fairness and justice, Design ReviewDRA Seattleseattle livability, seattle, seattlecitycouncil, seattledevelopers, seattle developers, Affordable housing, affordablehousing

Developers want more Administrative Design Review. Will the Council serve it to them?

fairness and justice, Design ReviewDRA Seattleseattle livability, seattle, seattlecitycouncil, seattledevelopers, seattle developers, Affordable housing, affordablehousing
Developers want more Administrative Design Review. Will the Council serve it to them?

Despite public outcry, last April our Council passed temporary emergency legislation CB119769 to replace in-person public design review with the City’s internal administrative design review process (ADR) until online meetings could begin. 

They said it was necessary to expedite affordable housing in a pandemic.  They emphasized it was temporary. 

Online Design Review launched in August. Despite the economic downturn, in the four months ADR was available, we now know 70 market rate applications were filed.  June alone saw a record-breaking $600 million in valuation.  At the same time, 11 affordable housing projects of unknown value were exempted from any kind of review. 

At a ratio of 7:1, CB119769 was a bonanza for private development, not affordable housing. 

This may explain “minor” changes proposed in new legislation CB119877.  Described as a bill to extend virtual design review until it’s safe to meet in person, the bill also holds the door open for projects that applied under ADR to continue in that track through the end of the year.

In downtown, that would mean internal review for a 53-story, 571-unit mixed-use luxury apartment building and three hotels. These are major projects that need and benefit from Design Review Board and neighbors’ input.  Ask yourself, ‘who benefits from internal reviews?’

CB119877 will have a public hearing next Wednesday, September 23 at 9:30 a.m. If you support and want to preserve the public process and are tired of bending rules for developers, please send the City Council a clear message:

Council Members, please keep your word.  Continue virtual Design Review meetings but amend CB119877 and don’t allow for any extension of ADR for market rate projects.  Accommodating developers should not come at the expense of public participation.

fairness and justice, LivabilityDRA Seattleseattle, seattlecitycouncil, justice, seattlejusticeComment

District 7 Council Candidates Answer Key Questions

After researching all of candidates in the District 7 Seattle City Council race, attending a number of Candidate Forums, and talking with the five we thought were best aligned with our values and downtown livability, we emailed each of them a list of five key questions and asked for short, succinct answers. Below are the answers we received, in alphabetical order, without edits:

fairness and justice, LivabilityDRA Seattleseattle, seattlecitycouncil, justice, seattlejusticeComment
District 7 Council Candidates Answer Key Questions
Design Review, fairness and justice, Livability, Residential Dev StandardsDRA Seattleseattle, seattledesignreview, SEPA, sepaComment

It’s Time for Seattle to ‘Walk The Talk’ with Progressive Values

City Council and the Mayor passed a Green New Deal, proclaiming a future where “the social and ecological well-being of all people is prioritized over the profit of private corporations.”

But what happens when progressive values collide with Seattle reality? All of the talk goes down the drain, big developers win, and citizens lose; because of the City’s insatiable appetite for money.

Design Review, fairness and justice, Livability, Residential Dev StandardsDRA Seattleseattle, seattledesignreview, SEPA, sepaComment
It’s Time for Seattle to ‘Walk The Talk’ with Progressive Values