Obama Is A YIMBY
Yesterday the White House released a document called the "Housing Development Toolkit" that stirred major excitement among housing advocates and Yes In My Backyard...
Kenmore Considers McMansion Tax in Zoning Overhaul
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.
How Housing Markets Aren’t Like Musical Chairs
That The Urbanist disagrees with Sightline Institute about Seattle's Mandatory Housing Affordability (MHA) program is hardly news. I'll try not to beat a dead horse....
No Backsliding: MHA Upzones Are a Crucial Step to Tackle the Housing Crisis
Today, the City will hold the final public meeting on "citywide" Mandatory Housing Affordability (MHA) before the Seattle City Council is expected to vote...
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...
Oops: Seattle Finds $3.7 Million In Incentive Zoning Couch Cushions
Seattle Councilmember Mike O'Brien revealed today that Seattle's incentive zoning program has been shortchanged by $3.4 million due to inaccurate reporting, discovered via an investigation by...
How We Got Here: A (Brief) History of Mandatory Housing Affordability in Seattle
Today Seattle City Council is voting on "citywide" implementation of Mandatory Housing Affordability (MHA), a form of inclusionary zoning from which single family zones...
In Eastside Affordable Housing Efforts, ARCH Provides Both Help and Hurdles
Inside the complicated calculations that determine if affordable housing gets built on King County’s Eastside and how A Regional Coalition for Housing (ARCH) finds itself in the middle of it all.








