Need a quart of milk, a snack or a cup of coffee and don’t want to have to drive to the supermarket or the downtown cafe? A bill introduced in the Washington state legislature would allow you to buy these things without leaving your residential neighborhood.
It’s not a new idea – many cities historically had some corner stores and other small businesses interspersed with houses. But city zoning rules intended to separate housing from commerce have made it all but impossible. Advocates say these small businesses are practical and can also encourage people to get to know their neighbors.
Representative Mark Klicker’s bill would preempt local control by requiring cities and towns to allow neighborhood stores and cafes. But the bill would let local governments set certain restrictions such as maximum size, which could limit how many of these stores actually open. Businesses would have to be at least 500 square feet, and cities could limit them to no more than 12 consecutive hours of operation in a day. Cafes that sell alcohol must also offer food.
“I put together a bill I didn’t realize that — no pun intended — people were so hungry for,” Klicker told colleagues as he introduced his bill to the House Local Government Committee on Jan. 21. “It brings people together and creates community.”
Cities and towns blocked a previous version of the bill Klicker brought forward in 2024, calling it a threat to their authority to regulate how neighborhoods develop. The state House of Representatives approved that bill with a 97-0 vote, but it did not reach a vote in the Senate.
“We’ve done sort of similar bills around housing … where we’ve disallowed cities from restricting [certain types of] housing,” state Senator Jesse Salomon said last February during a hearing on the earlier bill. “What is the case to be made that we should do this for these businesses? I think it’s a high bar to dictate to cities what they can and can’t do.”
From the Homes.com blog: Can grocery stores affect home values?
A few Washington localities have already moved toward allowing neighborhood commerce, though not necessarily to this degree. Seattle’s draft comprehensive plan would allow cafes and stores on corner lots, but not throughout residential neighborhoods. Spokane, in the eastern part of the state, changed its rules in 2017 to allow buildings in neighborhoods that historically contained stores to include them again.
“Cities are not usually huge fans of preemptions so there’s going to be a little grumbling,” Carl Schroeder, a lobbyist for the Association of Washington Cities, said at the House committee hearing. “But for the most part it makes sense. It’s so popular because everyone would love one of these [businesses] next to them.”
Allowing neighborhood businesses in U.S. cities generally will open up more opportunities for budding entrepreneurs, Abby Newsham, cohost of the advocacy group Strong Towns Institute’s Upzoned podcast, said during a show in October.
“These little buildings are perfect for providing low-barrier-to-entry opportunities,” she said.
Klicker’s bill passed out of the local government committee on Jan. 24 and is now pending before the House appropriations committee.