Clik here to view.
Land-use geek alert: Pick up the September Scientific American
As the land use committee chair, what could make me happier than the cover of the latest Scientific American? “Better, greener, smarter” – said the cover text – “CITIES: We have seen the future and it...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Why you should take the Comprehensive Plan survey
Seattle expects to gain 115,000 new jobs and 120,000 new residents in the next 20 years. As a community, we want to ensure that this growth is positive for our economy and our neighborhoods. You can...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Looking back on Land Use as Service
I can’t believe it’s the fourth quarter of the year already. As usual the year is flying by. It’s a little startling to realize I have just two and a half months left as chair of the Council’s...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Squeezing affordability out of the land use code
Creating affordable housing in Seattle I have a colleague and friend here in City Government who just returned from a Policy Link meeting in Detroit. If you read much about urban affairs you know...
View ArticleClik here to view.
“Placemaking:” Sidewalk cafes and mobile vending
In the last few weeks I’ve written about how, when I re-upped as the committee chair for COBE in 2010, I made it a goal to focus on land use as service, as a means to an end. I talked about the ways I...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Final decision near in Roosevelt rezones
As we get closer to what will likely be final committee-level action Dec. 14 (there’ll be no Roosevelt action at the December 8 Committee on the Built Environment), the Roosevelt rezone work is shaping...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Looking to make a difference, network, learn? Serve on a city board or...
Today in the Committee on the Built Environment we confirmed appointments of 16 citizens to various city boards, commissions, and councils. The planned North Lot Tower near Qwest Field will undergo a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Sleep in a bit – COBE starts at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday
Usually the Council’s Committee on the Built Environment (COBE) meetings begin at 9 a.m. or 9:30 a.m. Tomorrow’s meeting, one of the more anticipated of the year, will begin instead at 10:30 a.m. due...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Just a sample of the more than 4,000
The proposal for a new basketball arena has launched many thousand emails to councilmembers as of early July and I know there will be many more to come. While the emails break down into the “for” and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Not all homes that float are floating homes. Or barges. Or boats.
Once in a while I come to think that a particular subject is the most complicated of the various issues that come before the Council. Land use is complicated, but it’s nothing compared to taxi...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Small lot rules
We adopted new rules on small lot infill houses Monday, rules I believe will stop the terrible “grain silo” and “alley skyscraper” houses that popped up on previously unrecognized lots all over the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Rise of Microhousing
First we called them aPodments, but that soon switched to micros. Whatever you call them, they inspire either horror at the resurgence of the old-time single-room-occupancy hotel or they look to be the...
View Article
