West Green Lake
Community Group

West Green Lake Community GroupWest Green Lake Community GroupWest Green Lake Community Group
  • About Us
  • What's Happening?
    • What is HB 1110?
    • What Is the Mayor's Plan?
  • What We Support
    • What We Support and Why
  • Take Action
    • Make Your Opinion Known
    • Contact us
  • More
    • About Us
    • What's Happening?
      • What is HB 1110?
      • What Is the Mayor's Plan?
    • What We Support
      • What We Support and Why
    • Take Action
      • Make Your Opinion Known
      • Contact us

West Green Lake
Community Group

West Green Lake Community GroupWest Green Lake Community GroupWest Green Lake Community Group
  • About Us
  • What's Happening?
    • What is HB 1110?
    • What Is the Mayor's Plan?
  • What We Support
    • What We Support and Why
  • Take Action
    • Make Your Opinion Known
    • Contact us

Welcome!

Let's Move Together - Toward more quality, Affordable housing in seattle

Let's Move Together - Toward more quality, Affordable housing in seattleLet's Move Together - Toward more quality, Affordable housing in seattleLet's Move Together - Toward more quality, Affordable housing in seattle

We advocate for more affordable housing while PRESERVING the character of our neighborhoods.

Not Only For West Green Lake - But All Our Neighborhoods

Our Mission

The West Green Lake Community Group is dedicated to advocating for sustainable development in our neighborhood and throughout Seattle. We want to ensure our communities welcome new neighbors and thrive, while at the same time preserving each neighborhood's quality and character.

in a nutshell

A sweeping up-zone of residential Seattle is in the final planning stages.

Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell's proposed One Seattle Plan is a comprehensive growth strategy that is timed to coincide with, but goes way beyond, the already state-mandated increase in housing required in Washington cities by Washington State House Bill 1110 (HB 1110). 


Among other things, the Mayor's plan creates 30 newly-defined "Neighborhood Centers" throughout the city. 


The majority of us in West Green Lake only learned about this re-definition of our neighborhood through a flyer left at our doorsteps on December 15, 2024, saying "URGENT: public feedback to the OPCD (Office of Planning and Community Development) closes December 20"!


Since then, we have learned this was the same for many neighborhoods that would be designated and upzoned as "Neighborhood Centers". Many hundreds of residents have been scrambling to understand and respond to these complex and sweeping proposed changes.


The Mayor's dramatically expanded plan is in the final process of public feedback, review of the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), appeals, amendments, revisions, etc., and will soon go back to the City Council for adoption.


There is still time to make your voices heard.


Background: What is HB 1110?

This mandate was passed by the state legislature 2023. It applies to cities across the state. Seattle is required to adopt new zoning to comply with HB 1110 by June 30, 2025.  It requires the city to allow four to six units on all residential lots throughout the city. Here are the core requirements.


  • Middle Housing Types: Cities must allow a range of middle housing types on all residential lots. This can include duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, fiveplexes, sixplexes, townhouses, stacked flats, courtyard apartments, and cottage housing.


  • Unit Allowance: Cities must allow at least four units on all residential lots, and at least six units if located within a quarter mile of a major transit stop or if at least two units are affordable. Note: In Seattle, developers can opt to pay a fee to the city instead of actually providing affordable units and still get the additional number-of-units benefit.


  • Design Review and Parking: The bill mandates the streamlining of design review processes and restricts the ability to require off-street parking.

What is Mayor Harrell's "One Seattle Plan"?

The mayor’s proposed plan adds on to HB 1110 by:

 

· Creating “Neighborhood Centers”: newly defined and upzoned “Neighborhood Centers” (30 of them), would be established throughout the city.

· Redefining and upzoning existing areas: expanding and upzoning existing Regional and Urban Centers, Commercial Centers and areas along frequent transit arterials.


  In addition,


  • Decreasing front and back setbacks from sidewalks (10 feet) and alleys (0 feet).
  • Increasing the allowed footprint of structures on residential lots, decreasing space for yards, trees, gardens, etc.
  • Increasing the height limit to encourage multi-unit apartment buildings. 
  • Allowing no off-street parking to be provided.


The One Seattle Plan, which can be seen in its entirety here, admirably purports to create a more equitable, affordable future for the city and take steps that will make neighborhoods more economically and racially inclusive. 


We fully support the goals of abundance and affordability of housing. We are not convinced that would be the result.

If you want more in-depth information:

What is state HB1110 and what does it do?

What is the Mayor's plan and what would it do?

What is the Mayor's plan and what would it do?

HB1110 is the already mandated state plan that requires cities to allow what is called Middle Housing: 4 to 6 units on all residential lots, depending on their proximity to major transit. It allows developers to qualify for six units if two are affordable (or they pay into a city fund instead). There are 9 housing types shown as permissible - none are high rise appartments. HB1110 goes into effect June 30 of this year.

In-depth

What is the Mayor's plan and what would it do?

What is the Mayor's plan and what would it do?

What is the Mayor's plan and what would it do?

The Mayor's One Seattle Plan goes beyond HB1110 to upzone significantly in newly defined areas, such as 30 designated "Neighborhood Centers"  located throughout the city, including West Green Lake. It specifically encourages increased heights for apartment buildings with no additional parking, narrower setbacks from sidewalks, larger building footprint (less green space) and more. 

In-depth

Why we support the solution we do.

What is the Mayor's plan and what would it do?

Why we support the solution we do.

The goal of affordable housing in a city that has become too expensive for so many is a goal we all share. However, there are important ramifications, unanswered questions and concerns about the One Seattle Plan that should be addressed before we adopt  a template for future construction that may not result in the quality affordable housing the plan promises and we all want and need.

Our Reasoning

we support

The Wiser Path

Seattle City Council should fulfill the housing standards and zoning required by HB 1110 ONLY at this time. 


The zoning required by the new State mandate can be achieved by the deadline of June 30, and the adoption of the more sweeping Mayor's One Seattle Plan can be postponed until significant questions and concerns are satisfied.

See why that's important

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