"Penalties" for Developers: Confusion About HALA and the Bargain Continues
At last night’s meeting at City Hall and all day before I talked with people, including Councilmembers, press, neighbors, and bloggers, about the Mayor’s Housing Affordability and Livability Agenda (HALA) Committee recommendations and the Grand Bargain that is only 1 of 65 of those recommendations. What impressed me was the level of confusion about what […]
The Housing "Crisis" is in Crisis
Politicians are sometimes fond of saying “don’t let a crisis go to waste.” The quote is of uncertain origin, but was most recently uttered by big city Mayor Rahm Emmanuel of Chicago. And it’s true, whether it’s a refugee crisis or climate change, a crisis is always a good way to get people’s attention. Seattle’s […]
Discovering Other People: How Do We Grow the Seattle Way?
Last week I was quoted in the New York Times in a story headlined, “Seattle, in Midst of Tech Boom, Tried to Keep it’s Soul.” I got the last word in the article, Roger Valdez, director of Smart Growth Seattle, a group that advocates high-density housing and is supported by developers, has been disappointed at […]
