Plans and Policy

In a bid to reactivate Downtown Seattle, Mayor Harrell has proposed easing code restrictions in hopes of filling vacant storefronts with newly permitted uses like crafting studios, greenhouses, medical offices, art installations, public restrooms, and research laboratories.

Suggestions to improve the One Seattle plan include allow bigger buildings, embrace transit-oriented development, and jettison parking requirements. We can create a Seattle that pulls the working class in rather than pushing them out.

The Seattle Planning Commission has given the proposed One Seattle Comprehensive Plan a once-over. The reviews are not good.

The mayor's comprehensive plan proposal failed to deliver real solutions on housing abundance, affordability, and climate. It promises only modest zoning changes at the margins and 100,000 additional homes over 20 years.

In the first chance to discuss the Harrell administration's planned growth strategy, Morales was leagues ahead of her colleagues in articulating changes she wanted to see made, such as higher growth targets and more multifamily zoning, before earning her vote of approval.

Mayor Harrell and the city council are contemplating budget cuts and raiding JumpStart payroll tax revenue to address a $230 million budget deficit. But nonprofit leaders are warning of the impact of reducing affordable housing funding.

Builders, lawmakers, and housing advocates warn the 'One Seattle' growth strategy is "nothingburger" that will come up short on affordability, livability, and complying with state law. Fourplexes would be too constrained to deliver sufficient housing.

While Bellevue is projecting 225,000 additional residents by 2045, Seattle is anticipating a more modest 200,000 for its comprehensive planning purposes. In its new draft plan, Seattle adds fourplex zoning across most, but not all of the city, plus 24 "Neighborhood Centers" and one new urban center with more intensive zoning changes.