SEATTLE, WA — Today, the Seattle City Council took its final vote on the One Seattle Plan, adopting an updated Comprehensive Plan and new Neighborhood Residential zoning code that will significantly expand housing opportunities across the city. The Complete Communities Coalition applauds the Council for approving a bold, pro-housing Plan that meaningfully addresses Seattle’s housing shortage and will help create a more affordable, equitable, and sustainable future. 

For decades, restrictive zoning has limited new housing across most of Seattle, driving up costs and reinforcing patterns of exclusion. This historic plan makes major steps to remedy those mistakes, by allowing more homes in more places and ensuring every neighborhood plays a role in welcoming new residents.

The Complete Communities Coalition is an alliance of affordable housing advocates, community-based organizations, nonprofit and market-rate homebuilders, urbanists, environmentalists, and the local business community. We thank Select Committee Chair Joy Hollingsworth for her leadership, Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck and Council President Sara Nelson for sponsoring our coalition’s recommended amendments, and the Council as a whole for lowering barriers to building housing in all of Seattle’s neighborhoods and setting the stage for a more affordable and accessible city.

The new Neighborhood Residential zoning goes well beyond minimum requirements under HB 1110, to expand housing options and create complete, walkable neighborhoods. These include:

• Allowing 3-to-4 story stacked flats citywide;
• Creating new bonuses for affordable housing;
• Expanding homeownership opportunities by modernizing ADU policies;
• Removing outdated parking mandates near frequent transit;
• Incentivizing tree preservation and planting; and
• Allowing small neighborhood-serving shops and restaurants on all residential lots.

These changes position Seattle to be a national leader in housing abundance. For more details see here. The Coalition looks forward to working with Mayor-elect Katie Wilson and the City Council in the next phase of the Comprehensive Plan update, including forthcoming work on multifamily and mixed-use zoning. Much work remains, but today’s vote represents a tremendous leap toward a more inclusive, affordable, and sustainable Seattle.

Quotes from Complete Communities Coalition co-chairs:

Futurewise: “Our bold amendments to the One Seattle Plan tackle Seattle’s housing shortage head on. The Plan will help protect our forests and farmland, too: housing density is a climate resilience strategy. More housing in Seattle is proven to save trees and improve Lake Washington. By expanding opportunities to make housing in our communities abundant, affordable and inclusive, we are working to peel back over a century of discriminatory housing policy and displacement pressures. With opportunity in every neighborhood and an open door to welcome more neighbors, everyone can continue to call Seattle home.” – Jazmine Smith, Director of Local Advocacy, Futurewise

Housing Development Consortium: “Seattle has a deep housing shortage that affects families, renters, workers, and seniors across the city. Fundamentally, we need more housing, especially affordable housing, and the first step is making it legal to build more homes in more places with land use reform. Today’s vote is a huge step to open up more land for affordable housing, make stacked flats feasible, and ensure every neighborhood can be part of the solution.” – Jesse Simpson, Director of Government Relations and Policy, Housing Development Consortium

Shoutout to our amazing team of partners who showed up for final chance to testify on Phase 1 in December.