Late last year a group of developers and smart growth advocates got together to talk about ways to positively affect growth in Seattle. Where, they asked, is the positive voice for new housing in single-family neighborhoods? Lots of work is going on to build new housing around light rail and to support zoning to accommodate more growth in neighborhoods zoned for multi-family. But there really wasn’t much of an active voice finding new ways to grow in our city’s other neighborhoods, single-family.

So Smart Growth Seattle was formed. Smart Growth Seattle is a new advocacy group promoting fresh land use codes to manage neighborhood growth. We collaborate with homebuilders and community stakeholders to help government adopt codes that are appropriate for meeting housing demand and preserving neighborhood character. Our approach starts by identifying ways that the land use code can be improved. We collect ideas relevant to these initiatives and weigh them against a set of principles shared among our supporters. Then, we communicate with government officials to help them enact the smartest solutions.

You can watch this site for the latest on our initiatives, speaking events, and other information related to how we, in the words of former Mayor Paul Schell, grow with grace; welcoming new people to all our neighborhoods while maintaining and enhancing the character of those neighborhoods at the same time.