Over the last week or so I have written two posts at other blogs, Publicola and Seattle Transit Blog. At Publicola I wrote, “New Single Family Housing is Not the Enemy” to take on the notion that single-family infill development is somehow a threat to neighborhood character. At Seattle Transit Blog I took on the caricature of the “greedy developer” by pointing out the complexity of development projects of any size. These two posts were intended to tackle a deep and broad reservoir of suspicion about development in general and infill development in specific.

Part of the mission of Smart Growth Seattle is addressing these issues directly. We’re doing that by:

• Engaging the process—Our initiative on finalizing small-lot legislation is a compromise, accepting new limits and rules on building new homes in single-family zones.
• Create some predictability—We believe in good, well thought out rules for new housing in single-family neighborhoods because they create predictability for builders and for neighborhoods. Everyone needs to know what to expect when new homes are proposed.
• Expand choices—The goal of our work at Smart Growth Seattle is about expanding housing choice and opportunity as Seattle grows.

The response to our efforts has been positive and we’ll keep the efforts up in the weeks and months ahead as the Seattle City Council considers ideas for legislation. As always, we appreciate your comments here or anyplace these topics get discussed.