Mar

16

Affordability, Sustainablity and Livability: Thoughts on how we debate our future

Filed Under Innovation, Politics, Sustainability, The Bottom Line, Zoning | Leave a Comment

Originally posted on Facebook

After spending a lot of time in 2008 watching local land use debates and discussions I found myself feeling more than a little frustrated. Where was all this going? Council discussions seemed to lack focus on a broader agenda for the city. That agenda could be the Comprehensive Plan but that document has become a repository for ‘good ideas’ and political statements. One would often hear “sure put it in the Comp Plan; it doesn’t mean we actually have to do it.”

But what if someone asked me “what should our larger focus be, Roger?” I felt as though I needed to at least think through my answer. At the time it seemed to me that it all came down to making the city affordable to a wide range of people, supporting a self-sufficient and sustainable city and making the city livable.

So I proposed that we create a series based on these three ideas and solicit people’s best and most succinct thoughts on each topic. The Affordability, Sustainability, Livability series was born. Thanks to Shawna at the DJC we were on our way to at least sparking some discussion about the bigger picture. Seattle is missing a determined effort define what we want and measure our progress toward getting it–whatever it is.

That is why the whole series ends up being about definition and measurement. My experience thus far is there isn’t much enthusiasm out there for defining and measuring anything. Defining and measuring doesn’t make for great campaign slogans.”Vote for me and I will work to get us a clear idea of how far we have to go to effectively address the issues we face as a city!” Not exactly “I Like Ike!”

Unfortunately discussion on zoning, for example, tends to fall along party lines, not Democrat or Republican, but various interest groups claiming they will lose if certain legislation passes. Whether its a parking lot in Capitol Hill or incentive zoning its always a scrimmage between the developer who needs to get the project moving, the local neighborhood and parties on either side that see this particular project as representative of “what’s wrong with Seattle.”

If this does not substantially change our city will not be able to make progress on addressing big issues like the viaduct, climate change and the health of Puget Sound. And our city simply cannot prepare for coming growth amid such economic turmoil by having a house to house fight (see Edith Macefield) on issues like land use and housing. It will simply be a case of Bambi Meets Godzilla. We will be crushed by events and we’ll just have to live with whatever happens to our natural and built environment and our economy.

I hope that doesn’t happen.

If you have thoughts on livability (50 words) please submit to them to Shawna (shawnag@djc.com) by Thursday of this week. It would be great to have you and others you know weigh in.

Mar

12

Streets for People Kickoff Forum Video

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Did you miss the Streets for People forum?  Never fear because David Albright recorded it for SeattleIAM.com

Check it out:
Streets for People Forum Kickoff Video

http://www.seattleiam.com/videos/e663bb77ed46

Mar

11

Have a good idea for Rain Garden?

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From our friends at Stewardship Partners:

“As you may know, Stewardship Partners is promoting Low Impact Development (LID) practices to the building community throughout central Puget Sound as a means to reduce polluted stormwater runoff and protect fish and wildlife habitat.  Our current focus is a series of rain garden design and construction workshops for homeowners, facility managers, landscapers and the general public.  Rain gardens are an effective method for infiltrating stormwater while also enhancing habitat and beautifying the landscape.

As part of our Rain Garden Project, we have obtained funding to install six demonstration rain gardens around King County. We are currently seeking potential sites for the installations to take place.  Criteria include: adequate area for the rain garden (approx. 600 square feet), proximity to a building or other impervious surface that could drain into the rain garden, visible site with public interface, willingness to participate in basic maintenance after initial 2 years, and educational mission and/or interest of the host (optional).  Potential recipients may include schools or universities, corporate campuses, public buildings, libraries, parks, or private residences. The recipient will not incur any costs for the installation.

If you have suggestions for potential host sites, please forward that to us (preferably with contact information). We will be making selections over the course of the next several weeks.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Larry Nussbaum
Program Director
Stewardship Partners
1411 Fourth Ave., Suite 1425
Seattle, WA 98101
ph: 206-292-9875
www.stewardshippartners.org

Mar

11

“A Crisis is a Terrible Thing to Waste”

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Richard Florida author of The Rise of the Creative Class has a great article in the Atlantic Monthly about “How the Crash will Reshape America”  check it out for Florida’s predictions about how American Cities, housing, and economic centers will shift.  See below for a pdf of the article.

how-the-crash-will-reshape-america-r-florida-atlantic3-09

Mar

10

Seattle’s Proposed Multifamily Zoning Changes

Filed Under Uncategorized, Zoning | Leave a Comment

It’s here!  The Mayor’s office has released a 277 page document proposing updates to Seattle’s vintage 80′s multi-family zoning code.  From the overview, it looks to be a tiny, wobbly baby step in the right direction. However, its general focus seems to be on maintaining  Seattle’s commitment to unsustainable, traffic-generating, climate-destabilizing exclusionary zoning.   If global warming is a house on fire, the Mayor is proposing that we dribble some lukewarm beer on it.  Which, I suppose, is better than ignoring it.

The steps in the right direction:

  • Reduction in parking requirements;
  • Acknowledgment that people may want to live near transit hubs;
  • Floor Area Ratios instead of footprint controls in L3 zones, plus additional floor bonuses in Station Areas;
  • Substantial height bonuses for “affordable” high-rise housing on First Hill

Over the next few months, Sally Clark’s Land Use Committee will be working on this. While the update doesn’t look like it will do much to improve Seattle, it probably won’t do much harm. Unless you think missing an opportunity to mitigate traffic, sprawl, and climate destabilization is harmful.

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