Plans and Policy

University District Rezone Proposal: A Deeper Look At Incentive Zoning, Historic Preservation, And Affordable...

Seattle's Office of Planning and Community Development (OPCD) released draft recommendations on the University District rezone and urban design proposal in late May. The...

Council Passes 20 Is Plenty Law, 2+U Alley Vacation, And New Madison Valley Park

Monday was a somewhat unusual meeting for the Seattle City Council. Leading off the proceedings was Mayor Ed Murray who delivered his remarks on the...
Downtown Tacoma's stretch of Pacific Avenue hosts the Tacoma Link streetcar. (Photo by Doug Trumm)

Tacoma Quietly Rezoned Residential Areas in Latest Comp Plan Update

In late September, the Tacoma City Council approved a large slate of areawide rezones and future land use map designation changes, which primarily affected...

Looking Behind the Common Sense Elements of City Life

Introduction Last month, in Moustiers Sainte Marie, France, I watched several shopkeepers return a lost young bird to a part of town closer to its natural...

Facing Legal Appeals, Seattle Poised to Adopt Stopgap Middle Housing Upzones

An interim ordinance will allow Seattle to meet a state deadline, and decide how to allow four and six units on residential lots around the city. But exactly how to do that will likely be a hotly debated issue on the city council.

Sound Transit Shares Roosevelt TOD Stakeholder Priorities

Sound Transit held an open house last night in the Roosevelt neighborhood to discuss priorities for transit-oriented development (TOD). The transit agency has three...

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...
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...