Housing

The idea of building affordable housing at Magnolia's former Army base has been in the works for two decades. With a key comment deadline passing this month, it's finally set to advance, but several major hurdles loom over the coming months.

Kenmore is considering a mandatory inclusionary zoning policy that would not be paired with funding or incentives — passing affordability costs onto homebuilders. But, in a shift away from the Planning Commission’s recommendation, the City Council directed staff to draft a policy that would encourage smaller, more affordable homes while requiring larger (typically pricier) new homes to include affordable units or pay a fee. 

Quick decisions by a King County Superior Court ruled that two separate challenges to the One Seattle Plan's environmental review will have to wait until the Seattle City Council makes a final decision on the growth plan.

To meet a state deadline, the Seattle City Council legalized fourplexes or sixplexes across the entire city via the adoption of an interim code Tuesday. The move is just a prelude to a bigger fight over urban density, as Council advances Mayor Bruce Harrell's broader growth plan.

Civil engineer Donna Breske argued Seattle Public Utilities misguided water hookup policies lead to unequal outcomes, effectively downzoning much of the city where fees are too high to make projects feasible.

Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell has shrunk the dimensions of eight neighborhood centers and six urban center expansions he proposed last year. The move chops dozens of blocks off the growth centers, limiting opportunities for apartments and affordable homebuilding and drawing criticism from housing advocates.

Presented with a recommendation to allow additional density beyond a state mandate, a bloc of Bellevue's council pushed for more process and study. This November's election, when five of seven councilmembers must defend their seats, looms large in the background.

Following a productive legislative session on the issue of housing, with around a dozen bills signed into law, Washington state lawmakers are already looking ahead to the next set of challenges to tackle.