The City Council has received the Mayor’s proposed zoning changes intended to meet future growth by raising building height and density limits in the Downtown Core and Denny Triangle. The criteria for a key element, regarding new housing bonuses for residential developers voluntarily providing affordable housing, is not included in the proposal. “The goals of the Mayor’s proposal are sound,” said Councilmember Peter Steinbrueck, chair of the Urban Development and Planning Committee. “We now need to examine its fine details and ask: Will this truly make Seattle more livable and preserve our cherished quality of life?” The Council has contracted with planning experts in Vancouver, British Columbia to help answer those questions and evaluate the new proposal. Vancouver’s success in achieving both building density and livability has been lauded internationally. The Downtown Seattle Association has called Vancouver’s good urban planning a model for Seattle. “Vancouver is one of the world’s great cities, said Steinbrueck, “It makes sense to learn from the experts who are recognized worldwide to be on the forefront of urban planning.” Ray Spaxman of Spaxman Consulting Group, a former director of Vancouver’s planning department and Larry Beasley, Vancouver’s planning co-director and adjunct professor of Planning at the University of British Columbia, will share the lessons learned and best planning practices of Vancouver as they weigh the strengths of the Mayor’s proposals against Seattle’s guiding principles set down in a Resolution (30759) and passed by the City Council in April 2005. “I am interested in learning how Vancouver has prevented the loss of housing for low and moderate income residents,” said Councilmember Tom Rasmussen. “Any increase in density must include plans for housing people of all income levels,” he added. Spaxman and Beasley will offer recommendations on how to enhance livability through a better balance of jobs and housing. They will meet with Seattle stakeholders and present their findings to the City Council as well as at a public forum to be announced at a later date. Seattle City Council consults Vancouver experts on downtown zoning – 05-25-05 – Page 2
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The Eaton wildfire in Los Angeles has resulted in at least 10 fatalities, the destruction of thousands of homes, and the displacement of 180,000 residents, with a significant impact on the Black community in Altadena, where many Black homeowners had established generational wealth.
