Housing

Boost The Parking Lot Tax

Seattle should increase taxes on surface parking lots--which sit at 12.5% now--and add a moderate excise tax on vacant lots in order to encourage their...

Issaquah Highlands TDR Deal Could Boost Housing And Preserve Nature

Local development firm Polygon Northwest requested use of transfer of development rights (TDRs) for their Westridge development in the Issaquah Highlands earlier this year....

What Is The PLUZ Committee?

 (....and why do all these urbanists talk in this funny shorthand that makes me feel stupid...) The abundance of acronyms in land use discussions frequently...

Board Will Review Seven-Story Design For 15th Ave NE Tonight

Tonight the Northeast Design Review Board will give early design guidance on a 129-unit design for 4726 15th Ave NE. The plan calls for...

Ban McMansions, Legalize Rowhouses

Two years ago the Housing Affordability and Livability Agenda (HALA) Advisory Committee tried to put forward the idea of changing Seattle’s rigid single-family residential...

Seattle Times Indulges He Said, She Said Displacement Analysis

In an article last week, Daniel Beekman of The Seattle Times outlined two competing estimates of potential displacement due to the upcoming University District rezone. The...

Move-In Fees Cap Goes Into Effect This Month

The Seattle City Council adopted new tenant rights in December. The meat of the new tenant rights was a cap on move-in fees, which would also require most landlords...
Angle Lake is the current southern terminus of Link, but the Federal Way Link Extension will add three stations to the south. (Sound Transit)

Seattle’s 2016 News In Review

Author's Note: So many big things happened in 2016, I neglected to mention the U Link extension, which brought light rail service to Capitol Hill...