Yesterday evening I appeared on KING 5 TV to refute the idea of a moratorium on growth. The Seattle Community Council Federation had a meeting to plan for a moratorium on all new growth in Seattle.

Representatives of an ad hoc citywide group of community activists [were] on hand to ask for advice and support from the Federation and its member organizations for tough growth controls and developer impact fees and to join at a large planned press event the week prior to the Mayor’s planned neighborhood summit.  The goal is to create a unified, simple position across neighborhoods we can all unify around, present it at a press conference and then carry the message to the Mayor’s April neighborhood summit.

The group is determined to crack down on new growth as if it was a crime wave. Here’s how I responded:

Roger Valdez, director of Smart Growth Seattle, says additional growth is needed to drive rent costs down.

“If you think housing is expensive now, wait until you put a moratorium on it,” he said. “If these folks close off the housing supply there is not going to be anywhere for them to live. They are going to have to live outside the city. We think that is unsustainable.”

As I pointed out in a recent blog post, Seattle is growing. That’s a really good thing. The challenge is to provide housing choices to people who want to work and live here. That’s what we’re advocating for. Fortunately, there is a voice now to speak in favor of growth in our city. We have a lot of work ahead to persuade people that more housing, not less, is what will help lower prices.