Plans and Policy

Aerial photo of Downtown Kirkland waterfront as of 2011. (Photo by Jelson25 / Wikimedia Commons)

King County Designates Downtown Kirkland a Regional Growth Center

Kirkland is all but assured that its city center will be designated as a Regional Growth Center. In November, the King County Council took...
Picture take from Kirkland facing downtown midrises and City Hall

Google Planned New Sustainable High-Rise Campus in Kirkland

Update: On January 20th, 2023, the City of Kirkland announced that Google will not be proceeding with the sale of the Lee Johnson site...
A sign on an apartment building indicating the parking entrance

Seattle Set to Double Down on Arbitrary Parking Mandates

Despite being a longtime parking reform leader, Seattle is set to require off-street parking, even as it unlocks significant housing capacity near transit. This will make housing harder to build.
Eleven people hold a ribbon outside a housing project.

Op-Ed: Boost Seattle’s Growth Plan to Solve the Housing Crisis

The path forward is clear: a revised and ambitious Comprehensive Plan that should reform zoning rules and housing policies to allow more homes of all shapes and sizes; and incentivize affordable housing and homeownership.
Feel the distancing in this Gas Works Park vista.

North Seattle Needs Industrial Zones

New rules provide opportunities to develop employment centers north of the Ship Canal. Now that the Seattle Office of Planning and Community Development has completed...

Call to Action: HALA Testimony

The Seattle City Council will hear public comment on the Housing Affordability and Livability Agenda (HALA) Committee recommendations on Wednesday at 5:30pm. People opposed to...

Proposed Tree Protection Ordinance Hopes to Grow Seattle’s Canopy

Councilmember Strauss introduces legislation to regulate 70,000 additional trees – but will the effort to boost canopy coverage to 30% slow down housing creation? After...

Action Reminder: Choose Alternative 4 for University District

As we wrote about last week, the Seattle Department of Planing and Development (DPD) is working on a comprehensive plan to realign zoning, transportation, open...