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 readingCategory: Housing
Seattle 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 …
Continue readingBosa development agreement for Civic Square
With the news from developer Bosa this morning that it is delaying construction on its construction project in the apparently cursed “pit from hell” lot across the street from City Hall, here is the purchase and development agreement that Bosa signed with the City of Seattle in 2017 to buy …
Continue readingCity of Seattle Comprehensive Plan EIS planning
The City of Seattle is beginning to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for changes it might propose to the city’s Comprehensive Plan in 2024. It has published an EIS Scoping Fact Sheet to explain the options it will be considering. The fact sheet lays out five alternatives: “No Action”: …
Continue readingState appeals court whittles down COVID-era eviction bans
This morning a state Court of Appeals panel updated an earlier ruling; it largely affirmed a lower court ruling that upheld the City of Seattle’s eviction moratorium and required payment plans but found that the city’s ban on landlords collecting interest on unpaid rent was pre-empted by state law. The …
Continue readingMayor Harrell’s first veto
This afternoon, Mayor Harrell delivered his first veto of a City Council bill, Council Bill 120325, which would require all Seattle landlords to provide information on their rentals to a research university on a recurring basis. The “research university” would almost certainly be UW, which already houses the state-funded Washington …
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