Spokane removed parking minimums for housing near transit. Is the state next?
To help increase housing production at a time when it is desperately needed, some state lawmakers want to cut off-street parking requirements for new homes. They may end up following Spokane’s lead. The City Council there last week passed a temporary measure to remove minimum parking requirements for all housing built within a half mile of a transit stop. The policy is a pilot project that will expire in July 2024 unless the Council decides to make it permanent. Most local jurisdictions require new homes to be built with a certain number of parking spaces. Critics of these parking minimums say that they make it more expensive and complicated to build housing, while also taking up limited space in dense cities. Meanwhile, the requirements have left many U.S. cities with an abundance of parking compared to buildings and people. Continue reading at WA State Standard. (Laurel Demkovich)

New portal to issue refunds in overturned drug cases in Washington state
It will soon be easier for Washingtonians with past drug convictions to get reimbursed for fees and fines they paid under the state’s now-overturned drug law. A new online portal will let people check whether they are eligible to get money back for court fines and penalties tied to old drug possession convictions in Washington state, after a 2021 court ruling struck down the state’s felony drug possession law as unconstitutional. The new statewide portal, which is slated to go live Saturday, also will create a centralized place where people can apply for reimbursement online. State officials estimate that at least 260,000 past felony drug convictions are eligible to be vacated, or wiped off people’s criminal records, because of the state Supreme Court’s 2021 Blake decision. Continue reading at Axios. (Shoshana Gordon)

The new law giving mobile home residents a chance to buy their parks
A mobile home park in Moses Lake is up for sale and a new state law assures residents a shot at buying the property. In the past they might’ve never known it was on the market until after it was sold. Owners of North Pointe notified residents on July 17 that they are looking to sell the 25-space mobile home park. This started the clock on a process providing those living there and eligible organizations approved by the state Department of Commerce an opportunity to compete with other potential buyers. That chance is etched into a law that took effect Sunday and is intended to help preserve this stock of affordable housing. The law gives mobile home park residents 70 days to tell the owners of their interest in acquiring the property and to form a tenant group, or align with an eligible organization, to pursue the purchase. If an offer is rejected, the owner must explain in writing why it was turned down and what terms and conditions would be acceptable, according to the law. Continue reading at WA State Standard. (Mark Hatfield)