Gov. Bob Ferguson says his push to turn empty commercial strips into badly needed housing just cleared a major hurdle in Olympia. On Friday, he announced that his bill to loosen commercial zoning rules has passed both chambers of the Washington Legislature, thanking Sen. Emily Alvarado and Rep. Chipalo Street and adding, “We must address the housing shortage in our state.”
As shared on Governor Bob Ferguson’s Facebook, the governor framed the measure as one piece of a broader effort to boost housing supply. The proposal, Senate Bill 6026, was sponsored by Sen. Emily Alvarado at Ferguson’s request and would require cities and counties with at least 30,000 residents to allow residential and mixed-use development in areas currently zoned for commercial use, according to The Urbanist.
What the bill would change
Under SB 6026, jurisdictions that plan under the Growth Management Act could no longer categorically ban housing in commercial or mixed-use zones. In many situations, they also could not insist on ground-floor retail as a condition for allowing apartments above. The bill makes room for exceptions, including transit-oriented districts, business improvement areas, registered historic properties, shoreline and critical-area buffers, and other sensitive locations, as laid out in the Senate bill report.
How lawmakers voted and what comes next
The Senate passed SB 6026 on Feb. 13 with a 36–12 roll call. The House followed on Mar. 5 with a 69–27 vote, according to roll calls posted by the Washington Legislature. The bill still has to be formally enrolled and sent to the governor’s desk before it becomes law, although Ferguson’s public celebration left little doubt about his plans.
Supporters and city concerns
Supporters, including affordable-housing advocates along with some major employers and industry groups, argue the bill would open up significant land for homes and speed the conversion of vacant strip malls and empty storefronts into housing. Opponents, among them many city officials and the Association of Washington Cities, counter that blocking mandatory ground-floor retail could hollow out walkable commercial corridors and squeeze small businesses, concerns detailed by the AWC.
How big a difference could it make?
In committee hearings, supporters pointed to a Sightline Institute analysis estimating that the policy could increase the land available for multifamily housing by about 62 percent. Advocates say that kind of expansion could allow faster, lower-cost projects to move forward on sites that have been languishing as half-empty retail. Skeptics note that plenty of commercial parcels sit along busy arterials, raising quality-of-life questions for future residents and potential impacts for neighboring small businesses. Those competing claims are spelled out in committee documents that summarize the testimony and analysis.
Legal mechanics and timeline
If the bill is enrolled and signed, it would take effect 90 days after the legislative session adjourns. Cities would then have one year to update their local ordinances. After that window closes, the state standards would override conflicting local rules. Those timing and preemption details appear in the bill text and legislative summaries on the Washington Legislature.
Whether SB 6026 triggers a real wave of “from strip mall to studio apartment” conversions will depend on how cities write their new rules and how developers read the market. For now, Ferguson is casting the vote as a bipartisan move to chip away at Washington’s housing shortage, with more local fights likely as the bill moves through enrollment and the final procedural steps in Olympia.
