Comp Plan Amendments Talking Points
Talking points to support general pro-housing amendments
From Jackson Park For All:
Social housing is publicly owned, permanently affordable housing available to a range of household income levels. In February of this year, voters approved a measure to fund social housing. Density bonuses for social housing (allowing social housing to be built taller with more units compared to private, market-rate housing), that match or exceed what already exists for housing built by non-profits, will increase the probability that social housing will become abundant in our city.
The city has tools at its disposal to incentivize affordable housing including providing bonuses (allowing buildings to be built taller or with more units) to builders that make a certain percentage of their units affordable.
The Neighborhood Center zoning category allows for more housing density and mixed uses like grocery stores, restaurants, and other services. Adding more and larger Neighborhood Centers allows for more housing and mixed uses to be built all over the city, especially where more dense housing has historically been excluded, creating more walkable and climate-friendly communities in EVERY neighborhood.
In addition to lacking enough housing overall, Seattle has a major shortage of housing that is accessible to people with disabilities. We should incentivize the most accessible unit types so that our new housing stock is available to all.
Seattle has created a housing “missing middle” problem, that is, there are many single family homes and high rise apartment buildings, and little in between. Supporting a greater diversity of small apartment buildings, up to 6 stories tall and with units stacked on top of each other, allows for designs that can be more accessible (no stairs in the unit, unlike townhomes) and more green (more trees, more efficient buildings and layouts). Bonuses and flexible building requirements are needed to make these designs possible in Seattle.
Parking is costly, both in space and money! Removing parking requirements helps make room for more units for cheaper prices. Reduced parking also reduces the amount of pavement per lot and allows more space for trees, positively impacting the environment and climate.
From Seattle Equitable Development Coalition:
Where We Are At WIth the Comp Plan and Amendments
- The Mayor’s draft Comprehensive Plan was deeply disappointing, and the proposed amendments from Council also fall short of what working class, low-income, and BIPOC communities to thrive in place over the next 20 years.
- The State and County have told Seattle we have to create 60,000 units of affordable housing by 2045 for us to house both existing and new low-income households (50% AMI or below). The proposed Plan and Council amendments tinker with land use and zoning, but provide no real path and no real commitment towards building 60,000 affordable units.
- The Plan and amendments also fails to prioritize the kind of growth and preservation we need to stop displacement - community ownership of land, community led development, tenant cooperatives, social housing, multi-generational housing, family-sized housing, preservation of cultural anchors, preservation of BIPOC owned businesses, BIPOC home ownership, and equitable transit oriented development.
Council can still act! We call on Council to improve their amendments by adding the following:
- Make a commitment in the Comp Plan to raising progressive revenue to fund community development and affordable housing so we can get to 60,000 units in 20 years.
- Set actual goals for target percentages of affordable homes in high displacement risk areas, around transit stations, and in low-density neighborhoods. We can’t hit targets if we don’t have them.
- Do not increase zoning capacity in high displacement risk areas, unless it’s part of a community-driven strategy to keep people in place or only benefits affordable housing.
From Seattle Neighborhood Greenways:
- Incentivize the development of stacked flats. Stacked flats are more accessible for seniors to age in place and people with disabilities. Pass amendments that use the land use code to help incentivize the construction of more stacked flats.
From House Our Neighbors:
- Apply all affordable housing bonuses to social housing.
- Incentivize stacked flats by increasing the development bonus and allowing it to be used on all lots citywide.
From Housing Development Consortium:
- Incentivize stacked flats by increasing the development bonus and allowing it to be used on all lots citywide.
- Amend the affordable housing bonus to allow it to be used citywide, without parking mandates.
- Create a similar bonus for affordable housing in low-rise zones.
- Promote housing near transit, by removing parking mandates for homes near frequent transit but outside of urban centers.
- Allow small commercial uses on all lots across the city, not just corner lots, to create more walkable and complete communities.
- Incentivize tree preservation and green landscaping through development bonuses.
From Complete Communities Coalition:
- Expand the affordable housing density bonus citywide, and create a similar bonus for lowrise zones.
- Increase the bonus for stacked flats to be on all lots—not just the largest ones.
- Establish more neighborhood centers in high-opportunity and low-displacement risk areas so more people can live near jobs, schools, and transit.
Talking points to support specific pro-housing amendments
By House Our Neighbors:
- Amendment 17: Adds social housing to the comp plan
- Amendment 34: Adds 8 Neighborhood Centers -- We want to make Seattle equitable, affordable, livable and vibrant. We need more housing of all types all across our city. Please support CM Rinck’s Amendment 34 to include more neighborhood centers.
- Amendment 61: Gives needed bonuses for social housing -- Pass CM Kettle’s Amendment 61 to provide social and affordable housing density bonuses all across our city, while removing costly parking minimums. This amendment could kickstart social and affordable housing within areas of the city that have been effectively off-limits to new affordable and social housing for decades.
- Amendment 66: Allows for more commercial use zoning in neighborhoods -- While it’s not fun to admit, the climate crisis is here. Wildfire season is a reality that the comprehensive plan must address. We need walkable, bikeable communities. We need to transform parking spaces to green spaces and get rid of parking minimums.
- Amendment 78: Gives bonuses for family-sized housing near schools
- Amendment 84: Remove off-street parking requirements -- Parking is costly, in space, money and emissions! Removing parking requirements helps make room for more units for cheaper prices. Reduced parking also reduces the amount of pavement per lot and allows more space for trees, positively impacting the environment and climate.
By Seattle Equitable Development Coalition:
- The City should maximize the number of neighborhoods centers in low-displacement risk areas, and maximize the capacity for new housing in residential areas that are at low-risk of displacement. Amendments 33, 34,42, and 50 make progress towards that and should be supported.
- The City must plan for more multi-generational housing and larger family units. Amendments 19, 20 and 78 make progress towards that and should be supported.
- The City should preference affordable housing, social housing, forms of community or tenant owned housing, land trusts, and accessible units in residential zoning. Amendments 17, 69, 70, 90, 60, 61, 63, and 79 make progress towards that and should be supported.
- The City should support legacy Black homeowners by providing financial incentives to stay. Amendments 107, 108, and 109 make progress towards that and should be supported.
- Urban greening is a high priority for communities at risk of displacement, impacted by pollution, and near industrial areas. We need programs and zoning that has been designed by BIPOC communities to address long-standing lack of trees and green space. Amendments 87, 91, 92, 94, and 104 make progress towards this and should be supported.
- The City needs to prioritize food access and security, to support households struggling to stay nourished in the highest cost city in the US, and the right to food sovereignty. Amendments 5 make progress towards that and should be supported.
- The City should embed environmental justice priorities in the land use map and residential zoning changes. Amendments 16, 18 and 75 make progress towards that and should be supported.
By Seattle Neighborhood Greenways:
- Legalize corner stores (aka neighborhood retail and community gathering places) on all lots, not just corners (amendment 66). Every neighborhood deserves places for community members to gather, buy essential goods, create art together, and build a community. But right now, that kind of commercial and community space can be hard to find or afford. Legalizing corner stores would help bring these services and community spaces to every neighborhood.
- Expand neighborhood centers. Increase the number of neighborhood centers through amendments like #34, and reject those that shrink neighborhood centers. Seattleites love walkable neighborhoods. Walking makes us healthier, happier, and more connected to our neighbors through spontaneous interactions. Expanding neighborhood centers will get us closer to a city where everyone can walk to grocery stores, child care, parks, coffee shops, restaurants, drug stores, and other daily necessities. This vision remains distant however with a recent analysis finding only 44% of Seattleites can walk to basic daily necessities.
- Add flexibility in car parking regulations. Amendment 84 would align Seattle with cities around Washington State like Bothell, Shoreline, and Spokane that now allow homebuilders the flexibility to determine what level of car parking makes sense.
- Support social housing. Seattleites overwhelmingly passed the social housing initiatives and want to see it succeed. Amendment 61 would help this effort succeed.
By Jackson Park For All:
Support the amendment that gets us the most accessible housing
- Amendment 79 gives bonuses to projects incorporating the highest level of accessibility for required accessible units.
Support amendments that help social housing get built
- Amendment 17 adds social housing to the Comp Plan as a needed part of the housing growth strategy.
- Amendment 61 gives bonuses for social housing, by allowing a social housing developer to follow the same standards as low-income housing developers.
Support amendments that get us as much affordable housing as possible
- Amendment 60 expands the affordable housing bonus to anywhere in “neighborhood residential (NR)” zones, allows for greater flexibility in land use, and removes parking mandates. Neighborhood Residential is by far Seattle’s largest zoning category by area, so this will help open up wide swaths of the city to better affordability.
- Amendment 63 allows for more flexibility in development of affordable housing units in low rise (LR) zones. Low rise zones can contain low-rise apartment buildings.
Support amendments with the most and largest neighborhood centers
- Amendment 34 restores 8 Neighborhood Centers that were improperly removed from earlier drafts of the Comp Plan.
Support amendments that create middle housing and help the climate
- Amendment 89 expands building requirement flexibility and bonuses for stacked flats in Neighborhood Residential zones.
- Amendment 91 expands the stacked flat bonus for developments that preserve trees.
Support the amendment that forces the least parking
- Amendment 84 removes off-street parking requirements citywide.
By Seattle YIMBY:
Stacked Flats
- Amendment 90 (Kettle): Stacked flat bonus apply everywhere in NR, no minimum lot size for stacked flat bonus, increase FAR for stacked flats from 1.4 to 1.6, increase allowed density from 1 unit per 650 sf to 600 sf, increase allowed lot coverage from 50% to 60%
- Amendment 89 (Nelson): Same as 90 except increase allowed lot coverage from 50% to 55%
Affordability Bonuses
- Amendment 60 (Nelson): affordable housing bonus applies even if they’re located away from a frequent transit route, increases FAR, removes parking mandates
- Amendment 61 (Kettle): affordable housing bonus applies even if away from a frequent transit route, removes parking mandates, applies to social housing
- Amendment 63 (Nelson) and 64 (Strauss): adds a new density bonus program for the City’s low-rise (LR) zones, providing additional development capacity if certain metrics are met
Reducing Construction Costs
- Amendment 82 (Hollingsworth): increasing the exception to street improvement requirements from two to four units to reduce construction costs
Neighborhood Centers
- Amendment 34 (Rinck): restoring the previously studied Neighborhood Centers in Alki, Roanoke Park, Gasworks, Loyal Heights, South Wedgwood, Broadview, Dawson, and Nickerson-South Canal
- Amendment 33 (Strauss): allowing seven to eight-story buildings in Neighborhood Centers near major transit stops or near existing concentrations of goods and services (up from max of six stories)
- Amendments 43, 46, 47, 48 & 49 Version Cs (Strauss): Adjusting the boundaries and increasing the size of the Magnolia, Phinney Ridge, Tangletown, Upper Fremont, and West Green Lake Neighborhood Centers
Accessory Dwelling Units
- Amendment 54 (Rinck): allowing Unit Lot subdivisions for ADUs
- Amendment 55 (Rinck): increasing ADU size for legacy homeowners in certain zones
- Amendment 56 (Rinck): excluding ADUs from floor area ratio limits
- Amendment 57 (Rinck): allowing larger maximum size for ADUs
- Amendment 58 (Rinck): excluding ADUs from density calculations
- Amendment 59 (Rinck): exempting ADUs from Mandatory Housing Affordability
Families, Accessibility, and Environmental Justice
- Amendment 78 (Hollingsworth): granting additional height and FAR for stacked flats within 1/4 mile of a school in which at least 25% of the units have 3+ bedrooms
- Amendment 79 (Hollingsworth): incentivizing developers to build more units that are accessible to people with disabilities by exempting “Type A” accessible units from FAR and density limitations
Parking
- Amendments 7 and 84 (Rinck): eliminating all minimum parking requirements citywide
Trees
- Amendment 91 (Nelson): adding a new green stacked flats bonus that increases height to 42 ft, FAR to 1.8, lot coverage to 60%, and max density to 1 unit / 500 sf for stacked flats that retain one Tier 1 tree, two Tier 2 trees, or a 0.6 Green Factor
- Amendment 104 (Strauss): granting flexibility whenever builders are preserving trees, allowing structures to be located anywhere within a setback and allowing reduced or eliminated amenity area requirements when a tree is protected
- Amendment 87 (Rinck): parking waivers for any residential development that retains a Tier 2 tree
Corner Stores
- Amendments 65 (Nelson), 66 (Rinck), and 67 (Strauss): legalizing corner stores and neighborhood cafes beyond only corner lots plus other improvements
Other Improvements to Increase Housing Production
- Amendment 70 (Kettle): increase FAR to 1.6; stacked flat FAR 1.8 if within frequent transit areas & 6000 sf lot
- Amendment 73 (Strauss): allowing any density fractions of 0.85 and above to be rounded up to allow one additional unit
- Amendment 74 (Nelson): increasing NR and LR1 height limits from 32 feet to 35 feet
- Amendment 76 (Rinck): amending the definition of “major transit” service to include “frequent transit service”, thereby expanding parking exemptions, among other things
- Amendments 95 (Rinck), 96 (Kettle), and 98 (Rinck): reducing or making setbacks more flexible in various situations
By The Urbanist:
- RINCK – 1, 2, 7, 34, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 66, 69, 72, 76, 84, 95, 98
- STRAUSS – 5, 6, 8, 25, 29, 30, 33, 42-C, 43, 46-A, 47, 48-C, 49-C, 64, 73, 92
- SAKA – 11, 13, 23, 36, 77
- HOLLINGSWORTH – 19, 68, 78, 79, 80, 107, 108, 109
- NELSON – 52, 60, 63, 65, 74, 86, 89, 91
- KETTLE – 50, 61, 70, 90, 94, 96
- SOLOMON – 83
By Futurewise:
- Amendment 34: Eight new neighborhood centers in Broadview, South Wedgwood, Loyal Heights, Gasworks, Nickerson, Roanoke, Dawson, and Alki.
- Amendments 60 + 63: Affordable Housing Density Bonuses (citywide and in low rise zones)
- Amendment 86: Eliminating parking mandates near frequent transit
- Amendment 89: Allow all residential lots to use the stacked flat bonus and increases the bonus
- Amendment 91: Last but most certainly not least, our Trees and Density stacked flat bonus would boost up homes for stacked flats to retain trees or have a higher Green Factor
By pro-housing neighbors in Roosevelt/Ravenna:
- Support Amendment 34 to add eight neighborhood centers to create more opportunities for new housing, improve access to daily needs, and support small businesses.
- Support Amendments 17 and 61 to incentivize social housing that is overwhelmingly supported by Seattle voters.
- Support Amendment 66 to allow for more commercial use zoning for neighborhood retail and community gathering places like our beloved Seven Market & Cafe.
- Support Amendment 78 to give bonuses for family-sized housing near schools like Roosevelt High School.
Talking points to oppose general anti-housing amendments
From Seattle Equitable Development Coalition:
- We oppose any new comprehensive element or subelement that prioritizes capital facilities for the Seattle Police Department, especially a new correctional facility.
From Jackson Park For All:
- Oppose any amendments that shrink or remove neighborhood centers
- Oppose any amendments that require larger setbacks
- Oppose any amendments that reduce the amount of housing that can be built
Talking points to oppose specific anti-housing amendments
From The Urbanist:
The Urbanist opposes amendments:
- SAKA – 35, 37
- HOLLINGSWORTH – 38
- RIVERA – 39, 40, 41, 81, 93, 102
- KETTLE – 51, 97
From Jackson Park For All:
Reject Amendment 81 - a poison pill that would hinder new housing in so-called historic districts.
It introduces stringent aesthetic requirements for exterior cladding. The design review process this would necessitate has been predominantly used to slow down or eliminate new housing projects, and usually results in a building that is actually uglier, which goes against the ostensible point of this program. This process has been limited by recent statewide legislation for a reason, and this amendment will not help “protect” our neighborhoods nor help create better ones.
Reject Amendment 102 which drastically reduces the usable area of lots and increases the workload of architects to “protect” trees.
This amendment is another poison pill that dramatically and needlessly increases: the “protection area” around trees which cannot be encroached, the trees classified as “significant”, and the red tape to build housing, by requiring architects submit even more alternative plans if their design could impact any trees. This unproductively pits housing and trees against one another, when other amendments, such as those that reduce parking and encourage flats, can help the two work in harmony.
From pro-housing neighbors in Roosevelt/Ravenna:
- Reject Amendment 40 that would shrink the size of the proposed Ravenna Neighborhood Center.
- Reject Amendment 81 that would add design requirements that would make it more difficult to build additional homes in our neighborhood.