Op-Ed: The Washington Legislature Must Reform SEPA to Save the Growth Management Act

An opinion piece argues that Washington State Legislature should reform the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) to remove barriers to housing, transit, and bike infrastructure projects within urban growth areas. The author cites delayed projects in Seattle—including the Burke-Gilman Trail, Fort Lawton affordable housing, and a WinCo grocery store—as examples of SEPA being misused to block developments that support state growth management and climate goals. The legislature has already passed housing exemptions in recent years and should expand those reforms more broadly.