With the 2026 session of the Washington State Legislature now underway, we at the Washington Trust are working to bring you news and updates about bills affecting historic preservation and heritage around the state! First on that agenda is Senate Bill 6026/House Bill 2480, “Allowing residential use in commercial and mixed-use zones.”

Senate Bill 6026 and its companion, House Bill 2480, seeks to prohibit certain cities and counties with populations above 30,000 from excluding residential uses in areas zoned for commercial or mixed-use development. In most cases, cities and counties already allow residential uses in commercial and mixed-use zones. However, this residential use is generally allowed with the requirement that the ground floor of the development be reserved for commercial or retail use. SB 6026/HB 2480 prevents cities from implementing this ground floor commercial/retail requirement. In short, the bill would outright allow residential development within commercial corridors without the ground floor commercial/retail requirement. 

The rationale behind requiring ground floor commercial/retail uses in multifamily residential developments situated within commercial and mixed-use zones is to create vibrant streetscapes where residents have access to services and commercial activity. Housing advocates, however, argue that such commercial corridors already have a glut of commercial space available, making it difficult to find tenants for the space. Furthermore, when ground floor commercial space sits vacant for extended periods, developers and building owners shift the lost revenue onto the residential rents for tenants in the housing units above. This exacerbates the issue of housing affordability.  

Here at the Washington Trust, we believe that this bill has the potential to be positive for historic preservation. Removing the ground floor commercial requirement could allow for the adaptive use of existing buildings into housing developments that might have been infeasible with the ground floor commercial requirement. Imagine a former warehouse space or office building converted to housing use. Efforts to concentrate housing developments in commercial cores where services already exist also makes sense. But we do have a few questions and concerns around this bill:

  1. Small, locally owned businesses often operate out of older, smaller-scale buildings in commercial corridors. These buildings, and the businesses within, are what make our commercial centers unique and offer services residents rely on. While these commercial centers can likely absorb some level of outright residential development, what happens if we forecast out several development cycles, 10 or 20 years down the road? Will we systematically replace the commercial activity so important to our downtowns and neighborhood centers? Main Street communities in particular rely on the small businesses, retail, and restaurants that make their downtowns unique. 
  2. The bill acknowledges landmarks, stating that developers may not demolish a locally designated landmark in order to construct a new residential development. We appreciate this acknowledgement. But not all historic buildings in our commercial corridors have attained local designation. Furthermore, some buildings are listed in the National Register of Historic Places only. Such buildings are historically significant, even if they have not yet achieved local designation. We would like to see consideration of historic buildings and landmarks expanded to include buildings listed in or eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places as well.
  3. The bill also prevents cities or counties from requiring design guidelines related to architectural details for new residential housing in commercial and mixed-use zones. We would like confirmation that this applies only to new developments and not existing historic buildings. The local preservation ordinance includes a process for approving changes and alterations to landmark buildings, ensuring such changes are appropriate from a historic standpoint while also allowing for accommodations of the proposed new use/redevelopment. We would like to see confirmation that this preservation-related review process will remain in place for locally designated buildings.

House Bill 2480 has a hearing in the House Committee on Local Government on Wednesday, January 28, at 8:00 am. We encourage preservation advocates to reach out to legislators to relay any concerns you may have about this bill, while also pointing out any benefits you believe it could have for preservation. You can sign up to testify, note your position for the record, or submit written comments to the committee at the link below.

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