This bill amends existing Washington law (RCW 35.63.280; RCW 35A.63.300; RCW 36.70A.545) to require cities and, where applicable, counties fully planning under the growth management chapter, to allow increased density bonuses for affordable housing developments located on real property owned or controlled by religious organizations when specified conditions are met. Local jurisdictions must adopt policies to implement the density bonus if they receive a request from a religious organization. The bill also requires the religious organization or an entity leasing the property to pay fees, mitigation costs, and other development charges, encourages coordination with local transit agencies, and applies to rehabilitation of existing affordable housing; developments created by a religious institution in jurisdictions fully planning under RCW 36.70A.040 must be located within an urban growth area. The bill supplies affordability and eligibility rules: an "affordable housing development" is defined (in the provided sections) as a structure in which either 50 percent of units are set aside for low-income households or 20 percent are set aside for very low-income households, and housing costs for those households, including utilities other than telephone, must not exceed 30 percent of monthly income. "Low-income household" is defined as adjusted income at or below 80 percent of county median family income and "very low-income household" as at or below 50 percent of county median family income, with median income data taken from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Affordability and related conditions must be maintained for at least 50 years. This is a statutory amendment that creates a procedural incentive (an increased density bonus) and imposes implementation duties on local governments and payment obligations on developers; it does not create a new crime or change criminal penalties. The bill passed the House on February 11, 2026 and the Senate on February 28, 2026. The provided text is incomplete in places: the definition text for Section 3 (RCW 36.70A.545) is truncated, and the bill references statutory definitions of "religious organization" by cross-citation to several different RCW sections (RCW 35.21.915; RCW 35A.21.360; RCW 36.01.290) but those definitions are not included in the excerpts. The phrase "planning under this chapter" and related chapter references are not fully explained in the provided facts.

If passed, the bill makes it easier for religious organizations that own or control land to build or rehabilitate affordable housing by requiring cities and planning counties to allow larger developments (an increased density bonus) when the project sets aside either half the units for low-income households or one-fifth for very low-income households, with rents and utilities limited to about 30 percent of household income. Cities and counties must adopt policies to implement these bonuses when requested, developments in some jurisdictions must be inside urban growth areas, and the affordability rules must be kept for at least 50 years. In practice, religious organizations or their lessees will have a clearer path to add more housing but will be responsible for paying all fees, mitigation costs, and other charges for the projects, and may need to coordinate with local transit agencies if applicable. Local governments face modest administrative work to create implementation policies and to approve projects under the new standards. Some important details are unclear from the available text, including the full definitions of "affordable housing development" in one section and the exact statutory definitions of "religious organization" referenced by other RCWs, which could affect how the law is applied.