House Bill 2289 Passed by the State

House Bill 2289 was passed by the State and became effective on June 11, 2021. It provides simplified planning and building processes for the rebuilding of nonresidential, accessory, and residential dwelling uses.

APPLICABILITY
The bill is applicable to owners of properties on which structures or uses were destroyed or interrupted by the Holiday Farm Fire. Sections of the bill are repealed on January 2, 2031.

DWELLINGS
HB 2289 allows for replacement of a dwelling through a simplified planning process subject to certain criteria, when the replacement dwelling is proposed wholly or partially within the same footprint of the former dwelling and has a floor area that is not more than 10 percent greater than the former dwelling. Other criteria include that the original dwelling was authorized by a building permit or other approval process or was assessed as a dwelling for the purposes of ad valorem taxation for the tax year beginning July 1, 2001 and is not subject to unresolved enforcement proceedings, as well as certain development requirements. The county may not require planning conditions of approval other than the criteria set forth in the bill, except for requiring compliance with minimum National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) standards.

NON-RESIDENTIAL USES
It allows alteration, restoration, or replacement of a nonresidential use (e.g. a structure that is not a dwelling) if certain requirements are met. An example of the criteria are that the use had been allowed outright as an accessory use, the use was part of a land-use process, a permit including a conditional use permit was issued for the use, or the use was established before a requirement that the use be subject to a land-use process. The replacement use must also be as near as practicable to records of the use with the county assessor, building permit information or other reliable records. While no further planning application is required, a Planner-on-Duty consultation and any required Building Permits are required. HB 2272, a bill to modify HB 2289, would require compliance with minimum NFIP standards for nonresidential and accessory structures so that counties can maintain participation in the NFIP and maintain insurance discounts and a number of other benefits for county residents, and is on track to passage.

If you have recently submitted a Planning application and are now eligible for replacement of structures under this bill, please call Planning staff to discuss options for changing your application request as well as potential refund request options.

Land Management planners are working through the new legislation to create simple and clear instructions for you.