This afternoon, the legislation loosening restrictions on “accessory dwelling units” or ADUs passed out of committee and will be up for final approval by the full Council on July 1. For background, read my post from earlier this week on the amendments being considered. Most of the amendments under consideration passed. Among the few that didn’t: Amendment 4, offered by Council member Herbold, would have prohibited newly-permitted ADUs from being used for short-term rentals through AirBnB and other companies. O’Brien and Pacheco opposed it, while Harrell supported it from “detached” ADUs only. Amendment 5, also by Herbold, which would have …
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Council looks to fine-tune ADU legislation
Tomorrow afternoon, the Sustainability and Transportation Committee will take up the pending legislation aimed at loosening restrictions on ADUs. There are eleven potential amendments to the bill queued up for discussion and possible adoption.
Continue readingHearing examiner rules for city in ADU EIS appeal
This afternoon, the Office of the Hearing Examiner released its ruling on an appeal of the adequacy of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the City Council’s proposed legislation relaxing rules on the construction of ADUs (aka “mother in law apartments” and “backyard cottages”) in single-family residential zones in Seattle.
Continue readingCouncil passes “city-wide” MHA legislation
This afternoon, after years of work, the City Council gave final approval to the “city-wide” MHA legislation, which upzoned and applied affordable-housing requirements in the city’s urban villages .
Continue readingKnow your city: downtown development
The Downtown Seattle Association, a local advocacy group boasting 2,000 corporate, nonprofit and residential members, has published a report on downtown construction in 2018, and what we can expect for the next 2+ years.
Continue readingMHA legislation passes out of committee after showdown over amendments (UPDATED)
It took about fours hours, but the Council worked its way through all of the proposed amendments to the city-wide MHA legislation and passed it out of committee this afternoon (and evening). Here’s how it played out.
Continue readingPreview of Monday’s pivotal MHA meeting
Two weeks ago the Council walked through all of its proposed amendments to the city-wide MHA ordinance; I wrote up the results here. Tomorrow afternoon, they are scheduled to vote on those amendments, vote it out of committee, and then give final approval to the ordinance on March 18th.. The Council will also start discussing a draft companion resolution to accompany the MHA bill that commits the Council to several other actions. Here’s a preview of how things are shaking out, and the awkward conversations the Council members will need to have tomorrow as they vote on amendments.
Continue readingMHA issues come into focus as Council debates amendments
Last Friday, the City Council held its first public discussion of the amendments formally proposed for the Mandatory Housing Affordability (MHA) “upzone” ordinance. While no official decisions were made (that will happen on February 25th), it became clear which ones had consensus support — and on others, where the battle lines are being drawn.
Continue readingMHA enters the endgame
Two notable things happened today with regard to the proposed city-wide MHA “upzone” legislation: the city published the anticipated Final EIS addendum expanding on the historic resources analysis, and the City Council’s list of proposed amendments was released in advance of tomorrow’s MHA committee discussion.
Continue readingFort Lawton Redevelopment Plan released
Today the Office of Housing released its draft Redevelopment Plan for the Fort Lawton site in Magnolia, moving the project one step closer to reality after a nearly thirteen years roller-coaster ride.
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