Zoning changes ahead for ‘One Seattle Plan’: Here’s how and when to get info and give comments

| Development | West Seattle housing | West Seattle news

(WSB photo, April draft ‘One Seattle Plan’ open house at Chief Sealth IHS)

Next week, we’ll see how the city proposes updating its plan for future growth – aka the Comprehensive Plan, or “One Seattle Plan” in keeping with Mayor Harrell‘s signature phrase. This afternoon, District 1 City Councilmember Rob Saka‘s office has sent out a heads-up on what’s ahead and how/when you can attend a briefing/comment opportunity in West Seattle, six months after the draft version of the plan was circulated at events including one covered here in April:

Many of you had expressed interest in the City’s Comprehensive Plan over this past year. Here is another around of community engagement so please share out broad and wide!

On October 16, the Mayor’s Office and the Office of Planning and Community Development are releasing Mayor Harrell’s updated Growth Strategy for the One Seattle Plan along with detailed information on zoning changes, including draft legislation to implement HB 1110 in our Neighborhood Residential zones and draft zoning maps for other land use changes in neighborhoods across the city.

This release kicks off a two-month public comment period on the zoning legislation and maps that will run through December 20. OPCD has planned a schedule of engagement, including info sessions in every Council District.

The outreach happening this fall is strictly related to zoning changes. Residents will be able to view the specific zoning changes on detailed maps, and will be able to comment directly on the maps via an online tool.

OPCD will host one online session on October 23rd and an in-person session in District 1 on November 6th at Madison Middle School Gym. Residents can learn how to view the maps, use the commenting tools, and voice their feedback. You are welcome to attend any of the other sessions as well.

This feedback will inform zoning legislation that will be sent to council in early/Spring 2025 as part of the Select Committee.

The West Seattle session is 5:30-7:30 pm Wednesday, November 6, at Madison MS (3429 45th SW) and the full list of citywide events (plus the online session) is on this flyer.

Between the junctions October 8, 2024 (8:16 pm)

Do our comments matter, or is this a done deal?

WSB October 8, 2024 (8:36 pm)

As noted in the announcement, some increased density is now a matter of state law – I linked the mention of 1110 to a State Legislature webpage including its full text, so you can see what it requires be allowed. Some say it doesn’t go far enough. So, depending on what zoning changes are proposed, that’s one place the feedback matters – do you think the minimum now required by the state is enough, or should the city go further, and if so, how much further? It’s not just about housing density – it’s also about businesses in what have been residence-only zones in recent decades, such as the suggestion that corner stores should be allowed again, as they were in many neighborhoods long ago. Here’s the draft plan on which feedback was taken earlier this year:
https://www.seattle.gov/documents/Departments/OPCD/SeattlePlan/OneSeattlePlanDraftPlan2024.pdf

Tracey October 8, 2024 (8:28 pm)

I imagine they don’t matter otherwise I would engage. I get the impression that millennials and Gen Z are very supportive of urban density and are dominating Seattle’s conversations . Gen Triple Z will bitch at them in the future when their kids and dogs have no yards to play in, they can’t tolerate the heat in their urban heat islands and the raw sewage overruns from our combined sewer overflow into Puget Sound harm people, fish and wildlife.

JustSarah October 8, 2024 (9:58 pm)

Ok, what’s your plan for handling population growth?
- Tracey October 9, 2024 (7:36 am)
  
  1. Just replace yourself or less. No need for 3 children.2. COVID squared3. Katrina, Helene, MiltonAt what point does this planet become not worth living on. We have choices and mother nature will decide for us.
Huge October 8, 2024 (11:41 pm)

Wrong on all counts. Density is far better for the environment — whether on the scale of climate change or local habitat preservation — than endless sprawl. As for livability, older cities that predate car-centric design are vastly superior. There’s a reason people love to vacation in Paris and Barcelona, not Dallas and Tallahassee.
- tracey October 9, 2024 (7:24 am)
  
  I am not vacationing in Seattle. I live here. My goal is not to make this a great destination for tourists.
  - JustSarah October 9, 2024 (8:30 am)
    
    You do realize that the features and amenities that make a place desirable to tourists also generally appeal to residents… Yes?
  - Grim October 9, 2024 (8:55 am)
    
    Way to miss the point. The same things that make those kind of cities attractive to tourists — their beauty, walkability, thriving culture — also benefit residents. The kinds of things you only get to experience on vacation could just be normal. And also — if you want to live on a suburban lot and drive everywhere, you can always go live in Renton
  - KM October 9, 2024 (9:08 am)
    
    More people live in Paris and Barcelona, that’s the point. Both fantastically vibrant cities made so by the people who live there. And that’s why people all over there world want to go there on vacation.

Between the junct October 8, 2024 (10:13 pm)

So if we want to live in the city, have a yard, and parking you have to be a billionaire now? Kind of a middle finger to the existing homeowners who want a city, a yard, and parking. I no longer feel proud to live in West Seattle. Now we’re just South Ballard.

JustSarah October 9, 2024 (7:25 am)

If we don’t allow increased density, housing costs will continue to grow at high rates. Look at San Francisco for where we could be without this change. Not densifying could mean only the wealthiest can afford to live here.
Mark H October 9, 2024 (9:09 am)

How is increasing the value of their asset, while not forcing them to make any of the changes you list, a middle finger?There’s way too much drama about change, the only constant, in this thread.
- Between The Junctions October 9, 2024 (1:46 pm)
  
  How does zoning allowing for non-owner-occupied multi-family dwellings that remove my water view plus adding up to 5 story apartments across the street from me that will remove most of the daylight from my front yard, and reduce street parking because of said apartments increase my property value? All things being equal, in 5 years, my home would be worth more if you could still see the water and have sunlight in the front yard than it would be in 5 years without the view and without the sun. I’m no economist but I remember when I bought my house and some of the criteria were not within 1 block of an arterial, not near apartment buildings, must have ample parking, must be free-standing, no HOA/CC&Rs, minimum of 4500 sq/ft lot, and plus points for having any type of view. Any house that we saw that didn’t meet those criteria were always listed at a lower price than a comparable house with above criteria. Yes we need density, but like the people who are going to be displaced by incoming transit, I’m pissed that not only am I losing value, but I’m also losing enjoyment of my home. I am entitled to be mad about that stuff, these growth plans weren’t in place when we bought or I would have made the distance from arterial criteria larger. I’ve never been to Paris or Barcelona, I’m sure they’re pretty nice, although I’ve heard Paris is just a bunch of smokers and dog poop. I have been to Sydney, Auckland, and Melbourne, all car-centric places with good transit, good density, and houses in the city walkable to stuff with yards.
  - Sam October 9, 2024 (2:49 pm)
    
    non-owner-occupied multi-family dwellings that remove my water view
    
    You could have just stopped there. That’s clearly the crux of your complaint.
    - Between the Junctions October 9, 2024 (7:37 pm)
      
      Kinda yeah. It devalues my home. I think having a home that someone puts blood, sweat, and tears into losing value is justification for being upset regardless of how needed the density is.

Derek October 8, 2024 (10:16 pm)

Need to seriously up zone all of Fauntleroy way majorly. It’s going to be the hub of light rail and transit and it’s all mostly parking lots and under utilized garages.

Jim October 8, 2024 (11:49 pm)

Or we could actually stick to having a nice community and not just turn into little Manhattan
- Jeff October 9, 2024 (6:56 am)
  
  I’d like a nice community that my children might someday also be able to live in.
- Derek October 9, 2024 (7:18 am)
  
  Manhattan? We are barely as functional as Portland with transit. We need density and that’s what makes a thriving city. Plenty of suburbs outside Seattle for what the above comment is looking for. Also parking lots lead to crime, more density means less places to linger.
- AK October 9, 2024 (9:47 am)
  
  Agreed! They just keep shoving more people in here!

Realitytest October 9, 2024 (9:48 am)

Interesting comments. Factually.: Zoning laws are designed to increase density and leave forests and open space outside of urban areas(less urban sprawl) One problem with how many children you have is that it impacts the labor force when people don’t have children/less than two children. We are seeing now: with difficulty finding workers….. and workers that are allowed to be jerks …but still be employed because the business is desperate for workers.. Wherever you get rapid transit: you automatically have high density zoning….whether you vote for it…or not ….it will happen. Problem with high density is: increased crime.(that is statistically true due to so many strangers and a transient population). I will add I don’t think we need to categorize by generation or be rude. we will have to visit and decide on land use issues again and again over the decades. Some of it is mandated in a Master Use Plan.

Jason October 9, 2024 (12:30 pm)

High density doesn’t increase crime, it in fact lowers it. https://thewalrus.ca/me-want-more-square-footage/ The only thing that causes crime is space to do crime and poverty. Which is largely in exurbs than cities.
- Between The Junctions October 9, 2024 (4:14 pm)
  
  That article you linked to directly says that on the rich West Side of Vancouver is where people feel trust and happiness (using the example of not worrying about dropping their wallet while walking the dog) and that the East Side doesn’t have that trust and worries about their wallet being lost/stolen.It does a good job of pointing out suburbs make you unhappy, I agree, that’s why I live in a city. I grew up in a suburb and it was awful.It describes happiness being driven by trust in your neighbors and that the closer you are to each other the more likely you are to create trust relationships. It doesn’t address if that data skews for homeowners vs transient residents.Just a simple look at Seattle PD crime map for the last 7 days, more dots (meaning more call-outs) in areas with higher density. Crime Data (7 Days) | Public Data Maps (arcgis.com)