Allowing middle housing like townhomes and stacked flats in cities’ formerly single family zones has been a major point of emphasis across Washington state, but plenty of obstacles can get in the way. For Seattle, a major hurdle is utility hook-up fees. Civil engineer Donna Breske has written about this issue extensively in op-eds with The Urbanist, and she also recently produced a video digging into the issue, which can block housing and drive up costs.
Problems with excessive water hook-up costs stubbornly remain and Breske and other professionals in the building industry have argued the City’s recent water-main cost-sharing proposal does not go far enough and would continue to exact fees that go beyond what is legally allowed in state law. Breske contends Seattle needs a systemwide plan to upgrade water mains that is not dependent on gouging builders.
Doug Trumm is publisher of The Urbanist. An Urbanist writer since 2015, he dreams of pedestrian streets, bus lanes, and a mass-timber building spree to end our housing crisis. He graduated from the Evans School of Public Policy and Governance at the University of Washington in 2019. He lives in Seattle's Fremont neighborhood and loves to explore the city by foot and by bike.
