On Friday the city released draft rezone maps for the city’s urban villages, as part of the Mandatory Housing Affordability (MHA) framework.
The maps, which you can find here, show the “before” and “after” zoning for areas within the urban village boundaries.
Some important things to note:
- Earlier in the week, the Mayor and several Council members announced an important change to the MHA program to require higher developer performance or payment in areas that are moving to significantly more density or are at higher risk of displacement under the new proposed zoning. More details are here.
- For those worried about the loss of single-family housing: there is no zoning changes for single-family areas outside of the urban villages. And that is still the vast majority of Seattle’s land mass. Also, here’s a handy guide to single-family and residential zoning in Seattle.
According to the Mayor’s announcement, the city will hold five community meetings in November to hear feedback on the plan. Both the change to the MHA plan and the individual zoning changes will need to be approved by the City Council — most likely in the spring.