Microsoft is recommending several policies to local lawmakers in an effort to help speed up housing development in Washington state.

In a playbook the company released Thursday are four proposals that Microsoft says are “concrete, evidence-based actions that state and local leaders” can take to close the housing gap.

—Unlock land: Microsoft urges policymakers to adopt a statewide rezoning framework for commercial corridors. Strips of land devoted to office parks, big-box retail stores and parking lots would be rezoned for mixed-use housing along transit routes.

—Fix permitting: Permitting is a hobby horse of Microsoft’s policy team. The company would like to streamline processes that currently average 6.5 months statewide, and stretch to more than 18 months in some cities.

—Lower costs: Aside from driving down per-unit costs through materials and construction methods, Microsoft recommends incentives for developers to build more housing including tax exemptions and preservation programs.

—Public-private partnerships: Aside from using the tech industry’s cash to build homes, Microsoft recommends leveraging private resources to use technical assistance. One example Microsoft points to is using artificial intelligence, technology that Microsoft sells, to speed up permitting.

Microsoft President Brad Smith said in an interview with The Seattle Times that the proposals stem from the lessons learned by the company over the past six years as it and other tech companies, including Amazon, have tried to help solve the housing crisis with their cash.

When Microsoft pledged $500 million in 2019 to develop affordable housing across the Puget Sound region, Smith hoped the money would fund 50,000 housing units.

“It did not,” Smith said. “There’s no way that an injection of money alone can fill that gap.”

The gap Smith refers to is the need to build 1.1 million new housing units in Washington over the next 20 years to keep up with population and job growth, according to Microsoft. That’s about 55,000 units built per year.

About 33,600 housing units were built in Washington last year, the lowest level since the Great Recession, according to Microsoft.

“That’s discouraging and what it should do is inspire us to come together and act with urgency,” Smith said.

Since making its 2019 pledge, Microsoft’s total commitment has bumped up to $750 million and the company’s funds have helped create or preserve 16,000 affordable homes in King, Pierce and Snohomish counties.

Aside from Microsoft’s desire to eliminate permitting delays and regulatory layers, the company’s big push is for public incentives to entice the private sector.

Smith warns that costly development hampered by delays and uncertainty are driving them elsewhere.

“We are competing every day for developer investment and banking investment,” he said. “And we’ve got to make it more attractive for people to invest here.”

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