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Washington SB 5290 — Local Permit Review Timelines (WA)

Tracked preemption from the Washington overlay bundle.

Overview

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Effective
2024-01-01
Sunset
—
Authority
state
Scope
state:WA
Other Washington preemptions
Washington HB 1110 — Middle Housing (Tier 1: cities >=75,000)Washington HB 1110 — Middle Housing (Tier 2: cities 25,000-75,000)Washington HB 1110 — Middle Housing (Tier 3: small cities in Tier 1 UGA)Washington SB 5184 — Lot Splitting for Housing CapacityWashington HB 1337 — Accessory Dwelling Units StatewideWashington E2SHB 1220 — Comprehensive Plan Housing ObligationsWashington Growth Management Act — Zoning for Growth Targets
Primary-source summary
The additions below extend the original survey with statutes and amendments documented in the 2026-05-18 research dossier. They are strictly additive — none of the existing HB 1110 / HB 1337 / E2SHB 1220 / SB 5184 sections above have been modified. The framing rule for Washington is that the **Growth Management Act (RCW 36.70A)** is itself the foundational preemption: it dictates urban form (UGAs), mandates planning topics (housing, climate, capital facilities), and creates the Growth Management Hearings Boards (GMHB) under the Environmental and Land Use Hearings Office (ELUHO) to invalidate…

Trigger predicate

When this evaluates true for a parcel, the law's preempted fields take precedence over base zoning.

city.growth_management_act_tier attribute is present

Preempted fields

4 fields on the base district schema are rewritten when the trigger fires.

FieldOpValueNote
permit_review_max_days_type1cap_at65Type 1 (admin, no public notice): 65 calendar days
permit_review_max_days_type2cap_at100Type 2 (admin with notice): 100 calendar days
permit_review_max_days_type3cap_at170Type 3 (hearing examiner / quasi-judicial): 170 calendar days
permit_review_max_days_type4cap_at170Type 4 (legislative project): 170 calendar days

Citation

Authority source
WA SB 5290 (2023) / RCW 36.70B.080
§ RCW 36.70B.080
https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=5290&Year=2023

Research notes

Statutory maximum review timelines for local project permit review. Running afoul triggers state-mandated permit fee refunds on a graduated scale (10%-100% of fees). Applies to cities and counties planning under GMA.