Hello Neighbors
A Critical Neighborhood Meeting
Queen Anne Community Council
Land Use Review Committee
and Planning Committee
Queen Anne Community Council
Land Use Review Committee
and Planning Committee
Save the Date
A Community Conversation
Queen Anne Land Use Review
& Planning Committee
16 May 2016 6:30 - 9:00 PM
Queen Anne Community Center
1901 1st Ave West, 98119
We will devote our entire May LURC meeting to a community discussion of the Seattle Housing Affordability and Livability Agenda (HALA). We have invited city officials and urban planners to attend and address our questions and register our concerns.
What is HALA?
The Housing Affordability and Livability Agenda (HALA) is a multi-pronged strategy for addressing the housing affordability crisis in Seattle.
"We are facing our worst housing affordability crisis in decades. My vision is a city where people who work in Seattle can afford to live here. Housing affordability is just one building block to a more equitable city. It goes hand in hand with our efforts on raising the minimum wage, providing preschool education for low-income children, and increasing access to parks and transit. We all share a responsibility in making Seattle affordable. Together, this plan will take us there."
Mayor Ed Murray
We support the Mayor’s commitment to study strategies for addressing the housing affordability crisis in Seattle. Last summer as the HALA report was released, Mayor Murray suggested that his surprising and unprecedented proposals to change single family zoned land were “off the table” after significant public outcry. However, as almost a year has passed, and City Hall is gearing up to convert the HALA recommendations into legislation, the extreme provisions that will redefine all our single family neighborhoods still remain and continue to be sold by City Hall to the neighborhoods as having little affect in the name of providing greater affordability.
While a significant number of the 65 recommendations will improve housing affordability and can be easily supported by many, others will encourage much greater densities in our single family neighborhoods while adding little to improve housing affordability. Several of the proposals will turn single family zoning and properties into multi-family developer-investment opportunities. Those specific proposals will greatly impact your property and forever alter our neighborhoods, streets, backyards and seriously impact the livability of our communities.
Our mission is to convene and share a true community-wide dialogue and add clarity to questions many of us have about specific HALA recommendations. As many in our neighborhoods have serious concerns, we want to provide a venue where we can come together as neighbors to learn about many of these pending proposals that have the potential to significantly impact and change our communities. We have invited Magnolia, Ballard, Wallingford, Fremont and other neighborhoods to our meeting. And we look forward to visiting with City officials to ask questions and get up-to-date answers.
Please take the time to read thru the HALA recommendations - find it within these links:
Here are some of the recommendations that will affect you and your neighbors - we will drill down into their meaning and impacts with City Officials at our meeting:
MF:1 (Page 21) Increase the amount of land zoned for multi-family housing
MF:2 (Page 22) Expand the boundaries of Urban Villages to reflect walksheds for transit, amenities and services
MF:3 (Page 22) Increase housing options on single family zoned land within Urban Villages
MF:4 (Page 22) Add multifamily zoning to create transitions next to more intensive zones
MF: 5 (Page 23) Modify height limits and codes to maximize economical wood frame construction
MF:5b (Page 23) Consider increasing 30' and 40' zones
MF:6 (Page 24) Remove code barriers to small flats or apartments in some multifamily zones
MF:8 (Page 24) Remove recently created barriers to the creation of congregate micro-housing (Apodments)
SF:1a (Page 25) Remove code barriers to Accessory Dwelling Units and Backyard Cottages
a. Remove the Parking Requirement:
b. Removal of the ownership requirement:
c. Allow a single lot to have both a ADU and a DADU:
d. Remove barriers to development like height limits, setbacks, maximum square footage, and minimum lot size.
SF:1b (Page 26) Create Pre-approved Standard Plans for Backyard Cottages
SF:1c (Page 26) Develop a clemency program to legitimize undocumented ADU's and DADU's
SF:2 (Page 26) Allow a Broader Mix of Lower Density Housing Types within Single Family Areas
SF:3 (Page 27) Allowable Flexible Reuse of Large, Unique Development Sites
SF:4 (Page 27) Oppose Neighborhood Conservation Districts
Prk:1 (Page 29) Reduce parking requirements for multifamily housing outside of Urban Villages or Centers
Prk:4 (Page 30) Remove the parking requirements for smaller format housing types in single family areas
Prk:5 (Page 30) Consider removing the parking requirement for single family homes
See you next Monday evening,
Thanks,
Martin Kaplan, AIA
Chair Queen Anne Community Council Land Use Review and Planning Committees
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Martin Henry Kaplan, Architects AIA
Seattle Office
360 Highland Drive, Seattle WA 98109
Sun Valley Idaho Office
251 Hillside Drive, PO 482, Ketchum, ID 83340
