Issue 16
Seattle Considers Amendments to the Comprehensive Plan
Seattle is still undergoing amendments to their Comprehensive Plan. Although the plan covers everything from the economy, environment, bike lanes, public health, and more, housing, including middle housing and ADUs, is one of the most-focused on elements of the Comprehensive Plan this go-around, as cities and counties implement House Bills 1110 and 1337.
Cities in King, Snohomish, and Pierce all are facing similar processes and deadlines, we are most focused on Seattle because it is the largest city, post publicized, there is plenty of media available to get a birdseye view of the process.
On Friday, September 12, the Select Committee on the Comprehensive Plan met to address the 110 proposed amendments and hear public comments. You can read a summary of these proposed amendments here: https://seattle.legistar.com/View.ashx?GUID=6B0587B0-953C-46FA-A9E0-C55EA02F8A44&ID=14581223&M=F
As I went through this list, I was looking for items that could have an impact on middle housing and ADUs, but I was also scrutinizing it for amendments that could impact the amount of new housing that is to be developed - from limits on size and height to tree retention requirements. Even something as innocuous as making sure sidewalks are required as part of development can have an impact on builder and development cost depending on who is required to add them - costs that are either passed along to the buyer or renter or - in worse cases - could push the project into "does not pencil" territory.
However, I was pleased to see so many amendments proposed that would seem to encourage more housing - allowing for larger ADUs, encouraging stacked flats, reducing parking requirements, and allowing for 5-6 story buildings in Neighborhood Centers that are close to transit or near "services".
For those of you in Seattle, I encourage you to review all of the amendments, but pay special attention to pages 56-129 of the linked document above. These pages regard Neighborhood Center boundaries. Some sections were created or modified to add more area to the Neighborhood Centers while other areas were removed in the proposed amendments.
Middle Housing advocates, check out amendments 54-74 on pages 143-199. Amendment 54, in particular, would allow ADUs to be subdivided on separate lots, instead of just being condoized.
Check out the videos on public comment for these amendments and the comprehensive plan as well: https://www.seattlechannel.org/mayor-and-council/city-council/city-council-all-videos-index?videoid=x179779
Additional voting on the Comprehensive Plan will occur Wednesday-Friday of this week on the One Seattle Comprehensive Plan and the Permanent HB 1110 Legislation.
10 Things Real Estate Agents Need to Know About Middle Housing
-FREE VIDEO -
Click below to watch now!
https://www.middlehousinghelp.com/10-things-agents-need-to-know-about-adus-and-middle-housing
Have You Ever Thought About Seattle's Car Population?
You, as real estate agents, most likely have a car. It would be close to impossible to do your job without it. However, in some areas of the country, one can operate just fine without a vehicle. Seattle is, apparently, becoming one of those areas.
Hopefully you will be able to read the following Seattle Times article by Gene Balk because it is a good one: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/data/as-seattle-grew-the-number-of-cars-here-has-barely-budged-since-2017/
In it, Balk researches the number of cars in Seattle versus the growth in population over the last decade or so. The numbers are, in my opinion, shocking and very important for real estate agents to tune into for two very important reasons.
