Wilson Pledges 'Taller, Denser, Faster' Housing Growth Plan
Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson told a packed room at the Housing Development Consortium (HDC) luncheon on Tuesday that she had breaking housing news. Namely, she would be take a "taller, denser, faster" approach, expanding the scope of the supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), which is needed to clear the way for upzones.
"So breaking news, we are going to basically revisit the original phases three and four plan to be far more aggressive with our timeline and scope," Wilson said. "This is really a housing acceleration plan. And so this basically looks at doing a new supplemental EIS with a more ambitious, inclusive scope of potential land use and zoning changes. So likely these will include zoning for more housing within walking distance to transit, not just along our busy arterial streets."
A press release on Thursday clarified that the mayor's approach would mean broader changes in upcoming Phase 3 rezone legislation, which they hope to pass in 2027. Previously, some of the bolder changes were tabbed for a Phase 4 that would have needed to wait for 2028 or later, since City planning staff would have been busy working on a less ambitious Phase 3.
Wilson's new Phase 3 plan appeared to be welcome news for the hundreds of officials and affordable housing professionals gathered in the Seattle Convention Center Summit Ballroom. Seattle's scarcity of multifamily zoning is just as much a hindrance to nonprofit builders as it is in the private sector, forcing builders to bid up the limited land set aside for apartments.
https://www.theurbanist.org/wilson-pledges-taller-denser-faster-housing-growth-plan/