026 (kicking off Jan. 12) with more to share very soon. Until then, subscribe to our newsletter: homes4wa.org/updates

Not sure where to post your post-election energy? We've got you! We'll be at farmer's markets across the city to share the good word of ✨ housing density ✨ Seattle needs thousands of homes built, and we deserve a comprehensive plan that works for everyone. Learn more and sign up! shorturl.at/E6BYo

After taking a quick break after session I’m starting to think about housing policy for next session. What’s on your pro-housing wishlist? 📋✅

Every bill that made it through #WALeg is the culmination of months (years, really!) of effort/learning/compromise/collaboration.

Washington’s new parking reform act shows what bold leadership (shoutout to @jessdbateman.bsky.social @davina425.bsky.social) and strong storytelling can do. @citizen-cate.bsky.social outlines the strategies for advocates elsewhere. #WAleg

With @governorferguson.bsky.social's signature, the parking bill is LAW. SB 5184 will curb housing costs, sprawl, and excess pavement. People over parking!!! @danbertolet.bsky.social

Just 10 days until King County Affordable Housing Week! RSVP for our 5/12 kickoff—featuring remarks from Patience Malaba; a power of pro-housing messaging discussion with Clayton Aldern; & a state legislative roundtable with Sen. Jessica Bateman, Sen. Emily Alvarado, & more! bit.ly/AHW2025-Kick...

One more week to apply for our housing researcher position!

"It really does re-legalize the basic building blocks of being able to build a walkable city again, which is not possible if all your buildings are surrounded by parking lots that are two times as large as the buildings are." @citizen-cate.bsky.social

WA's Year of Housing Redux? Passed both chambers as of yesterday's cutoff: SB 5184 - parking HB 1491 - TOD w/funded IZ HB 1096 - lot splitting HB 1576 - landmarking SB 5148 - accountability HB 1403 - condo liability HB 1183 - setbacks/facade mod. HB 1757 - conversions HB 1135 - GMA compliance

Seattle, come cheers to #WALeg housing wins this Friday!