HALA Recommendations: Toward 21st Century Solutions?
We won’t have the final, official version of recommendations from the Mayor’s Housing Affordability and Livability Agenda (HALA) committee until this morning at 11, but from every thing we’ve seen and heard, including the leaked report last week, is encouraging. Perhaps the most frustrating aspect of the discussion about housing is the continuing dependence it has on zoning designations, arbitrary heights and density settings, and an over all attachment to planning techniques and ideas that emerged after World War II.
The report appears to be putting the city’s discussion on new footing, dedicating the first section to “MORE HOUSING: Recommended Strategies to Increase and Diversify Seattle’s Housing Supply.”
Smart Growth Seattle was formed as an advocacy group for more housing supply, choice and opportunity, and this is the first time we’ve seen any other group openly say that we need more housing. Look for the report to resolve the year old battle over linkage fees. Nothing will be final until the release of the report, but we’re hearing that a compromise has been reached.
We’ll review the report and the recommendations with the following questions in mind, do the recommendations
- Maintain that the solution to increases in housing price is more housing of all kinds, types, and prices all over the city?;
- Support the idea that we have a “missing middle” in Seattle’s housing market, with more lower density but multifamily solutions in single-family neighborhoods?;
- Advise against more regulation fees and taxes (including the linkage tax) as the way to support more subsidized housing?; and
- Have good data and policy behind the quantitative goals it sets for housing production in the years ahead.
We’re as hopeful as we’ve been in a long time even though many things we’ve seen in the report have been contradicted by the actions of City Council. For example, the leaked draft report is calling for more housing in single-family neighborhoods while the Council just reduced housing capacity in low-rise zones just a week ago. Perhaps the committee’s recommendation will bolster the courage of the Council: it isn’t just us in the builder community asking for change, many people want us to find 21st century solutions to our housing needs.
