With the return of Councilmember Sawant’s rent control bill, we are once again subjected to bad reporting on rent control; witness this morning’s Seattle Times article, which quotes advocates on both sides but presents little in the way of real facts or research on the topic. Here’s the latest data …
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Ninth Circuit ruling on Seattle “Fair Chance Housing” ordinance
Yesterday the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals published its ruling on an appeal of a lower court ruling that upheld Seattle’s “Fair Chance Housing” ordinance. The ordinance prohibits landlords from looking at a prospective tenant’s criminal record and from taking adverse action against a prospective tenant (such as denying tenancy) …
Continue readingAnalysis of Seattle market-rate housing supply and needs
In 2020 the City of Seattle hired an outside consultant to perform analysis of Seattle’s market rate housing supply and needs. The report was published the following year.
Continue readingSeattle Tree Canopy Assessment
The City of Seattle’s Office of Sustainability and the Environment recently released a study of the city’s tree canopy that it commissioned.
Continue readingNew report on housing affordability crisis in Washington State
The advocacy group Challenge Seattle has release a 125-page report analyzing the housing affordability crisis in our state. I hope you found this article valuable. If you did, please take a moment to make a contribution to support my ongoing work. Thanks!
Continue readingSeattle apartment rents and vacancies
For several years Apartmentlist.com has tracked rent prices in dozens of cities, counties and states across the U.S. They are one of the more credible sources of rental data because of their methodology, which goes beyond just listing prices for available apartments (a small subset of all apartments, but the …
Continue readingNew legal challenge to MHA program
Today a Seattle homeowner filed a lawsuit in U.S. District court challenging the constitutionality of Seattle’s MHA program. She alleges that the MHA program requirements are an impact fee that are not proportional to the impact her proposed project would have. I hope you found this article valuable. If you …
Continue readingSeattle 2024 Comprehensive Plan EIS Scoping Report
Last month the Seattle Office of Planning and Community Development released its “scoping report” for the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) it must prepare in advance of the city’s 2024 update to its Comprehensive Plan. The scoping report lists the potential significant changes in the Plan (from the current version) that …
Continue readingCity Council briefing on I-135
On Tuesday the Seattle City Council will consider its options on Initiative 135, which would create a new “social housing” public development authority. On Monday, the Council will hear a presentation on the initiative and review its three options: vote I-135 into law, removing the need for a special election; …
Continue readingSeattle Comprehensive Plan docketing memo
In between major updates to the city’s Comprehensive Plan, the city is allowed to make minor updates once a year. The city’s normal process is to gather proposed updates the summer before from members of the public and from government agencies and departments, and then the City Council reviews and …
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