SEATTLE — State lawmakers won’t require Washington cities to open up residential neighborhoods to small businesses such as cafes, they’ve decided, despite bipartisan support earlier in this year’s legislative session for the idea.
But some cities could act alone, with Seattle’s mayor unveiling a tentative proposal this week to allow businesses on the corners of residential blocks.
The original version of House Bill 2252 would have legalized neighborhood cafes across the state by lifting local regulations that currently prohibit commercial activities in residential zones. Sponsored by state Rep. Mark Klicker, R-Walla Walla, it passed the House on Feb. 9 with a unanimous vote, then hit a roadblock in the Senate, as a group that lobbies for cities raised objections.
The Senate’s local government committee rewrote HB 2252, making it voluntary rather than mandatory for cities. Proponents hoped to undo that change before last Friday’s deadline for the bill to pass the Senate. But the Senate’s Rules Committee instead let the bill stagnate and die.
Klicker pitched HB 2252 as a way to improve mental health and strengthen connections between neighbors by creating more opportunities for them to gather near their homes. Some lawmakers saw the bill as an opportunity to encourage walking over driving or to bolster property owners’ rights.
The original bill defined neighborhood cafes as businesses serving a limited menu of food items and occupying at least 500 square feet. It said they could sell alcohol along with food but gave cities the ability to restrict their hours.
Proponents pointed to legacy businesses like Irwin’s Neighborhood Bakery & Cafe in Seattle’s Wallingford neighborhood. The cozy cafe operates between single-family houses on a residential block because the space it occupies in a 108-year-old building started being used as a business many decades ago, before Seattle decided to make the area a house-only zone.
Once HB 2252 reached the Senate, the Association of Washington Cities expressed concerns about preemption (the state telling cities what to do), parking, alcohol sales and “the ambiguous meaning of ‘a limited menu’” in the bill’s definition of neighborhood cafes. Sen. Liz Lovelett, D-Anacortes, sponsored a striking amendment to make the bill voluntary for cities.
That version passed the Senate’s local government committee, but Lovelett’s amendment made the bill basically meaningless because cities can already choose to allow businesses in residential zones. At that point, Lovelett said she wanted to keep working on the bill, and Klicker said he hoped to salvage the core of his proposal, but late-stage negotiations didn’t bear fruit.
On Tuesday, Klicker said he wished the Association of Washington Cities would have worked with him earlier to craft a compromise. Ultimately, the Senate’s Democratic majority “just didn’t want” the bill, he said.
“We’re going to see what we can do to bring it back” next year, Klicker said.
Senate Democrats didn’t return a request for comment.
Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell’s initial proposal for more corner stores has yet to be fleshed out and is part of his broader plan to accommodate growth in the city over the next couple of decades. The plan is still in its draft stage.
