A slide from a recent MHA presentation to the City Council. The full set from the presentation is below.
Tuesday night, neighbors in northeast Seattle’s District 4 attended the first in a series of Mandatory Housing Affordability open houses planned across the city — our joint District 3 and District 7 session is lined up for the end of March:
Seattle Department of Neighborhoods will be hosting open houses throughout the city to provide everyone the opportunity to look at the revised Mandatory Housing Affordability maps and learn more about livability in Seattle.
These open houses are a great chance to talk with City staff from various departments, connect with your neighbors, and share information. All ages are welcome, so feel free to bring the kids. We will have complimentary food and beverages.
Need a refresher on Mandatory Housing Affordability (MHA) before the open house? MHA is a new policy to ensure that growth brings affordability. MHA will require new development to include affordable homes or contribute to a City fund for affordable housing. To put MHA into effect, the City of Seattle needs to make zoning changes that add development capacity and expand housing choices. Learn more at seattle.gov/hala.
Citywide Open Houses
- District 4 Open House: January 30, 6-8pm at Hamilton International Middle School
- District 5 + 6 Open House: February 28, 6-8pm at Whitman Middle School Gym
- District 3 + 7 Open House: March 29, 6-8pm at Washington Hall
- District 2 Open House: April 28, 10am-12pm at New Holly Gathering Hall
- District 1 Open House: May 9, 6-8pm at Louisa Boren K-8
In November, CHS reported on the “Preferred Alternative Zoning” component of the MHA plan that would bring 75-foot building heights to Broadway and “neighborhood commercial” zoning that would allow seven-story buildings with commercial use throughout. Some of the bigger changes would also come around the Miller Community Center. Moving toward the Central District, most proposed changes are focused on the area around Madison and 23rd with notable exceptions around 23rd and Union and 23rd and Jackson where surgical upzoning has already been approved.
Under the MHA framework, affordability requirements chained to the upzoning vary by “scale” and developers can choose to pay fees instead of including rent-restricted units.
Neighborhood groups around the city have threatened opposition to the plan.
Below, you’ll find slides from a recent City Council presentation on the MHA plan:
PLEASE HELP KEEP CHS PAYWALL-FREE!
Subscribe to CHS to help us pay writers and photographers to cover the neighborhood. CHS is a pay what you can community news site with no required sign-in or paywall. Become a subscriber to help us cover the neighborhood for as little as $5 a month.
