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Land Use

New Alki Elementary School Draws Another Appeal, Even After Adding Parking Lot

Even after plans for a new Alki Elementary were redesigned to add parking, the project is caught in another appeal alleging there still isn't enough proposed parking. The delays triggered by the appeals have cost the school district at least $3 million so far.

Sunday Video: Should Cities Be Circular?

Dave Amos of City Beautiful talks about some examples of circular cities and the history of circle cities. Whether circle cities are deeply practical...

Op-Ed: Seattle Public Utilities Continues to Gouge Builders for Water System Upgrades

SPU’s practice to target developers with unsubstantiated fees to upgrade public assets for the water system continues unchecked. For the year 2023 more than 100 building permit seekers received such requirements as a condition of approval for new water service.
A four-story historic brick apartment building with a blossoming tree out front.

More than Zoning Reform: Home in Tacoma and the Prospect of Real Change

Zoning has created urban forms that are expensive, exclusionary, and unsafe — Tacoma’s attempt to reform zoning stands to create more livable and complete neighborhoods by tackling the many secondary effects of zoning.

Morales’ Equitable Housing Incentive Bill Faces Pushback Over Trees, Scale

Councilmember Tammy Morales' "Connected Communities" pilot program faced a gauntlet of questions and concerns from her new colleagues. Tree activists fretted over depleting canopy. Nonetheless, Morales hopes to pass the bill in March.

Washington Senate Committee Guts Popular Neighborhood Cafe Bill

A popular neighborhood cafe bill that sailed through the Washington House has run into problems in the Senate, mostly dealing with the question of local control. The Association of Washington Cities and the City of Bellevue have lobbied against the bill.

Tacoma’s Grand Rezoning Plan Comes into View

If implemented, the new framework would make many of the types of buildings that already exist in abundance in Tacoma neighborhoods like Stadium and Proctor legal again to build across the city, with costly parking requirements in place reduced around current and planned transit.

Sunday Video: Could Toronto’s Kensington Market Be A Solution to Gentrification?

Uytae Lee of About Here highlights Kensington Market, a very diverse district in Toronto steeped in history. It’s increasingly become a popular area of...