Advocacy Alert: House Bill 1576/Senate Bill 5554
Make your voice heard
Only a few weeks into the 2025 state legislative session, a bill has been introduced that threatens local preservation efforts in Washington. House Bill 1576/Senate Bill 5554 would restrict the way communities are able to designate local landmarks.
We have several concerns with this bill:
- The bill would require owner consent in order for a historic building to be designated as a local landmark. Currently, owner consent is already required in most jurisdictions across the state, and in those jurisdictions where owner consent is not required, there are very few cases overall where a building is designated against the owner’s wishes. In the rare event when this does occur, it is generally connected to the proposed demolition of a historic building significant to the community.
- The bill is confusing. As written, it appears to prohibit local designation if that designation would restrict alterations or demolition of the building, regardless of owner consent. This means that even if an owner wanted to designate their building and see it preserved, a new owner down the road could simply demolish the building. This would undo decades of precedence enabling local communities to establish their own process for what buildings to save and how to save them.
- The bill solves a problem that does not exist. Concern has been expressed that without owner consent, nominations to designate single-family homes as local landmarks will proliferate, undermining efforts to create much needed middle-income housing. Yet, a study done by the Preservation Green Lab notes that only 0.5% of land parcels in Seattle are landmarked or in a historic district. In Tacoma, the number is between 1-2%. Put simply, historic designation of single-family homes is not hindering the development of middle-income housing.
For more than 50 years in our state, local governments have been empowered to decide what historic places in their communities should be protected and how. Overwhelmingly, landmark designation is intended to celebrate the history of a place, enable access to additional funding sources and support, and protect the long-term character and condition of a property. House Bill 1576/Senate Bill 5554 undermines the power of historic preservation in our state.
We firmly oppose this bill, and we ask you to join us in making your voice heard! On Thursday, February 6, the Senate Committee on Local Government passed Senate Bill 5554 out of committee. The bill now moves to the Rules Committee. The bill can now be “pulled” at any time for a vote by the full Senate on the Senate Floor.
If your legislator is a member of the Senate Rules Committee, please take a moment to reach out to them and express your opposition to SB 5554. Please use the talking points above to frame your comments, but please also personalize your message with examples of why historic landmarks in your community are important.
- You can find a list of legislators on the Senate Rules Committee here.
- You can find email addresses for all legislators on the email roster here.
- If you are unsure of who your Senator is or which legislative district you live in, you can search by entering your address here.
If you live in Seattle, Tacoma, or any jurisdiction served by the King County Historic Preservation Program, please also reach out to your city council members and ask them to oppose this bill. By requiring owner consent for all local landmarks, the legislature is taking away the voice of residents in these communities and the ability for local cities to determine for themselves those resources significant to the community.
Listen to the February 2 episode of “Cascade of History” to hear Executive Director Chris Moore discuss this bill with host Feliks Banel:
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