SEATTLE, WA– The work for a more affordable, livable and vibrant Seattle continues through the city’s Comprehensive Planning process. As the Council works through all the details, I’ll be in your inbox once a month to break down what’s going on, and make sure you know where you can make your voice heard.

Yesterday, the Select Committee on the Comprehensive Plan held a public hearing to collect feedback on two pieces: the proposed One Seattle Plan, and the middle-housing legislation. We heard from hundreds of  community members who wanted to support housing, more neighbors, a future for their kids, and to make room for Seattle to be a haven for everyone.

“Young people like me are not a guarantee in Seattle.”

“We want to live in a city where our friends who are therapists and artists and teachers and civil servants can afford to grow their families and age in place.”

A huge thank you to everyone who showed up and spoke up at yesterday’s public hearing. Your voices, perspectives, and desires for our city are crucial for the Council to hear at every step of this process. 

Breaking down what this means in real life

The One Seattle Plan is the Mayor’s recommendations to Council on updates to Seattle’s Comprehensive Plan–a process that happens once every decade. The comp plan lays out strategies to address our big challenges of housing (supply, affordability, policies, and goals), transportation, and land use; and looks at ways that these elements intersect, and can be addressed together.

HB 1110 Legislation is a policy that must be passed before the comprehensive plan can be finalized and approved. You may remember Futurewise’s deep advocacy and involvement in passing HB 1110 at the State Legislature a few years back, a law setting requirements for missing-middle housing and increasing density; well now, cities are working to meet those requirements. The Council has passed short-term legislation to comply with HB 1110, but has a year to deliberate on permanent solutions.

What does this actually mean? The final outcome will be updating residential zoning that helps make more housing types available throughout our neighborhoods. Think duplexes, stacked flats or courtyard apartments. These housing types offer more density, more flexibility for housing, and more affordable options for Seattle families.

What’s Next

Council will still be making decisions about the One Seattle Plan, and permanent 1110 legislation in the coming weeks. So if you weren’t able to participate in yesterday’s hearings – you can still share your feedback! Email your councilmember directly to share your priorities and concerns.

Not sure which district you’re in? Find out here, and you can contact your Councilmember here.

Council will propose amendments to this plan in August, and vote in September. We’ll keep you posted with the important ways you can speak up at each phase of this process.

In each dispatch we’ll dig deeper into one facet of the Comprehensive Plan, and what it means for us and our daily lives. This month let’s talk about Neighborhood Centers – these are small areas in a neighborhood that act as a community hub. The neighborhood centers proposed in the comp plan will have small businesses, be close to popular transit stops, schools, parks, or other neighborhood nodes and provide folks access to everyday needs within a short walk or bike ride from their homes.

My favorite hub right now is Nickerson – South Canal, a new neighborhood center CCC is advocating for right where I used to live on Etruria, between the bridge and SPU. We have bike trails, bakeries, breweries, and a community ready for new neighbors.

We want to support existing neighborhood centers, and see more of them spread all throughout the city. We know that walkability, convenient access to everyday needs and to public transit, make our communities more vibrant, more climate-friendly, and more connected.

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Seattle’s comprehensive planning process is long and it’s important to keep engaged, and be sure that Council hears your voice and your priorities for what Seattle needs in the coming years. Thank you for your advocacy!