Design Review: Stealing From the Future
As I have already pointed out, the Department of Planning and Development has proposed design review for new microhousing projects as a way to assuage anger and fear of a band of neighbors opposed to the product. But why, in a city where it is liturgical for politicians to state their commitment to ‘affordable housing,’ […]
Council’s Response to Innovation:Raise the Rents on Microhousing?
The latest chapter of the Department of Planning and Development’s (DPD) efforts to limit innovative housing solutions in response to angry neighbors is being drafted and will be presented at Friday’s meeting of the Planning, Land Use, and Sustainability (PLUS) Committee. After a lengthy appeal the legislation is back and will be considered by the […]
Hard to Find the ‘Incentive’ in Incentive Zoning
This post originally appeared in the Spring edition of The Voice, NAIOP’s semi-annual government affairs newsletter. Recently, the City of Seattle has placed an emphasis on what it calls incentive zoning, a program that charges a fee in exchange for granting additional Floor Area Ratio (FAR) for new housing and non-residential development. This […]
