The Seattle City Council’s comprehensive growth plan committee will move forward this week with a major question answered. No, the six appeals filed against the growth plan proposal will not bring the process to a halt.

Last week, the city’s Hearing Examiner dismissed the appeals including cases representing Madison Valley, Mount Baker, Hawthorne Hills, and “73 remaining Southern resident killer whales” in a single filing. “None of those issues gained traction or won a day in appeals court thanks to a 2022 state ‘safe harbor’ law that exempts actions taken by local governments to increase housing capacity from appeals under the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA),” the Urbanist reports.

The council’s comp plan committee led by District 3 representative Joy Hollingsworth, meanwhile, can resume its path toward finalizing a new 20-year growth plan for the city that includes new “neighborhood centers” across the city including D3’s Madison Park, Madison Valley, Montlake, and Madrona. The designation could “allow residential and mixed-use buildings up to 6 stories in the core and 4- and 5-story residential buildings toward the edges,” according to the proposal.

Councilmembers Wednesday afternoon will be briefed on the Interim State Zoning Compliance ordinance that will put Seattle in alignment with state law under HB 1110.

“The law requires that the City allow middle housing on lots zoned predominantly for residential uses,” a brief from the council reads. “Until last Friday, the Council was unable to consider permanent legislation due to six separate legal challenges to the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS). All six have been dismissed, however the committee will still need to consider the interim legislation in order to make HB 1110’s June 30 compliance deadline.”

CHS reported here on the interim proposal.

The council promises more details on the Comprehensive Plan meeting schedule and permanent legislation process will be available “in the coming days.”

The interim legislation lines up with Hollingsworth’s Phase 1 and Phase 2 approach to forging a compromise on the plan but has created another round of debate when it comes to making the interim rules permanent.

Phase 1 of the legislation was intended to finalize the structure of the comprehensive plan and Neighborhood Residential updates to implement HB 1110. That’s the part that will say “Neighborhood Centers” exist — or they don’t — and these are the parameters.

The compromises over drawing the actual lines will be pushed into summer as the council considers Phase 2 including rezones for the new Neighborhood Centers, new and expanded Regional and Urban Centers, and “select arterial rezones along frequent transit routes.”

The interim step has created a third phase to be squeezed in as summer’s deadline for implementing HB 1110 approaches.

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