Emotions ran high this week at a meeting of the Seattle City Council Planning, Land Use, and Zoning Committee as concerned citizens voiced their opinions on a plan to rezone the University District.
The City is planning to “up-zone” the neighborhood surrounding the University of Washington to accommodate Seattle’s rapid population growth, driven in part by the booming tech industry. The proposal, first introduced in 2011, has been years in the making.
The U-District has long been eyed by members of the tech community as a possible new startup hub. The additional office space and housing that would result from rezoning is a possible step in that direction.
City Hall’s chambers were packed with supporters on Thursday, who say the plan will provide much-needed relief to Seattle’s housing affordability crunch; and critics voicing concerns that the proposal could negatively impact small businesses and disproportionately benefit developers.
The proposal in question would amend the Seattle Municipal Code and zoning map, changing height limits on various 65-foot and 85-foot zoned properties to between 85 and 320 feet. Some single-family parcels would become lowrise multifamily designations and a limited number of low-rise multifamily properties would be zoned as midrises. Areas zoned for increased height and density will be clustered around the Light Rail station, University of Washington Campus, and existing high-rise buildings, according to the proposal.
Heights would be kept relatively low around the landmark University Way, colloquially known as “The Ave,” to maintain its scale and character.
The bill also requires buildings to comply with the City’s Housing Affordability and Livability Agenda (HALA). Affordability was one of the top concerns referenced by advocates of the proposal.
Here’s how Laura Bernstein, a U-District resident and renter since 2009, characterized the issue:
I fight for tenants rights and want the voices of those who’ve been priced out of the city, or pushed out of their communities within the city, to be at the center of this decision. Also the private impacts of the suburbanization, poverty, cannot be ignored. People need housing and this plan would allow for more housing near transit. This is the bare minimum we should be doing. This plan should’ve been passed to full council months ago and we need to do this without delay. We’ve spent so many years discussing this rezone and other solutions aren’t getting their proper focus…This rezone has had its time. It’s time to pass it, no delays.
The proposal is a response Seattle’s staggering population growth. An average of 236 people move to the Seattle area each day, many of them drawn to the tech industry’s booming job market. The City anticipates that growth will continue, particularly in areas with Light Rail access like the U-District.
Right now, much of the city’s startup activity is concentrated around Pioneer Square and South Lake Union. Light Rail access, proximity to a top STEM university, and the UW’s CoMotion innovation hub are just some of the reasons the neighborhood could be a hotbed for startup activity.
Only a handful of people opposed the up-zone outright, claiming it will alter the character of the neighborhood and reduce its livability. More came out to ask the City Council to delay voting on the proposal until more research could be done on the impact of up-zoning on businesses in the community.
This is how Katie Robinson, co-owner of Cafe Allegro on The Ave, put it:
I am not against the up-zone but have concerns about the upcoming changes to the U-District. Like my fellow business owners here, I’m greatly concerned with potential consequences to the neighborhood and the impacts it will have on business and staff like mine … I know studies were conducted about affordable housing and transportation, but absolutely no studies were conducted about on impact of small locally owned businesses, like mine. Why was that? There was plenty of time to do so over five years. Does the city not care about those potential impacts? If the city truly cares about businesses, like mine, and employees, like mine, please delay the up zone vote until true impacts on small businesses can be reviewed through a data-driven study.
The City says the legislation would create capacity for an additional 5,000 households and 4,800 jobs in the neighborhood over the next 20 years. A vote on the proposal is planned for February.
