The first public meeting on zoning I ever attended compared micro-housing construction to bombing cities. For many urbanists, comments like this are used to identify and categorize people as NIMBYs. The NIMBY (Not In My Backyard) label is frequently used to belittle or demean but it also tells a narrative about motivations and politics. While the controversial NIMBY label is a common, well-understood term, “homevoter” is portrayed as it’s equivalent from the academic sphere. But are NIMBYs and homevoters really the same?
History Of The Homevoter Hypothesis
The word ‘homevoter’ has a distinct history and meaning, explained by the homevoter hypothesis.
In 1956, Charles Tiebout published A Pure Theory Of Local Expenditures as a direct response to Paul Samuelson’s theory about public goods. Samuelson created a model suggesting public goods couldn’t be delivered efficiently due to issues like the free-rider problem. Tiebout countered, theorizing that communities will compete for residents. Competition will result in services, taxes, and amenities that efficiently reflect what residents want, he argued.
William Fischel
William Fischel admired Tiebout’s theory and coined the word ‘homevoter.’ In his book The Homevoter Hypothesis,he explained how homevoters underpin the Tiebout theory. Although the two never met, Fischel dedicated his book to Tiebout and spent a chapter providing personal background, remarking on his personality and humor. Fischel’s book and the homevoter hypothesis attempt to explain on-the-ground mechanisms that underpin Tiebout’s model.
The book begins by observing that many people’s largest asset is their home and that it’s uniquely vulnerable. The asset’s future value can’t really be insured or diversified. People are left with few options to protect its value, and Fischel believes they resort to political activism. These politically engaged homeowners are ‘homevoters.’ Since homeowners are a majority in many communities, homevoters dominate municipal policy, supporting taxes and services that add value to their homes while opposing landfills and other uses that decrease values. Property values act as a signal to homeowners, guiding their activism. Consequently, homevoter activism guides political decision-making. Property values drive municipal competition underpinning the Tiebout model.
The Thriving Communities Network and Seattle Tech 4 Housing hosted an urban design workshop on April 29, 2017. Video of the event is available from the Seattle Channel. Participants heard about the history of land use, the intricacies of non-profit housing and how to engage with the city. During design charette sessions attendees chose from three neighborhoods slated for policy changes: Miller, Uptown, and Capitol Hill.
We were instructed to create a “feasible vision for how the neighborhoods can be made more affordable, inclusive and sustainable.”
Presenters included David Neiman, Architect and Partner, Neiman Taber Architects, Walter Zisette, Associate Director, Real Estate Development of Capitol Hill Housing (Nonprofit housing provider), and Jesseca Brand, City of Seattle, Department of Neighborhoods.
The goal of the event was for attendees to “create a general proposal for the City of Seattle for consideration when planning for neighborhood change, while grow(ing) workshop participants’ network and expand everyone’s understanding and perspective of how to achieve affordable housing and create car-free, livable options.” Friends of the Waterfront Seattle provided the gorgeous space for the event. Highlights included data from Department of Neighborhoods showing the impact of a call-to-action by The Urbanist and Neiman’s history of zoning talk.
Hosts of this event did an excellent job engaging newcomers to this discussion while also providing new information to land use nerds. The Urbanist is excited to see more collaborations from Seattle Tech Workers for Housing and Thriving Communities. For the full video, follow the link to Building a Better Boom: Designing a Thriving City on the Seattle Channel.
Northern VA rising: The Washington, D.C. area could be getting a 615-foot skyscraper in Tysons Corner, Virginia, which would make it the tallest building in Virginia, Maryland, and obviously Washington, D.C.
Lynnwood is hot: A $26 million hotel in Lynnwood’s rapidly growing city center is planned to open next year.
Bike everywhere: Seattle Bike Blog says that Friday’s Bike Everywhere Day had major successes with a demo ride of how Rainier Avenue could become a very bikeable corridor and that local leaders showed support for a basic bike network.
Bare Naked Bravery is a podcast hosted by Emily Ann Peterson, the singer songwriter, author, teaching artist, and creative entrepreneur. On it she celebrates the lives of luminaries from all backgrounds around the US who’ve shown bravery in their own special and inspiring ways. I’m so honored to be included among this group!
NE 65th Street is one of the most collision-prone corridors in North Seattle. There have been 231 crashes on the street between Ravenna Boulevard and 39th Ave NE, and three people have died as a result of those crashes. It’s a huge street, with only two marked lanes in each direction but with enough room for four lanes. This leads to an environment where drivers frequently exceed the speed limit and pedestrians are reluctant to cross the street at unmarked (but legal) crosswalks.
As Sound Transit continues to work toward opening a light rail station near I-5 at Roosevelt Way and NE 65th St in 2021, people who live around NE 65th St have had enough of the status quo on the street, and want a safe street through their neighborhood. Rallies were held, hell was raised, Councilmember Rob Johnson (District 4, Northeast Seattle) agreed that something must be done, and money was added to the Bike Master Plan budget this past year for a fix on the corridor.
The plan from the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) is to implement near-term improvements this year but not install the complete corridor rechannelization until 2019. Yesterday they held an open house to present the different options being considered for different segments of the street, and turned on an online survey for people to give feedback on those changes.
Seattle recently rezoned large swaths of Downtown and South Lake Union and the University District in the hopes of increasing development capacity for new development and delivering affordable housing. The rezones were paired with Mandatory Housing Affordability (MHA) requirements giving a choice to developers to build affordable units or pay the City a fee to create affordable housing units instead. The MHA program applies to most new multi-family residential and commercial development, though the rates differ by zone and use.
Before passing the Downtown and South Lake Union rezones, Councilmember Rob Johnson (District 4, Northeast Seattle) sponsored a provision (referred to as the “opt-in provision”) allowing developers with vested development projects to revise their project proposals so as to use added development capacity from the rezone changes if they choose to voluntarily participate in the MHA program. In other words, developers could benefit from the zoning changes without having to restart the permitting process while generating affordable housing that may not otherwise be realized. Some developers already appear poised to do just that.
Yesterday, Councilmember Johnson held a press conference at a windswept parking lot of a former gas station in the University District to highlight how the Downtown and South Lake Union opt-in provision is already generating serious interest amongst developers and how one developer in the University District is canceling his building permits to take advantage of the recent neighborhood rezone.
Councilmember Johnson reported that developers of seven projects in Downtown and South Lake Union have expressed interest in modifying their projects to use the opt-in provision. According to analysis by the Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections (SDCI), those seven projects are estimated to deliver $25 million for affordable housing using the in lieu fee payment option available under the MHA program. The SDCI estimate also suggests that approximately 320 affordable housing units could be produced using a mix of the in lieu fee payments and leveraging other sources, such as federal tax credits geared toward affordable housing developments. While the fee in lieu payments mean that affordable housing will not be provided on-site, City analysis shows that more affordable housing will be created in absolute terms due to the financing arrangements and design of the MHA program. Where affordable units are located by the City is through specific criteria, such as proximity to where the fees were derived, proximity to high quality transit, and proximity to an urban village or urban center.
HUD-approved local area median income limits. (City of Seattle)
Under the MHA framework, any units created through the fee lieu payment option are required to be rented to households with incomes at or below 60% of the area median income for at least 50 years or sold as ownership units to households with incomes at or below 80% of the area median income for a minimum period of 50 years. The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) modifies area median income limits by households annually. For a single individual, an income of $43,680 would constitute 60% of the area median income whereas a family of four making an income of $57,600 would.
Note: In the interactive map above, green dots represent projects where an interest to opt-in has been express whereas red dots represent candidate projects that could potentially opt-in. Click on the dots to see renderings of the proposed developments and link their Seattle In Progress profiles.
Developers shepherding another 10 projects in Downtown and SLU through the land use permitting process could elect to opt-in as well. Their participation in the MHA program could net another $18 million and 240 affordable housing units*. Between these 17 projects, a total of $43 million could be put towards development of 560 affordable housing units*, representing 9% of the City’s 10-year to create 6,000 affordable housing units through the MHA program. *Again, leveraging other financing sources in addition to the in lieu fees.
How 17 different projects in Downtown and SLU opting in to the MHA program could have a big impact. (City of Seattle)
Councilmember Johnson lauded developers considering opting in:
What better way for us to celebrate Affordable Housing Week than to recognize these kinds of early successes indicating great momentum for the MHA program. Today I’ve asked our land use department to prioritize getting these seven projects opted into the MHA program, and I also call on the 10 projects identified as good candidates to opt in to help us meet our ambitious and critical goals.
Eran Fields, a California developer, shows how the MHA program is having a huge impact. Fields’ development company had plans for a low-rise mixed-use project on the former gas station site flanking the northeast corner of NE 47th St and Brooklyn Ave NE. His development company plans to abandon their already-issued land use and pending building permits for the site and start anew in order to take advantage of the recently approved University District rezone. Fields’ mixed-use project had already received design review and land use approvals, even submitting building permits to construct the six-story structure. A total of 74 residential units and 5,885 square feet of ground floor retail space had been planned, but no affordable housing was on the table as part of it.
Zoning for the site has gone from NC3-65 (a mixed-use zone with a 65-foot height limit) to SM-U 75-240 (a mixed-use zone with a flexible 75- to 240-foot height limit). In other words, zoning on the site could allow for a tower rising more than 20 stories.
Fields’s announcement may come as a surprise to some given that he’s walking away from a fully approved project to embark on a new one, but the immense amount of additional development capacity unlocked by the rezone and added premium that high-rise construction can command undoubtedly factored into the decision. Fields praised the rezone for other reasons though. “Dense urban development must be coupled with public benefits, such as affordable and family-friendly housing, public open spaces, and streetscaping, while stimulating new and varied housing choices and neighborhood-serving retail,” he said. “The new zoning embraces these requirements and responsibilities, and I look forward to redeveloping and converting an auto-oriented site and use into a building that defers to the values and vision of this newly adopted progressive zoning.” His new project will do just that.
The new project will be nearly twice the size as the last with 142 apartment units, meaning that 13 units will be set aside as affordable or $3.2 million in affordable housing contributions will be made to the City. Fields is also considering construction of two-bedroom units using the special family-sized floor area exemption allowed under the recent rezone. Other aspects of the rezone could require or incentivize the project to contribute to the development of Green Streets, be constructed to LEED Gold certification standards, purchase Transfer of Development Rights to preserve open space or historic structures in the neighborhood, and provide higher quality design techniques.
Councilmember Johnson, for his part, made a poignant statement on Fields’ ambitious decision to go bigger. “It is not lost on me that this site, a former gas station, represents an unsustainable, car-dependent past,” he said. “This new project represents our future vision for this city–an affordable, green, and vibrant future for Seattle and all of its current and future residents. And that is certainly something to celebrate.”
The title image is of the proposed Block V (2301 7th Avenue) development in the Denny Triangle, courtesy of Graphite and Clise Properties, Inc.
Local queer, Latinx artist Myra Lara held a very well attended art opening at Hybrid_Space last week. Not Even Barely Legal: (Desperately) Creative Infill Development included a mix of architectural sketches, comics, and is grounded in activism. Myra Lara is a thoughtful, talented artist who is foucsed on education and advocacy for spatial justice.
The art exhibit was a fantastic intersection of accessible entry points for people to think about zoning, maybe for the first time. It also included some urbanist inside jokes that would satisfy any policy wonk. For example, she designed an exclusive “snug club” wearable patch. I found this to be a fun tongue and cheek allegory to counter to existing neighborhood groups, themselves often exclusive groups that perpetuate exclusionary zoning of big lot detached single-family homes. Instead of watching a dry presentation about converting parking to housing, Lara demonstrated the possibilities through using the color yellow to highlight current use versus future use of limited land in our cities.
Lara told The Urbanist that she is working to “reframe the conversation” about what it means to share the city. She wants to “make it accessible through making it visually interesting. Alex Brennan, a Capitol Hill renter, quipped, “This exhibit says everything I want to say about Seattle, but better!” Another attendee said, “I’d never thought about this before. It made me think about (the housing crisis) differently.”
This week is affordable housing week in Seattle. There are events scheduled through next Monday, including tours, discussions, and workshops. Yesterday’s affordable housing event included a tour of the Mercy Othello Plaza development and a panel discussion about the intersection of transit-oriented development and affordable housing.
Mercy Housing’s development near Othello Station.
The event started with a tour of Mercy Housing’s project, Othello Plaza, located next to the Othello light rail station. In 2014 the land was purchased from Sound Transit in a deal designed designed to put affordable housing near transit. This model was put formalized in the ST3 law, requiring 80% of surplus land to be used for affordable housing. The Financing for the project was secured in February of 2015 and construction was completed in March of 2017. The largest local source of funding was the 2009 Housing Levy. Remarkably, Mercy Housing was able to source 40% of the labor hours from workers who live in distressed communities near the development. It includes 108 housing units for households with incomes between 30% and 60% of the area median income. Upon completion, over 2,000 applications were submitted from families needing housing, a typical problem even though the city is seeing a huge construction boom.
The development includes resources beyond housing, including a conference room. Mercy provides supportive services at all of their facilities that focus on improving health, education, finances, and public engagement. These wrap-around services extend to anyone in the community that might need them, rather than just residents of the building, providing a great community resource. The building also has a lot of families. There are 53 two-bedroom units and 10 three-bedroom units. Multi-bedroom units are exceedingly rare in new apartment buildings in Seattle and there are appropriately a lot of children who live in the building. Mercy Housing expects over 200 children in the building once it’s completely leased. An outdoor patio with a playground allows families a semi-private space, although there was only one kid using the jungle gym during the tour.
TOD Panel Discussion
After the tour, participants headed to Roberto Maestas Plaza for a panel discussion. The discussion was held at the El Centro De La Raza affordable housing development next to Beacon Hill Station and took place in the community space on the ground floor. The same development includes ground floor commercial space and a public plaza.
The panel focused on obstacles to affordable, transit-oriented development. Questions revolved around how to engage communities and how to ensure transit maintains affordability. A number of suggestions and examples were provided, such as the Rainier Community Development Fund, implementing inclusionary zoning, community engagement that includes childcare, zoning changes, reducing development timelines, and using the race and social justice framework for decision making. Overall, there was agreement that there are no easy answers and persistent community involvement is key.
Affordable housing week provides a great opportunity to learn more about affordability from experts. You can see upcoming events here.
Editor’s Note: This article has been edited to include information about how Sound Transit’s surplus land will be used for affordable housing.
