Two notes related to the ongoing move toward upzoning as part of the Housing Affordability and Livability Agenda (HALA) Mandatory Housing Affordability (MHA) component:
COMMENT DEADLINE TOMORROW: The extra two weeks for commenting on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the MHA upzoning – and its alternatives for how that might be achieved – is tomorrow (Monday, August 7th). That, you’ll recall, was a two-week extension from the original deadline. In her latest online update (second item), City Councilmember Lisa Herbold says she asked Office of Planning and Community Development director Sam Assefa for three more weeks, but he said no. He did, however, respond to her continuing concerns about displacement risk, she added:
(H)e did agree to significant new analysis on the displacement risks associated with the proposed upzones. I am specifically seeking more detailed quantitative analysis of displacement impacts on people-of-color and a more qualitative analysis of cultural displacement, both disaggregated to the neighborhood level. Director Assefa has also made an important commitment that the draft Final EIS will be shared with Council prior to publication. If the analysis for the FEIS is not sufficient to quantify disparate impacts, I may consider commissioning additional analyses either through a peer-review of the FEIS or other measure.
Whatever your comments, if you haven’t sent them yet, again, tomorrow’s the deadline; here’s how to send a comment.
ANOTHER REAL-ESTATE LISTING REFERENCING HALA: Last week, we reported on a $5.6 million real-estate listing in Morgan Junction offering 7 single-family parcels “bundled” in anticipation of HALA MHA upzoning, which could potentially, the flyer said, allow 148 apartments or 30 townhomes on the currently single-family-zoned site. This week, we discovered another West Seattle real-estate flyer with a HALA reference – this one, though, geared toward buyers who might want to avoid MHA (which would either require part of a project to be “affordable housing” or a fee to pay for some elsewhere). The flyer is for 3039 SW Avalon Way, seeking to sell the site where a proposed 71-apartment project passed Design Review last January, and has a Master Use Permit (MUP) “imminent,” per the flyer. Part of the flyer’s pitch: “The MUP allows a developer to break ground by the end of 2017, and equally beneficial, would not be subject to proposed HALA/MHA development fees scheduled to take effect in 2018.” Also from the flyer:
Avalon West is permitted for 71 apartment units, with a mix of studios, open 1-bedrooms, 1-bedrooms, and 2-bedrooms, and an average unit size of 525 square feet. Units will have high-end fixtures and finishes, including dishwashers and washer/dryers, with many units featuring views. Garage parking will be available for 18 cars, creating a premium on space and an opportunity to charge more than $100/space.
The listing doesn’t show an asking price.
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