Age-Friendly Housing Will Be Smaller, Shared, and Flexible
A backyard cottage—a garage beautifully converted into a two-story, two-bedroom 800 square foot home—allowed Becky to afford to live close to work and within walking distance of her daughter’s elementary ...
Author: SwatchJunkies
Why Washington Needs Statewide Action on Backyard Cottages and In-Law Apartments
A quarter-century ago, Washington passed a law requiring cities to allow mother-in-law suites in houses. So why are Washington legislators proposing a new bill this year to reform the rules ...
Author: SwatchJunkies
Here’s What Oregon’s Huge New Transit Housing Bill Would Legalize
One of North America’s biggest new ideas for greener transportation is spreading north. A year after a pair of California state senators drew national attention with a proposal to lift ...
Author: SwatchJunkies
Who Would Live in “Missing Middle” Housing? The Middle Class
Re-legalizing duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes in fancy Portland neighborhoods would create homes with “unaffordable average market-rate rents of $1,823/month,” one resident of a fancy Portland neighborhood warned the Oregon legislature ...
Author: SwatchJunkies
Washington’s ADU bills can create modest, affordable home choices
Washington state legislators in the House and Senate are sponsoring a bill (HB 1797 / SB 5812), giving homeowners more freedom and flexibility across the state to add Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs)—backyard cottages, ...
Author: SwatchJunkies
Updated: Housing Bill Tracker for 2019 Washington Legislative Session
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] [content_box color=”green” type=”border” button='{“url”:”https://www.sightline.org/signup/”,”title”:”Subscribe”}’] Stay up to date with the latest updates in the legislative session with our housing newsletter. [/content_box] Interested in all the groundbreaking housing legislation hitting ...
Author: SwatchJunkies
Why Mother-In-Laws Matter
Mother-in-Laws do matter! But we’re not talking about our spouses’ moms. (Hi, Linda!) We’re talking about apartments over garages, daylight basement suites, and backyard cottages. This kind of home can ...
Author: SwatchJunkies
Washington State to Consider Groundbreaking Suite of Housing Affordability Bills
Across Cascadia, high rents and home prices are leaving people behind. Local governments struggle to meet this massive challenge of politics and funding. In response, this year Washington state legislators ...
Author: SwatchJunkies
Can Washington Pass the Country’s Most Ambitious Statewide ADU Reform?
This morning, Washington House Representatives Mia Gregerson (D-SeaTac) and Andrew Barkis (R-Olympia) introduced the most progressive accessory dwelling unit (ADU) bill legislators from any state have ever had the opportunity ...
Author: SwatchJunkies
How to Reduce Emissions and Congestion While Preparing for a Just Transition to Self-Driving Cars
Cascadia’s cities could benefit immensely from electric robo-taxi service someday if we get the public policies right but we don’t know exactly when autonomous car service will arrive. In the ...
