Dear friends and neighbors,
I hope you are having a wonderful summer! It is a time for kids being home from school, road construction on I-5, Saturdays in the park, and the long days when you can fit so much in. There are fun events and activities scheduled at our local state parks that I hope you check out, but you can enjoy them any day.
Parking To People
I have written you before about my work to reform our parking minimum laws to lower the cost of building housing, childcare centers, retail, and all sorts of other development that our communities need. Some places need a lot of parking, and some do not need very much, and it makes no sense to have one-size-fits-all mandatory rules that drive up costs. Building just one additional parking spot in a project can cost anywhere from $5,000 to $60,000. That is why the Legislature passed my Parking Reform and Modernization Act and cities around the state are moving even more quickly than that bill required to provide flexibility that their residents need – you can read more about that here.
There is another recent story about parking reform from Spokane that I wanted to share – a program called Parking to People, based off of a bill the Legislature passed in 2022, to encourage the redevelopment of parking lots into affordable housing. Spokane is seeing hundreds of new homes being built on old, unnecessary parking lots thanks to this program, and it is so encouraging to see the real benefits of legislation we pass coming to fruition as new homes for our community.
A rendering of new housing that should be completed in Spokane this summer thanks to Parking To People
This sort of program is how we will reach our goal of building 1 million new homes around the state in the next 20 years and deliver relief in housing affordability for young people, growing families, and our seniors. I am going to push for us to expand this program so we can see the progress being made in Spokane happen all around our state.
Summer food assistance
Many children and families who are facing food insecurity benefit from free school meals during the school year. Hungry kids cannot learn and have a hard time growing up healthy. Now that we are out of school for summer, there is still food assistance available at schools, community centers, and other locations around Thurston County. These meals are available to anyone 18 or younger. You can get more information – including where to go – at this website. Please share this link as well! It is important that any family in our community who might be facing hunger knows that help is available.
Thanks for reading as always, and I look forward to staying in touch! You can always reach me at Jessica.Bateman@leg.wa.gov and I am happy to hear from you about the most important issues on your mind that the Legislature can address. We are doing research and bill development for the 2027 session already, so your feedback and thoughts are welcome and helpful. Thank you!
In service,
-Jess
