Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson has signed the SEPA reform bill into law.

The Urbanist@theurbanist.org · last wk.

A 5-4 Seattle City Council vote yesterday means city-level appeals that have delayed significant citywide zoning changes in the past will be extinguished. Conventional appeal options to Superior Court or the state growth hearings board will remain. Story: www.theurbanist.org/seattle-coun...

Soon...

Ryan Packer@typewriteralley.bsky.social · last wk.

In Bainbridge Island right now, the state Department of Commerce is telling city officials that if they don't adopt a compliant growth plan by August 21 (24 days from now) then the Builder's Remedy will go into effect. Bainbridge Island isn't on track for that deadline and asked for an extension.

This is the building owner complaining about the character of the neighborhood. Of course it's the building with no character

Erica C. Barnett@ericacbarnett.bsky.social · 2w ago

now that the world cup's over we can get back to what Seattle does best: opposing everything that makes the city slightly better for poor people (and everybody else) www.theurbanist.org/property-own...

Center medians (à la 1st Ave S. in Pioneer Square or NE Ravenna), replacing street parking with planted trees, installing small roundabouts with trees in the middle. So many options and most of them involve reclaiming space from cars for trees.

Councilmember Eddie Lin@cmeddielin.bsky.social · 2w ago

We don’t need more studies, but I’m open to actual solutions. Do you have a good idea on how to increase tree canopy in the city in a way that doesn’t hurt housing? If so, I’m all ears! How about something like a courtyard bonus or de-paving parking lots and adding more street trees.

We should only be so lucky

Revolving Door Project@revolvingdoordc.bsky.social · 4w ago

NEW: Today, @thenation.com published a story from our very own @dylangyauchl.bsky.social and @juliepitta.bsky.social, President of @phoenixprojnow.bsky.social, about leaked documents from the Abundance Network's plan to take over the Democratic Party.

This could be applied to every fee on the Junk Fee list. If LL's had to fight for tenants these fees would not be long for this world. Instead, we have a housing shortage and an elected body focused on the wrong solutions.

Ben Raderstorf@raders.bsky.social · 4w ago

Pet rent is one of those annoyances for which the *only* solution is to increase housing supply until landlords feel forced to drop it to attract tenants. Banning pet rents in tight markets just mean fewer landlords will have any incentive to accept pets at all

Design guidelines should be illegal under the 1st Amendment

Joe Cohen@cohenhouse.bsky.social · 4w ago

Under LA's new "Objective Design Standards" for historic districts, the building on the left would be prohibited, and the building on the right would be encouraged

I’m renaming SEPA the SEattle Process Annihilator - the place where good ideas go to die.

Why isn’t she announcing an extension of pedestrianizing Pioneer Square instead?

Erica C. Barnett@ericacbarnett.bsky.social · 4w ago

Mayor Katie Wilson will make an announcement on surveillance cameras tomorrow that a source says will include turning off the cameras at the stadium now the World Cup Games hare are over.

I've been walknig around Pioneer Square, looking at the food trucks and streets where people can walk without fear, and saying "we can do this ALL the time" throughout the World Cup. Pedestrianization works best when you just do it, rather than Seattle Processing the concept until it's a no.

Asher@asher755.bsky.social · 4w ago

Why isn’t she announcing an extension of pedestrianizing Pioneer Square instead?

We have a red alarm fire at City Hall after @mayorofseattle.bsky.social shelved legislation for an MHA holiday. We're down 94% in apt permits from peak and need to take every action possible to boost supply. Please use this link to contact her office to reconsider. actionnetwork.org/letters/unfr...

Unfreeze our housing pipeline: Don't let rents spiral out of reach

See Seattle's building dashboard here Right now, a well-intentioned city policy called Mandatory Housing Affordability (MHA) is backfiring. By placing massive, outdated fees on new construction, it h...

actionnetwork.org

Really incredible the stuff we planned for when interest rates were 0

Ryan Packer@typewriteralley.bsky.social · last mo.

I am so glad we are no longer planning to build such an incredibly overbuilt SoDo station.

My ask for #waleg27, regulate modulations and balcony requirements out of existence. If we're feeling extra spicy, add outdoor/amenity space to that list as well.

NEW STORY// Tacoma Sees 62% More Homes Enter Pipeline Following 2025 Zoning Overhaul By Ryan Packer via @theurbanist.org

Tacoma Sees 62% More Homes Enter Pipeline Following 2025 Zoning Overhaul

In the year since Tacoma adopted new zoning standards last February, the number of housing permits entering the pipeline jumped by 62% compared to the five-year average.

theurbanist.org

They closed the streets in Pioneer Square for World Cup games and it is glorious down here! Copy/paste for Seahawks and Sounders games.

Imagine a Sounders or Seahawks game watch here.

Ryan Packer@typewriteralley.bsky.social · 2mo ago

There's simply no reason to let this be a one-off experience for Seattle. This is what our public spaces are made for!

Weaponizing environmental concerns to prevent people from living in our urban environments isn’t new. It’s deployed by people with resources to restrict access to high opportunity areas. It’s nimbyism. In order to reach our housing goals, our land use processes must stop enabling this behavior.

'Orca Appeal': A science nerd's challenge to Seattle's building plan

As City Hall continues to roll out the biggest remaking in Seattle's history, one musician challenges the underlying science. It is the story of our time.

seattletimes.com

these people can't be for real 😂

Brett Hamil@bretthamil.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Protesters at Mt Baker Beach on opening day for Bicycle Weekends. Their main demand is that it should only be twice a month, not every weekend

We've been holding this in for a little while: we're adding four new public restrooms in Pioneer Square. @mayorofseattle.bsky.social is delivering on her promise to provide more clean, accessible, and safe public restrooms. You shouldn't have to struggle to find a public bathroom.

The dramatic responses to David’s post prove his point perfectly.

David Roberts@volts.wtf · 3mo ago

It's hard to avoid the conclusion that Bluesky has been a net negative for US politics. They corralled everyone on the left into a little glass fishbowl where they shout at one another & everyone else ignores them. Meanwhile, all the pols & institutions stayed on X & are being dragged farther right.

I'd love to see the line on the pro forma that provides cash flow from leaving units vacant

James Hazen@jameshazen.bsky.social · 3mo ago

This happened in my town (Concord, NC). 3 brand new mid rises smack in the middle of downtown, something like 250 units total, about 95% are still empty 2 yrs since completion and none of them are dropping rents to get more tenants because they're content to let the properties appreciate in value.

For some context, Seattle's budget is $8.9b, so a cut of $175m is just shy of a 2% cut.

Amy Sundberg@amysundberg.bsky.social · 3mo ago

General approach to budget? Wilson: two options, new revenue and cuts. Looking at all new revenue options. She doesn't see any scenario of coming up with $175m of new revenue. Q: what about $175m of cuts? Wilson: that is a terrifying prospect.

Great presentation from SDOT and FIFA reps tonight about upcoming street closures for World Cup games. Despite many sour comments from cranky residents, SDOT and SPD reps handled them well.

Maybe we finally get fire truck reform so that NIMBYs can keep their parking spots? A win is a win

Ryan Packer@typewriteralley.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Greetings from the Queen Anne Library, where SDOT and SFD are holding a meeting on planned parking removal on 14th Ave W, parking that the city is finally tired of blocking emergency vehicle response. We're kicking things off with an explicit declaration that this decision won't be changed.

Letting business/property owners override the Vision Zero safety team based on vibes is par for the course at SDOT and needs to change. Making intersections safer by improving visibility is a proven strategy. Of the proposed locations with pedestrian collisions, 0 remain in the plan.

Ryan Packer@typewriteralley.bsky.social · 3mo ago

SDOT is essentially confirming that business owners and property owners near areas where corrals had been previously proposed got to veto those locations, without directly saying this.

Seattle perfected the stacked flat over a century ago. Why is OPCD still fiddling around with FAR, setbacks, pitched roofs, materials, etc.?

I think it's time we reopened the conversation around redeveloping the Talaris site.

This is also how a lot of land use regulation works: local governments create a bunch of arbitrary rules that make it impossible to build anything profitably, then give themselves the power to hand out exceptions in exchange for public and private benefits.

Ron Filipkowski@ronfilipkowski.bsky.social · 3mo ago

This is what tariffs were always all about for Trump. Not about revenue, trade, domestic manufacturing, GDP - it’s about giving himself the unilateral power to decide economic winners and losers on a case by case basis, with kings and CEOs coming to him asking forbearance..

This chart tells a pretty incredible success story MHA funds are the smallest slice of this graph and yet MHA is the only funding source that directly hurts renters by blocking new homes from being built @mayorofseattle.bsky.social let's use this success to undo the damage from MHA!

Join us to celebrate new affordable homes opening in Phinney Ridge! We're partnering with Homestead to showcase their homes & welcome new residents to an exclusive neighborhood. April 30, 6:00pm 5819 Phinney Ave. RSVP at the link below. See you there! actionnetwork.org/events/welco...