Today will be broken into two sessions.
Session one just began at 9.34 and will be reserved for remote public comment.
Registration started at 8.30 a.m.
and will remain open until 10.30 a.m.
Our goal is to get through all remote speakers during this morning session and recess around 12.30 p.m.
or earlier, depending on the number of registered speakers.
And if we don't get through all remote speakers by 12.30 p.m., then those remaining speakers will be recognized during our second session.
Session two will begin at 3 p.m.
and is reserved for in-person commenters and any remaining remote speakers should there be any.
Registration to speak in person will start at 2.30 p.m.
at City Hall and will remain open until 6.30 p.m.
members of the public who would like to provide comments during either session one or two must register before the deadline during our in-person comment period if you are part of a group with four or more people signed up and you would like to combine your time you are welcome to do so groups will receive four minutes to give their comments but the people in that group will not be able to then give separate individual public comment if you want to review our public hearing comment rules they are listed on the agenda for this meeting which can be found on our website or at the podium and again I want to emphasize that this hearing does have a registration deadline if you want to speak at today's hearing you must register before the deadline again the deadlines are as follows remote registration open this morning at 8 30 a.m.
and will close at 10 30 a.m.
in-person registration at City Hall will start at 2 30 p.m.
and end at 6 30 p.m.
and one note for those attending the in-person portion of the public hearing tonight you can receive a reduced parking rate of eight dollars at the Sea Park garage across the street starting at 4 30 p.m.
Will the clerk please read item one into the record?
Agenda item one, Council Bill 121-173 relating to land use and zoning amending chapter 23.32 of Seattle Miss Book Code for public hearing.
Thank you.
The public hearing on Council Bill 121-173 is now open.
Clerk, how many speakers are currently registered?
Currently we have an estimated 50 speakers.
Thank you.
So each speaker will be provided one minute with approximately 50 speakers.
You should have a number when you registered.
We'll be starting with number two on our list and we'll go in batches.
It seems like most of the early numbers are President logged in So we'll be starting, I'll name a few names here just to give people a heads up.
We'll start with Ryan Tallon, then William Scott, then Emily Ponkey, and then Shiel Alvarez.
And so we will start here with Ryan Tallon.
Thank you, counsel.
My name is Ryan Talon.
I'm a registered nurse at Harborview.
In my work, I see the suffering caused by our housing crisis.
Patients come to us sick and oftentimes with nowhere stable to heal.
The medical problems are compounded by one root cause, homelessness and unstable housing, and their suffering is preventable.
I'm urging the counsel to make some changes to the comprehensive plan for forcing housing onto included arterials.
That's terrible for human healing, for human health.
I would urge you to expand housing density beyond arterials.
Second, make housing production pencil out better, increase floor area ratios and low-rise zones.
Our current limits make projects financially impossible and a higher floor area ratio, lose more homes without sprawling outward.
Third, reform the mandatory housing affordability program so that affordable units get created without killing our overall housing production.
Fourth, just increase housing variety, allow smaller setbacks in exchange for courtyards to create light, air, and community.
right now.
Our rules get in the way of these common sense designs.
And lastly, green building standards give high bonuses for passive housing and mass timber, then climate smart construction to the front of Seattle's future.
Council members, my patients can't wait for any longer for our housing solution to be fixed.
We need solutions now.
Please make these changes.
Thank you.
Thank you, Ryan.
We'll now move on to William Scott.
Hello, can you hear me?
Yes.
Okay, yeah, I'm Bill Scott.
I'm one of the neighbors who are petitioning to switch the LR3 zoning along a small strip of Northeast 45th Street to a better location within our neighborhood.
The problem with the strip that's currently identified between 40th Avenue Northeast and 45th Avenue Northeast and 45th Street is, first of all, it won't attract developers because it's located on a steep 12% grade.
and it's not close to any neighborhood center or transit hub, and it has no commercial services.
And there are much better locations that have transit hubs, have commercial services, et cetera, inside our neighborhood, along the commercial center, along Sandpoint Way, where there are multiple transit options, there are higher heights, services, infrastructure, and all these things make them much more suitable and economically viable for developers for additional housing without displacing current residents, and that's it.
Thank you.
Thank you, Bill.
Next up, Emily Ponkey.
Emily, please press star six.
Okay.
Can you hear me now?
Yes.
Hi.
Okay.
Good morning.
My name is Emily Pinkey.
I'm a parent in Wallingford and I'm here because the streets my children walk to school on every day are already unsafe.
Every morning on 40th Avenue, or 40th Avenue, I see drivers swerving around buses, speeding through the flashing crosswalks and struggling with the intense east-west glare that these streets encounter on our sunny days.
Mature streets along that corridor help buffer pedestrians and reduce that glare.
Losing to support five-story development would make an already risky situation worse.
35th isn't any better.
When we walk to Gasworks, it feels like a plain human fodder.
There's blind curves, no sidewalks on the north side.
and a blinding evening sun that drivers can't see pedestrians through.
So I have a simple question.
How much more can these streets actually take?
There are no passing lanes on either and there's nowhere to add them.
Yet the proposal would allow significant increases in height and density along this corridor has got a clear plan for safety.
Some added density definitely makes sense but not maximum building height everywhere.
I'd like to extend an invitation for each member of the council to come walk to school with me and my children and other families to see just how unsafe these corridors already are and
Thank you, Emily.
Next up will be Sho Alvarez.
If you could call in Sho Alvarez.
Okay, moving on.
So the next up, we will have a few Dylan Glasecki and then Rick Kay and then Logan Schmidt and then Anne Tyson.
So next up, Dylan Glasecki.
Dylan, you might be muted on your phone.
There you go.
Can you guys hear me?
Yes, we can hear you now.
Thank you.
Great.
Hi, my name is Dylan Glusek.
I'm an architect and urban designer and a member of the Seattle Planning Commission.
Can you speak up today on my own?
Sorry, Dylan.
Can you speak up a little bit louder?
Can you guys hear me now?
Yeah, thank you.
We'll reset your time.
Yeah, this is coming through better.
Okay, thanks.
Um, so my name is Dylan Glasecki.
I'm an architect and urban designer and member of the Seattle Planning Commission.
The opinions I'm sharing today are my own.
I'm a 20-year Seattle resident, currently residing in the Central District in B3, and is a father for 10-year-old with bikes and buses all over the city with me.
Uh, I think about him and his future as we experience Seattle together as I offer these remarks.
Um, I've spent the past six years studying and mapping small-scale commercial cores in the heart of Seattle's neighborhood centers.
Uh, on my count, there are over 80 8-0 existing neighborhood centers spread throughout our city.
It's this network of neighborhood centers that is key to providing Seattle with a framework for becoming a 15-minute city where every resident lives within a 15-minute walk or roll through everyday shopping purposes.
This current legislation proposes 30 neighborhood centers.
It's a good start.
Let's get to the past without delay.
Let's continue to build on this.
Again, by my count, 30 is only less than halfway towards building out Seattle's complete network of neighborhood centers.
police class this legislation and continue to build on it by adding more neighborhood centers as we move forward.
Thank you so much.
Thank you, Dylan.
Next up, Rick Kay.
Let's be clear.
Upzoning is not the same as growth.
Excessive upzoning brings higher costs and simply prioritizes displacement over infill.
It's neither scientifically sound nor compassionate.
City Council, you have a responsibility to know the truth and to tell the truth.
You don't get to hide behind an excuse that you've been misled by city staff and heavy lobbying and propaganda from the investment companies.
You have a responsibility to be good stewards of the city's assets.
The current proposals for excessive upzoning and deregulation, not only- They must have disconnected themselves.
Okay.
But they're off.
Okay, moving on to the next...
Moving on to the next speaker, Logan Schmidt.
Good morning, Chair Lynn and members of the Select Committee.
My name is Logan Schmidt with the Master Builders Association of King and Sonomish Counties.
I'm a D5 President.
I am back in support of the Neighborhood Residential Development Standards Council adopted in Phase 1, and we're glad to see that momentum carrying into the centers and corridors.
but we must see low-rise standards go further than currently proposed in the transmitted legislation.
Right now, you can achieve higher density capacity in NR than you can in LR 1 and 2 and that has to change.
We need FAR at 1.8 for LR 1 and 2 to create a genuine step up in housing capacity, a way to incentivize and grow within low-rise.
We also urge the community to maximize housing potential through the courtyard block and green building bonuses and expanded zoning along frequent transit corridors and near major parks.
And back to this committee to making a home happen, and we look forward to continuing the partnership through Phase 2 and beyond.
Thank you.
Thank you, Logan.
And for any members who, I think for Rick Kay, you got maybe disconnected.
If you wanna email us the rest of your comments or anyone else who is not able to get all their comments in while speaking, please go ahead and email us the remainder of your comments.
Moving on, next up, we have, I'll name a few, Ann Tyson, if you could call in, David Hill, Sarah Davis, and Melissa Neher.
Ann Tyson, are you, could you call in?
Okay, moving on, David Hill, you're up next.
Good morning.
My name is David Hill.
I've lived in Seattle for 15 years, and I'm a member of the Transit Riders Union.
Last year, I moved to the Roosevelt neighborhood specifically because of its density and the fact that it sits at the nexus of several major transit corridors.
Living there, I see our vision for Seattle actually working fantastically, both for me and my many cool neighbors, but it shouldn't be a luxury or a rare exception.
We shouldn't treat our housing shortage like a mysterious natural disaster when it's actually a policy choice.
I'm asking you to build on the success of neighborhoods like Roosevelt and maximize that model everywhere.
Push the density limits in neighborhood centers and transit corridors as far as they can go.
Beyond just housing, if we don't build up, we sprawl out, which is the worst thing we can do for our environment.
It's time to stop being timid with the maps and make it legal for more people to live near a bus stop.
Thank you for your time.
Thank you.
Next up, Sarah Davis.
Hi, I am a resident of Northeast Seattle.
I am here to call out this performative token public engagement process and what residents are being told behind the scenes.
Thousands of residents have submitted comments and petitions asking to have their voices heard and how their beloved neighborhoods grow and become more dense.
But in private conversations, residents have been told by council members that fighting this is pointless, the votes are not there, the council doesn't care about displacement, the council and the mayor want a more extreme plan, not a moderate one.
In my neighborhood, the people who will be displaced are a single mother with two children, an elderly couple, and an elderly widow, a disabled veteran, older renters who live in affordable apartments.
The current draft is legally flawed, pushing forward will only lead to lawsuits, delays, and more divisions.
We are seeing at a national and now local level here in Seattle that people in power don't actually care about the democratic process, and they only speak for their own political agenda.
Their willy and nature of this plan is that it pretends to help poor people when in fact it mostly helps rich developers.
Thank you, Sarah.
Next up, Melissa Nair.
Good morning.
I'm executive director of AIA Seattle, an organization with over 2,600 members who envision Seattle as a 15-minute livable city with housing, amenities, and transit accessible to everyone.
Increasing supply and diversity of housing is essential to this vision.
We asked the committee to consider key improvements for the center and corridors legislation by increasing potential places for new housing by expanding corridors, adding more housing sites and neighborhood centers, and making sure up-zoning is consistent with the racial and social equity index.
Secondly, simplifying complex zoning and development standards to make it easier to create housing, And thirdly, under the current MHA structure, missing middle housing projects are too costly for developers and not being built.
So funds are not being raised.
The city needs to study alternative MHA structures to address this barrier.
And finally, make it easier for the public to monitor and evaluate housing production across the city.
Thank you.
Thank you, Melissa.
Rick Kaye, I see that you've logged back in and since you were disconnected earlier, we'll go ahead and one minute.
Let's go back and start your testimony over.
So we'll give you one minute.
Thank you.
Let's be clear.
Upzoning is not the same as growth.
Excessive upzoning brings higher costs and simply prioritizes displacement over infill.
It's neither scientifically sound nor compassionate.
City Council, you have a responsibility to know the truth and to tell the truth.
You don't get to hide behind an excuse that you've been misled by city staff and heavy lobbying and propaganda from the investment companies.
You have a responsibility to be good stewards of the city's assets.
The current proposals for excessive up-zoning and deregulation not only don't capture zoning value for current public benefit, they also prevent future city governments from getting fair value for it.
The current plan of excessive up-zoning reflects corporate capture.
A giveaway of up-zones far beyond what would actually be built, with no promise of actual growth in return, enables them to sue if future administrations try to make them pay a fair share.
None of you will be in office forever.
If you only do one thing in this term, please implement public engagement with systemic accountability built in.
This public comment process is for monologues only, not real engagement, which is what is needed for actual citizen involvement and not corporate capture.
Thank you, Rick.
The next group of speakers will be, and we're up to number 12. So it'll be Jeff Reibman, Iskra Johnson, Sarah Scott, and Megan Cruz.
So we'll start with Jeff Reibman.
Hello, thank you.
My name's Jeff Reibman.
I'm a partner with Weber Thompson Architects.
I specialize in affordable housing.
I'm here to speak in support of more housing throughout Seattle.
In particular, I want to address the proposed Verbena Neighborhood Center.
One particular property within the Neighborhood Center is the Ida Culber House, located at 2315 North East 65th Street.
Ida Culber House has been providing senior housing on site for 75 years.
The building needs to be modernized, and the new 140-unit facility is proposed to continue serving seniors in the area.
The parcel is currently split zoned.
The front is along 65th Zone of the commercial, while the rear portion of the parcel is zoned for residential development.
The existing use predates this zoning designation.
Split zone parcels are usually created by accident when property lines are atypical and do not align with broader zoning boundaries.
They are extremely challenging to develop.
The current proposal does not recognize the special condition and perpetuates the split zone.
We request the city take this opportunity to resolve the split zone and adjust the map to include the entire parcel in the NC zone to facilitate redevelopment of the continued housing seniors on the site.
Thank you, Jeff.
Next up, Iskra Johnson.
Thank you.
Can you hear me?
Yes.
Right now, I am listening to a chainsaw, clear-cutting a lot next door where affordable rental housing was torn down for luxury development.
Phase two of the comp plan doubles down on what has been a campaign of gentrification and displacement driven by the profit demands of developers and private equity.
Density alone does not make a city affordable or livable, and new studies show that planning based on market-driven up zones for density simply perpetuate patterns of inequality.
Instead of building taller at Inser faster, I urge the Council to pause.
There is no legal deadline to rush through the planning process.
The circumstances that created the tech boom and housing shortage in Seattle are changing overnight.
This plan is out of date already.
In 2025, we lost 13,000 tech jobs.
January, over 19,000.
Pause.
Study how the upzoning already done is working.
Read the new research.
Look at cities like Charleston, where the neighborhoods are invited to participate in planning from the bottom up and create truly livable and affordable cities.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Next up, Sarah Scott.
Next up, Megan Cruz.
Good morning.
I'm Megan Cruz, a downtown resident with two requests.
The first is to simply publish a future land use map for downtown.
Zoning decisions require a transparent framework for residents to see.
Second, we need land use policy based in research and facts on the ground.
Ten years of upzoning, MHA, and a major building boot has not produced affordable housing here.
27% of units downtown are empty or only occasionally occupied, twice the rate of the rest of Seattle and King County.
Research from London to Vancouver warrants that unchecked upzoning fuels speculation and rising land prices, pushing affordability even further out of reach.
It's time to pursue alternatives like mandatory inclusionary zoning, land value recapture, and residential conversion of historic buildings.
Downtown will become Seattle's largest neighborhood, and it should be available to all.
To do that, our land needs to be transparent, evidence-based, and focused on real affordability outcomes.
Thank you.
Thank you.
And we're going to go back to an earlier speaker, Shio Alvarez, if you could press star six.
Can you hear me?
Yes.
Viva Alvarez and I'm here today on behalf of the Seattle Planning Commission.
The Planning Commission supports the adoption of the centers and corridors legislation without further reduction in development capacity or removal of proposed areas.
Implementation of this new model is a critical step towards addressing the impacts of racially exclusive and discriminatory housing and land use practices, reducing car dependency and locating more affordable homes near amenities services and jobs allows our city to grow more sustainably, more prosperously, and more equitably to meet the future.
That said, the Commission has previously expressed her concerns about concentrating rental units among the most affordable housing options in the city along high-traffic arterials and freight routes, which often overlap with high-capacity trending corridors.
We would like to see the nuanced consideration of the access benefits these corridors provide with the mitigation of negative public health impacts living along them.
Now that the One Seattle Plan has been adopted and its future land use map is finalized, The planning commission encourages maximizing the effective zoning potential within the revised center boundaries.
The commission furthermore supports the expanding of both the network of neighborhood centers and the boundaries of corridor zones.
Thank you.
Thank you.
And to Sarah Scott, if you want to call back in, we can circle back to you.
But the next up on the list is we have a few.
Oh, this looks like Sarah Scott, are you present?
If you could hit star six, you're next.
Hi.
Hi.
Oh, hi.
Yes.
Thank you.
Good morning.
I'm a senior and a single mom.
My son, who has a disability, and I live together on a fixed income.
I was born and raised in Seattle.
I raised my older children in our family home.
I just want to say that displacement is real for people like us and others, seniors, people with disabilities, veterans, and more.
I'm talking about a small area on Northeast 45th between 40th and 45th Avenue.
This area really doesn't even follow into your own guidelines.
I'd like to know, why can't we switch this area, please?
What is stopping us from switching the small area to one that's much better suited?
Thank you very much for listening to me.
Thank you, Sarah.
The next group of folks will start at number 16. It is Judy Benditch, Ruby Holland, Bob Morgan, Jim Gant.
But actually before we get to that group, I see a prior speaker, Ann Tyson.
If you're there, we'll go to you first.
Ann Tyson, if you could press star six.
Can you hear me?
Yes.
Go ahead, Ann.
Hello?
Yes, we can hear you.
Good morning.
I know you want the best zoning solution, and so does my neighborhood in Northeast Seattle's District 4. It's already building more than 1,000 new units and thousands more are zoned for.
Several areas are proposed for low-rise three or five-story buildings.
but over 1,500 of my neighbors have petitioned to shift one small strip of this low-rise 3 to a different location right inside our neighborhood that can produce as many or more new units.
Why do we want this switch?
The better location is close to a commercial area with a pharmacy, grocery store, and multiple transit lines.
It's next to other low-rise 3 zoned areas with some higher heights already.
This placement is unlikely there.
In contrast, the area now slated for upzone, a tree-lined strip of Northeast 45th Street, has none of these benefits.
It has steep slopes, challenging to walk, limited transit, and literally no shops.
So displacement also is a real threat here for senior citizens on fixed incomes.
Please support this switch and make the plan more successful by listening to the grassroots.
Thank you.
Thank you, Ann.
Next up, Judy Bendage.
Good morning.
My name is Judy Bendich.
I've sent two letters to the council.
One addresses map 009 in Ravenna and LR2 and LR3 would eliminate a green park-like area that has been in the neighborhood well over 50 years.
It's right in back of the community center and senior housing and that should be rejected in its entirety.
The second letter addresses map 095 that would upzone to LR3 and dramatically reduce the size of the Ravenna Cowan North National Historic District which one of the previous councils in 2019 unanimously voted not to upzone.
So please leave both of these areas intact and I along with others who've already spoken really object to the lack of advance public notice and outreach, which should have started from the ground up so that everyone had the opportunity to comment on it and plan with it.
Thank you.
Thank you, Judy.
Next up, Ruby Holland.
Yes, my name is Ruby Holland.
The corridor's legislation is racist and racist.
still using the urban village strategy to have minorities and working class homeowners give their land to billionaires.
Seattle will never have affordable housing if these rich people are the only ones allowed to own land.
Affordable housing is important to everyone, but not at the CD's expense.
We've had our share of up-zoning and displacement.
That is why an anti-displacement plan was mandated for formerly redlined communities.
The anti-displacement plan mentioned in corridors is inadequate and untrue for keeping people housed.
We watched more housing get built after passage of MHA in 2019, and we also watched City Council approve $3,181 per month rent for a two-bedroom MTFE low-income apartment in November 2021.
Thank you, Ruby.
Next up, Bob Morgan.
Can you hear me?
Yes, we can.
Hello?
Great.
This council bill would resolve land throughout the city to the five-story L3 zone, where it shares boundaries with the neighborhood residential zone, a primarily three-story zone.
These abrupt transitions are contrary to the city's land use code for rezones, which call for gradual transitions of intensity and scale between zones.
There's an explicit provision in the land use code that compliance with the reason criteria constitutes consistency with the comprehensive plan.
Also another code requirement there is that the director report include an evaluation of the applicable reason standards and that's not been complied with.
These conditions make the proposal subject to legal challenge.
We recommend within 50 feet of a neighborhood residential lot change up zones to L1 or L2.
Drop up zones to L3 outside of centers where quarters are too narrow for required transitions.
If these two items are unacceptable, at least limit L3 height to 42 feet when it's within 50 feet of a neighborhood residential lot.
Use L2 outside of centers next to neighborhood residential zones and demand evaluation of resource standards by the director's report.
Our letter gives more detail on these codes.
Thank you, Jim.
The next group of speakers, we are up to speaker number 20. It is Lila Vidger, Maggie Lewis, Charles Trafford, Alexandra Johnson, and Patrick Taylor.
Oh, sorry.
Jim, oh, yep.
Next up, sorry.
Jim Gant, actually.
Jim Gant, you're number 19. Please go.
Council members, I'm a 100% disabled veteran living on a modest fixed income.
I'm here because I'm concerned about displacement of a small residential strip of northeast 45th Street.
Not just for me, but for my neighbor, also a disabled veteran, and several senior citizens on our block who want nothing more than to remain in their homes.
Upzoning this small strip could raise property taxes and financial pressure to a point where people like us are forced out.
This isn't just a neighborhood, it's a community.
These are my friends and we've built our lives here together.
And this is the wrong place for this kind of change.
Steep slopes, no services, limited transit, this area cannot support what's being proposed.
We've identified a better location nearby that can deliver the same number of units with better supporting infrastructure without displacing people like me.
Please help protect this community and move this zoning to where it truly works.
Thank you.
Thank you, Jim.
Next up, Lila Vidger.
Lila or Lila, if you could press star six.
Hi, I'm Lila Vidger.
I'm a clinical psychologist and I have raised three kids here on Queen Anne.
Please slow this process down.
What we are missing is a bold citywide plan for new public amenities and places for trees that will wrap every neighborhood in a green embrace.
The One Seattle plan doesn't show us how future growth will be balanced with the public spaces.
We need to maintain the city's quality of life and tree canopy.
As neighborhoods prepare for growth, we need to see how livability will be supported with new public amenities such as plazas, courtyards, parks, trails, bike lanes, boulevards, and trees.
Reducing the setback requirements for buildings and houses will lead to an inconsistent, chaotic, zigzag design, reducing light and greenery.
Thank you.
And before we move on to our next speaker, I just want to remind any member of the public who might want to speak remotely this morning, the sign-up deadline is at 1030, so you still have time to sign up.
Next up, Maggie.
Hello.
Next up is Maggie Lewis, if you could hit star six.
Maggie.
Hello.
I am speaking from West Seattle about MAP 184, about the east side of 46th Avenue Southwest between Southwest Myrtle and Southwest Frontenac, which is proposed to be up zoned from NR to LR3.
Block of 46th Avenue Southwest is an inadequate street to support the development of five story multi-unit structures in terms of safety and utility support.
The street is only 16 feet wide.
There's only one three foot wide sidewalk that has no parking strip.
People from the Kenny Retirement Home and children from Gatewood School cannot walk safely on the narrow sidewalk, which is not protected from cars.
Emergency vehicles such as fire engines at times cannot make the turn.
Honda 46 Southwest from Southwest Myrtle because of a telephone pole on the curb, parked vehicles, large delivery trucks at the retirement home.
In addition, regular sized solid waste trucks can't serve this street and the city must already send its smaller trucks to serve us.
Because of the safety and
Thank you, Maggie.
Next up, Charles Trafford.
Good morning.
My name is Charles Trafford.
I'm speaking regarding the Wedgwood One Seattle plan.
The city needs to address density, but the scope of this is far beyond what's reasonable.
We need thoughtful, well-planned zoning that offers both density and livability.
The city has not adequately considered the infrastructure.
None of it was ever designed for this.
Both 35th and 75th Avenue Northeast are gridlocked at rush hour.
75th, the two-lane road, is the only east-west access to the freeway for the roughly 40,000 people living in the affected neighborhoods from I-5 to Lake Washington.
Adding thousands more will exponentially compound the problem.
I suggest reducing the scope of the plan and reducing the zoning height four stories at maximum.
I also suggest considering developing the neighborhood along Lake City way north of 75th.
This area is near light rail, has appropriate access and is greatly underdeveloped.
Thank you.
Thank you, Charles.
Next up, Alexandra Johnson.
Hi, can you hear me?
Yes, we can.
Thank you.
Okay, good morning council members, thank you.
My name is Alexander Johnson and I'm here on behalf of the Duwamish Valley and specifically to comment on the planned zoning for South Park as a new neighborhood center.
South Park's median household income is just 40% of Seattle's AMI and low-income renters here are displaced at four times the rate of the rest of the city.
Yet every zoning tier currently proposed for our neighborhood center, LR1 through LR3, produces market rate housing requiring at minimum 60% AMI.
with development more likely to accommodate only above 120%.
That means virtually nothing being built will be affordable to the families who already live here and might be looking to move due to flooding, housing conditions, or ownership insecurity but not have to leave their community to do so.
Please convert all LR1 zoning to LR3.
Research also shows that 55 to 85 foot building heights are where per unit costs finally drop low enough to serve 0 to 80% AMI households.
There's currently zero planned zoning in South Park that reaches that threshold.
We urge the Council to adopt affordable housing overlay zones across all LRS
Thank you, Alexandra.
We are up to speaker number 24, so I'm gonna name off a few names.
Patrick Taylor, if you're out there, please call in.
Beth Birnbaum, Marilyn Smith, and Colleen McAleer.
Let's see, Patrick Taylor, it looks like we might need to circle back to you.
So next up, Beth Birnbaum, if you could hit star six, please.
Good morning, and thank you for the opportunity to speak.
I am calling in as a Northeast Seattle District 4 resident regarding the proposed change on Northeast 45th Street from 40th Avenue Northeast to 45th Avenue Northeast.
This is not aligned with the city's plan, which prioritizes growth near frequent transit neighborhood centers.
It is not.
It is located on a very steep grade, 12%, so it's not walkable.
It does not have nearby commercial services.
Neighbors in this area support using Sandpoint Way, SR 513, which has multiple transit options, higher height services and infrastructure, and is a much more suitable area place for building additional housing without displacing current residents.
Thank you for your time.
Thank you.
Next up, Marilyn Smith.
Good morning.
The director's report for the proposed centers and corridors legislation that's before you says, quote, neighborhood centers are located around existing commercial activity and frequent transit access.
I emphasize the word and.
Neighborhood centers were presented as places where people could walk and get transit to take care of their daily needs so they didn't have the need for cars.
However, the legislation you passed in December defines neighborhood centers as places located around a commercial core and or access to frequent transit.
By that definition, a neighborhood center can be any place with frequent transit whether or not it has amenities or place with some amenities with no access to frequent transit.
I don't think that's what you intended.
Please go back and amend the ordinance and take out the or of the and or.
It can't be and and or.
Thank you, Marilyn.
And for anyone who is unable to complete your testimony, please go ahead and email us the remainder or your complete testimony.
Next up, Colleen McAleer.
Good morning, City Council.
Colleen McAleer, representing 3400 residents in Northeast Seattle, our Community Center.
and we request to retain the 16 units along the neighborhood residential block of 45th Street Square and not up zone 55 feet.
Move that to a more compatible location and there's two of them in our neighborhood.
This particular street is an arbitrary zoning extension located on a slippery slope and just functions as a bathroom rest stop for Metro drivers.
The One Seattle Plan states page 26 designate neighborhood centers with areas focused on commercial core and frequent transit with diverse housing options.
Well, Northeast 45th Street, east of 40th Avenue does not meet this criteria.
There are no commercial services and there can't be in the middle of a residential neighborhood.
A better plan, the 16 existing homes, let them produce the four units that they're allowed to by HB 1110. And the other 120 units can be placed elsewhere in the very underdeveloped commercial areas right along Sandpoint Way with better access and on ground level.
Thank you so much.
Thank you, Colleen.
The next group, we are up to number 28. It's gonna be Mary Davis, Winslow Hayes, Greg Murphy, and Leo Kitchell.
So we'll start off with Mary Davis.
If you're present, please start, hit star six.
Can you hear me?
Yes, we can.
Can you hear me?
Yes.
My name is Mary Davis.
Thank you council members for your work on the complex job of addressing increased density and for the opportunity to speak.
First, the current proposed zoning does not reflect the provision for transitions that appeared in the plan that was approved.
Transitioning from LR3 to neighborhood residential is visually and socially more pleasing and in keeping with the character of our city.
and stark placement of five- and six-story buildings right next to 30-foot dwellings.
Transitioning also adds greater choices in types of housing.
Please transition between zoning categories within existing area boundaries.
Second, I encourage the Council to carefully revisit the impact of zoning next to our wonderful varied city parks.
Each is unique in character and offerings, type of location, adjacent streets, and number type and frequency of visitors.
Each requires general access and safety.
Please take care in offering.
Thank you, Mary.
Next up, Winslow Hayes.
Winslow, if you could hit star six.
Okay, we're going to move on.
Winslow, we'll come back to you.
Winslow, if you get a star six, otherwise we'll come back to you.
Okay, next up.
Can you hear me now?
Oh, yes, we can.
Go ahead.
Hello?
Yes, we can hear you.
Hello, my name is Winslow Hayes, a Seattle native and Wedgwood resident since 1984. I'm concerned about a very small but unique stretch of land on 34th and 35th Avenues Northeast, which will be zoned to NC2 55 in Phase 2. This stretch is one continuous block from Northeast 81st Street to Northeast 84th Street.
This piece of land is one lot deep and currently zoned as NR.
The lots run from 35th to 34th.
On the 35th side, there was a long line of at least 70 trees, mostly evergreens, that were planted in the 1940s.
On the 34th side, there are houses, yards, and other mature trees.
If this upzoning is approved, then either that long line of trees will be removed for five-story buildings facing onto 35th, or if the trees are spared, the buildings will face onto 34th, which makes no sense since 34th is a residential street.
Please restore the zoning to NR.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Next up, Greg Murphy.
Hi, thank you for the opportunity to speak.
My name is Greg Murphy.
I'm a resident of West Seattle.
I live in the neighborhood that is proposed to become the Holden Neighborhood District.
And I'm calling in to ask that you maintain the existing neighborhood residential zoning on 36th and 37th Avenue Southwest in the Holden Neighborhood District.
The reason for this is the proposed change to LR3 is going to bring 50 foot tall buildings as a patchwork into our neighborhood, a small single story and one and a half story homes, blocking lights, blocking views, diminishing our quality of life in that neighborhood.
Additionally, I don't think that our neighborhood infrastructure is scaled for 50 foot tall multifamily buildings.
We're about two miles from the nearest rapid transit.
station.
Our streets are narrow and our utility infrastructure for it.
So please uphold the NR with residential zoning.
Thanks.
Thank you, Greg.
Next up, Leo Kitchell.
Hello, Council.
My name is Leo Kitchell, longtime Seattle resident living on Cherry Hill.
I'd encourage you to go big with the Comp Plan Phase 2. I support the priorities of the Complete Communities Coalition, such as increasing or providing courtyard bonuses in LR zones, height bonuses for green building techniques, and expanding transit corridors beyond those narrow block faces to better encompass a full walk shed, a reasonable walk shed around rapid transit.
I thank you for all your hard work and engagement.
Please help end this housing affordability crisis by allowing more variety of housing types.
Thank you.
Thank you, Leo.
And just a reminder for any of the listening public who have not signed up to testify but are interested in testifying remotely this morning, you can still sign up until 10.30, so 10 more minutes to sign up.
I'd like to move on to the next group.
We're up to number 32. I'll call off a list of names.
It's Orla Concanon, Nalima Shaw, Tina Buech, and Rosa Cortez.
So Orla Concanon, you're next.
Good morning, council members.
My name is Orla Concanon and I'm here to comment on the affordability of our neighborhood centers.
Our city is getting increasingly warmer, consider today's temperatures, for example, and we need our neighborhood centers to be cool.
Air conditioning is a luxury that not all of our residents can afford and trees make Seattle more affordable by cooling the air up to 10 to 15 degrees.
Please do not overlook how trees naturally cool the area for all residents.
I'm asking for dense forests, for dense housing.
These require amenity areas to have trees instead of just pavement, amend the green factor scoring system with the tree retention and planning, and pilot a flexible pocket forest option to replace street parking.
I'm asking again for dense forest, for dense housing, and to keep Seattle erect.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Next up, Nalima Shaw.
Nalima, if you could hit star six.
Hi, my name is Nalima Shah.
Can you hear me?
Yes, we can.
Okay.
I urge council to enact policy that protects trees and promotes housing together.
Unless council includes stronger requirements and incentives for developers to protect trees, it will not happen.
If we could trust voluntary action, Seattle would have a much higher tree canopy already.
100-year-old trees cannot be replaced with new street trees.
Requiring trees does not have to reduce the number of housing with the right policies in place.
As the number of hot days increase, it's imperative that Seattle include trees in places that people spend time on private property, in courtyards, in community spaces, in parks, and on streets.
Trees matter in the winter as well because we get really heavy rain now.
Trees break up the raindrops into smaller particles and absorb the water, reducing flooding impacts.
Finally, trees are so important to public health and well-being.
Science shows that people recovering from surgery even recover faster just by looking at a tree.
Just spend a few minutes quietly looking at a tree or sitting under its canopy or even thinking about that and see how you feel.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Next up, Tina Buke.
Tina, if you could hit star six.
Thank you.
Can you hear me?
Yes, we can.
Hello.
Great.
My name's Tina Bika and I live in downtown Seattle.
I support downtown growth and I support adding more housing, but this plan raises a fundamental question.
Are we growing a neighborhood or are we just adding housing into a mixed use downtown?
If downtown is going to grow as a residential neighborhood, then we have to plan for how people actually live there.
That means livability, open space, safe and walkable streets, transportation, deliveries, environmental conditions.
air quality, preserving historic buildings, and so on.
And it means neighborhood amenities, grocery stores, childcare, parks, schools, everyday services.
Adding housing is not the same as building a neighborhood.
And a neighborhood can't be planned piecemeal.
Housing, transportation, public space, and amenities all have to be planned together.
If we are planning for thousands of new residents, we should be planning for how people actually live there.
Thank you.
Thank you, Tina.
Next up, Rosa Cortes.
Rosa, please go ahead.
Rosa, if you could hit star six.
Oh, stop.
Okay.
Rosa, we'll come back to you.
Next up, we have a few speakers.
We're up to number 37. We have Ethan Ferecki, Ruth Williams, Caroline Villanova, and Zach Howell.
Ethan Ferecki, you're up next.
If you could hit star six.
Hello.
Seattle is unfortunately a victim of the urban sprawl that plagues the vast majority of America.
So I was lucky enough to have visited any other country.
I would bet a million bucks that when you get there, the first thing on your mind is not, wow, you know what would make this place better?
Peer-cutting all these mixed-use developments and sidewalks to make room for a six-lane highway and a huge parking lot.
I really wish that instead of being able to walk or bus from one neighborhood to another, I had to order a $60 Uber instead.
This is the reality that we live in, and it's something that can be turned around by progressive zoning changes.
Exclusionary zoning laws are one of the fundamental issues driving unaffordability and wealth disparity in our city and country.
Allowing high-density mixed-use development and coordinated roads improve affordability by allowing much-needed new housing production that will encourage economic growth by increasing demand for restaurants and businesses close to this new housing.
My understanding of the current proposal is that housing would only be legalized and downstrips along transit corridors.
I ask this to expand to a five-minute walk shed around these corridors.
Thank you.
Thank you, Ethan.
Next up, Ruth Williams.
Ruth, if you could hit star six.
Ruth will come back to you.
Caroline Villanova, can you hit star six?
Caroline, you might be muted, so if you could try again.
Hi, is it good?
Yes, we can hear you now.
Great.
Thank you for the opportunity to comment, council members.
My name is Caroline Villanova, and I'm the Director of Government Relations for Seattle Park Foundation.
Hello?
We are fully supportive of the need for additional housing in Seattle.
What we are concerned about is a lack of focus on the overall quality of life surrounding this housing.
The community engagement process for this has been inadequate.
We request the agency and elected leaders to sit down and have direct dialogue with communities that will be impacted by these changes.
Seattle Parks Foundation thankfully works with over 130 different grassroots community groups, including a number of neighborhood councils, and we are happy to assist the city in reaching the people that care about their neighborhoods.
People want to live near green spaces.
Please require public space and public amenity improvements into every regional area and neighborhood area plan.
These are places where people can actually enjoy our city.
In the last cycle of the comprehensive plan, our city leaders tied up zoning to public improvements, specifically parks such as the Lit on Cal Anderson Park.
We request an amendment to the green factor scoring system with three requirements in piloting a pocket force
Thank you very much, Caroline.
We're going to go back to Ruth Williams.
I believe you were trying to call in.
Ruth Williams.
If you could hit star six.
Hello.
Good morning.
My name is Ruth Williams.
I'm speaking on behalf of Thornton Creek Alliance.
Fortin Creek is the largest watershed in both Seattle and Shoreline.
The Seattle portion is largely in D5 and D4.
A lot of restoration progress has been made, but now the City's new focus on pavement and new construction directly conflicts with the City's long-held stated goals and will bring increased warm contaminated stormwater and the loss of tree canopy will further the harm with warmer, drier air.
These outcomes are not consistent with salmon recovery, but you know that.
They are not consistent with the goal of healthy neighborhoods, but you know that too.
Has anyone considered what the lack of planning for off-leash areas is going to do?
The stated goal is affordable housing.
How is that working?
Are you aware that SDCI is now requiring home buyers to sign no protest agreements in at least one neighborhood?
This is a commitment not to protest when the city imposes an LID on the resident.
Thank you.
Next up, we're going to go to Zach Howell.
And after that, we're going to circle back to Patrick Taylor.
Zach Howell, can you hit star six?
Hello, I'm Zach Howell, a longtime Seattle renter and recent homeowner.
It should be incredibly obvious how messed up it is to force apartments onto busy roads while single-family homes lighten the nicer and quieter streets.
Please expand these corridors to at least a few blocks in each direction.
Whoever decided that apartments can only go within a half a block of transit corridors has clearly never walked to a bus stop in their life.
Please listen to the November voters who voted in three pro-housing candidates over entrenched homeowners and and the previous car driving administration.
Thank you.
Thank you, Zach.
Next up, Patrick Taylor.
Patrick Taylor, if you could hit star six.
Patrick Taylor, you are number 24. If you're present, if you could hit star six.
Okay, Patrick, we can circle back to you.
Thank you all again to everybody for calling in.
And again, if you're unable to complete your comments, go ahead and email us.
You can email the entire council at council, C-O-U-N-C-I-L at seattle.gov.
The next group of speakers, we are up to number 41 through, I'm gonna name through 41 through 45. It's a Picasso Kuby, Hans Rasmussen, Scott Roberts, Gabriel Kennedy Gibbons, and Monica Huang.
Looks like Picasso Kuby may not be present, but if you could call back in, Hans Rasmussen, same thing, if you could call back in.
Hello?
Can you hear me?
Oh, this is, is that Patrick?
Yeah, this is Patrick, sorry.
Yeah, go ahead, Patrick.
Hey, my name's Patrick Taylor.
I'm a homeowner in the North Beacon Hill neighborhood and work in the proposed majority neighborhood center.
I'm also an architect focused on housing.
I'm calling in today to support new housing opportunities proposed in the mayor's plan and to go bigger in phase three.
We're in a housing and homelessness crisis, the root of which is not enough housing, not enough kinds of housing, and in anonymous places.
Please pass the plans proposed or strengthen it and reject any amendments to weaken it.
I'd also like to make a plea for less process.
If there's still more comp plan to pass, please do so quickly.
The process is exhausting.
You've heard every version of every opinion in the city.
No one except OPCD, lobbyists, and inferior retired tree activists are going to, are like going to meeting after meeting.
People want to be with their families or their friends or watching reality TV or anything but being here waiting to testify or at a public meeting.
Now is the time for leaders to lead.
Please pass the rest of the plan, including the state COD and parking compliance legislation as quickly as possible.
Thank you very much for all your work.
Thank you, Patrick.
Next up, number 43, Scott Roberts, if you could hit star six.
Hi.
I live on 39th Avenue Southwest in the Morgan Junction of West Seattle.
I urge you to maintain neighborhood residential zoning on the west side of 39th Avenue Southwest.
Our current zoning already provides the density required to meet density goals.
Once you flip the switch to LR2, the damage is permanent.
You can't undo the displacement triggers.
This rezone ignores the economic reality.
The west side of our street is a steep grade that is financially unattractive for affordable development.
By pushing for LR2, you're creating fear in the community, risking the destruction of a stable neighborhood for zoning that will sit idle because the math doesn't work for builders.
Adjusting that math requires higher prices, which destroys the very affordability you claim to seek.
Why trade our community stability for a plan that won't actually produce affordable units?
Finally, the process has failed us.
Most of the neighbors in my community only heard of this in January, a massive communication failure.
You rejected Councilmember Soccer's amendment that would have fixed this by requiring direct mailers.
By doing so, you...
Thank you, Scott.
Next up, Gabriel Kennedy Gibbons.
Gabriel, if you could hit star six.
Good morning, Council.
My name is Gabriel.
I'm a student at the University of Washington studying environmental science.
When I was reading through the draft of the comprehensive plan, I was very alarmed to see that it inadequately addresses trees.
I'd like to see it require amenity areas to have trees, either planted or retained.
Please amend the green factor with tree retention and planning and add a flexible option of pocket force in public right-of-ways.
We know that we can have tree density without sacrificing housing density.
This is one of my first times calling into comment because of how important this issue is.
And I'd like to mention that my hometown of Spokane is doing a better job than Seattle right now with its tree canopy cover goals.
As my peers and I prepare to graduate, we're going to be watching closely what the council does and if you prioritize having trees or not when we're making decisions more long-term about where we'd like to live.
So please provide for urban density, but maintain our urban tree cover as well.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you, Gabriel.
Next up, Monica Huang.
Monica?
Good morning, Council.
My name is Monica Huang.
I'm a renter in D2, and I'm also a millennial.
The housing shortage has not only impacted our abilities to start our own families, but as we start caring for our aging parents, it's shaping their ability to comfortably age in place.
A friend's mom is in her 70s and recently moved back to the States to be closer to her only child and the current housing shortage has limited where she can live and what quality of life she can have in her later years.
She can't really safely drive anymore, so the lack of housing near public transit has reduced her sense of autonomy, her ability to get to medical appointments on her own, run errands, or just simply explore the city and make new friends.
She heartbreakingly states that she feels, quote, trapped in her apartment.
I'm urging you to support widening transit corridors so our parents can live on quieter streets and still access public transit that they depend on.
I'm also asking you to support courtyard blocks to provide family friendly green spaces that increase community building among neighbors.
And lastly, I'm asking you to support passive house bonuses to help create housing that's greener and not just for aging parents now, but for generations to come.
Thank you.
Thank you, Monica.
And for members of the listening public, we have about 10 to 15 more speakers.
So we'll go through the remainder of the list and we'll circle back to anybody who we missed earlier.
We are up to number 47 and I'll call off a list of names, Jessica Dixon, Cave Mintz, Kate Rubin, Crystal Buett.
So next up, Jessica Dixon, if you're able to call in.
I'll give you a moment, otherwise we'll circle back to you.
We'll go on to the next speaker, Dave Mentz, if you could hit star six.
Hi, good morning.
Can I be heard?
Yes, we can hear you.
Yes, okay, thank you.
Thank you, council members, for your attention to this.
I think appropriately stated earlier, this is really complex.
And I also agree with the point made earlier about this is a really good start, but one that needs to be pushed further.
And I would advocate for a few things that have been expressed, one of them being the courtyard bonus, which is a really good attempt to balance the whole trees versus development dilemma.
and I agree that the trees versus development is really a false choice.
Second thing I would advocate for would be the height bonuses for green buildings like facet house and mass timber type structures and then again as has been expressed allowing more multi-family housing on side streets and I agree fully with the statement that those who are renters or occupying new housing should not be the only ones forced to live in high traffic areas.
My interest in this stems from my experience.
Thank you, Dave.
And go ahead and email us the rest of your comments if you're able to at council at seattle.gov.
Next up, Kate Rubin.
Go ahead, Kate.
My name is Kate Rubin.
I'm the co-executive director of the Housing Justice Organization in Seattle, a renter in District 2, and for identification purposes, the co-chair of the Seattle Renters Commission.
I urge the council to rezone within a five-minute walk around frequent transit so renters can live on quieter, safer, and less polluted streets.
Segregating renters on polluted arterials and blocking them from areas of low displacement and high opportunities would continue to perpetuate Seattle's racist history of exclusionary zoning.
I've heard a lot of fear around growth in formerly single-family zones.
But as someone who lives in an area that is mostly single-family homes with a few apartment buildings, trust me when I say it makes our neighborhood more dynamic and welcoming.
Renters need to have housing that's affordable and desirable.
Seattle renters are struggling and the comprehensive plan must support communities where everyone can thrive.
I also support the courtyard bonus and allowing density bonuses for Passive House and Mass timber building.
These choices will shape the city for decades.
Thank you.
Thank you, Kate.
I'd like to circle back to a prior name, Hans Rasmussen.
If you're present, could you hit star six?
Good morning, all.
Good morning.
Good morning, all.
I'm an architect and I would like to express strong support for the courtyard housing bonus.
I think it's a great idea to merge the twin political goals of trees and more housing.
And I think that we should really be considering that now.
The comprehensive planning processes, as you know, have been going on for many years and low rise zones right now aren't really getting built in.
It's not cost-effective or economically feasible to do so.
I think additional up zones will unlock that capacity that we have spent decades planning for as most low-rise zoning is in our urban villages.
And that is where there's already existing amenity-rich resources, businesses, restaurants, transit.
So we can unlock a lot more housing with that and also a lot more trees.
Thank you.
Thank you, Hans.
We are going to go to speakers starting at speaker 51. It's Joanna Cullen and then Shirley Leung, then Deb Lester, Lynn Fitzhugh.
Joanna Cullen, could you please press star six?
Joanna Cullen, if you're there, if you could hit star six.
Okay, Joanna, we can circle back to you.
Next up, Shirley Leung.
Hi, my name is Shirley and in my 13 years living in Seattle, I've moved five times to Chase Housing I Can Afford.
No matter where I've moved though, it has always meant living along a loud, polluted arterial or highway, like I-5, MLK, and now Lake City Way.
This has contributed to my asthma getting progressively worse, to the point where I have to use my inhaler every single day or I literally can't breathe.
And I know I'm not alone.
Plenty of research has shown that putting dense housing along busy, polluted roads contributes to increased rates of asthma, heart disease, and even dementia.
But you all have an incredible opportunity to end this public health nightmare and save countless Seattleites, including me, from these horrible diseases simply by allowing more housing to be built off of these polluted roads and on quieter neighborhood streets instead.
So please extend the width of corridors to at least half a mile wide in each direction and add back up zones around parks so that many more Seattleites, especially those in affordable housing, can live long and healthy lives.
Thank you.
Thank you, Shirley.
The next few, we're gonna do Deb Lester, Lynn Fitzhugh, and then I'd like to circle back to Jessica Dixon.
I see you online.
But next up, Deb Lester.
Deb, if you could hit star six.
Okay.
Moving on, Deb, we can come back to you.
Lynn Fitzhugh, if you're there, star six.
Hello.
My name is Lynn Fitzhugh.
During this last year, Seattle cut down a thousand-year-old tree.
This is something that you ought to be ashamed of.
and it's because of the poor tree policies that Seattle has.
You also have a climate policy that says build up, not out, which I agree with.
You have an affordable housing policy, which I agree with, but you will not get affordable housing by letting people build all the way out to the edge of the property and leaving no room for trees.
What you will get is housing that is inhospitable to the people who live in it.
like the woman who just testified before me about asthma.
Threes take pollutants out of the air, but they have to be by the residents.
They protect against heat islands, which you are creating massively by the amount of cement everywhere.
I think that that was my time.
If it wasn't, please tell me.
Thank you, Lynn.
Yeah.
Thank you so much.
If you could email us the rest of your comments to council at seattle.gov.
That ding is for other folks.
Usually when you have 10 seconds remaining, you'll hear a ding.
Thank you so much, Lynn.
Jessica Dixon, if you're present, if you could hit star six.
Jessica Dixon.
Can you hear me?
Yes, we can.
Thank you.
Hello council members.
I would just like to say density alone does not create healthy walkable neighbourhoods and Seattle's neighbourhood centres need dense forests for dense housing.
So please make the following changes to build Seattle's urban forests while retaining dense housing goals.
Require amenity areas to have trees instead of just pavements.
Amend the green factor scoring system to encourage tree retention and tree planting and pilot a flexible pocket forest option to replace street parking.
As planned, neighborhood centers will be nearly 100% hardscape with no planned space for trees.
SDOC's 2025 tree study showed that Seattle's planting strips alone would be woefully inadequate to meet current tree canopy goals.
Adding these changes, all of which deal with the non-buildable space of a property, does not affect housing capacity and would build healthy, walkable, climate-resilient neighborhood centers.
preferred current and future catalites.
Thank you.
Thank you, Jessica.
I'd like to circle back a couple names that we called earlier, Joanna Cullen and Deb Lester.
Joanna Cullen, if you're available, can you hit star six?
Okay, moving on to Deb Lester.
If you're available, could you hit star six?
Hello?
Hi, my name is Deb Lester.
I'm speaking about proposed zoning in neighborhood centers, which will cause severe loss on mature trees.
Our loss will essentially be 100% impervious with no space for trees that provide canopy cover, ecological benefits, or usable green space, not livable neighborhoods.
The city claims street trees will mitigate tree loss.
However, SDOT study indicates this is not possible.
While the plantable public right-of-way was planned, we would not come close to meeting the tree canopy goal.
I'm in Maple Leaf, and with the exception of a few areas on Roosevelt Northeast, the planting strips are less than two feet wide within the designated neighborhood center.
There are essentially no street trees on side streets within the designated neighborhood center currently.
90% of all trees within Maple Leaf neighborhood center are on private property.
Proposed zoning will cause Maple Leaf and many other neighbors to be devoid of trees.
Please require amenity areas to have trees instead of just payment.
Amend the green factor scoring system with retention and planning.
We can have density and trees and we also need affordable housing, which is not really happening with the current plan.
Thank you.
We have a few more speakers and then we'll circle back to anybody who we already called on but didn't get a chance to speak.
So next up, the next few speakers are Bonnie Williams, Michael Eliason and Christina Pearson.
Bonnie Williams, if you could hit star six.
Good morning.
My name is Bonnie Williams.
I'm president of Wallingford Community Council.
My request is about creating better height transitions in Phase 2 relating to the online map bus route proposals for Wallingford.
The online proposals reflect no change from the original map proposals released in October 2024. We ask that you choose to retain the neighborhood residential permanent adoption that passed in December.
It now includes four-story stacked flats, for the lots along the Wallingford bus routes of 31, 32, and 62. OPCD has demonstrated no flexibility to balance the growth from our interactions the past two years.
It is up to you, the council, to plan for growth for newcomers and long-term residents in phase two.
We were told this is about the heights.
We need to negotiate the heights, and that negotiation has not happened.
I will send a location map of the actual locations to the Council.
Thank you, Bonnie.
Please go ahead and send that to us.
Next up, Michael Eliason.
Good morning.
My name is Mike Eliason.
I'm the Director of Design and Policy for Seattle's Social Housing Developer.
We have five asks for a Housing and Climate Forward Comprehensive Plan 1. Amend corridor upzoning to half a mile off of arterials so families and renters can live in healthier and quieter environments.
Amend the plan to add backup zones around parks and schools for the same reason.
Please create a permanent amendment for similar routes to roofs for affordable housing providers and the Seattle social housing developer to better leverage public dollars and add more homes for families and renters.
Four, eliminate side yard setbacks in low and mid-rise zones.
Please substantially reduce open space and green space for residents and trees.
Five, create amendments like the Complete Communities Coalition's Courtyard and Passive House bonuses.
I would love to help refine those based on my experiences living and working in Germany.
Thank you.
Thank you, Mike.
Next up, Christina Pearson.
Hello.
Can you hear me?
Yes, we can.
Thank you.
My name is Christina Pearson.
I am Executive Director for Duwamish Tribal Services.
We act on behest of the Duwamish Tribe.
As representatives of the Duwamish people, the original stewards of this land, we urge you to listen to the voices of your residents regarding the proposed changes and zoning around housing and schools.
Housing is a fundamental necessity.
It is vital that any changes reflect the needs and input of the community members who live here.
Our ancestors understood the importance of community and belonging, and we believe that these decisions should honor that legacy.
Many residents, especially those from historically marginalized communities, are directly impacted by these changes.
We ask that you prioritize our voices, ensuring that these policies promote equitable access to housing and respect our cultural heritage as stewards of this land, and also please keep more of the trees.
Thank you.
Thank you.
I'd like to circle back to Joanna Colon.
Joanna Colon, if you're there, if you could hit star six.
Joanna Cullen.
And we are about the end.
There was a few other names who registered, but it looks like you're not dialed in.
But if you have a, if you get a chance, we'll give you just a one more minute here to Rosa Cortez or Rosa Quartz, Picasso Coupe, Crystal Boot, or Joanna Cullen.
Joanna, if you could hit star six, if you're with us.
Okay, well thank you all, thank you all.
We have language interpreters.
We have language interpreters on the line.
Got it, okay.
and to our language interpreters, thank you for joining with us.
We are gonna be in recess here shortly and so we no longer need your services.
Again, thank you all, everyone who was able to dial in for joining us, submitting public comment.
Again, apologies to anybody who was not able to speak, finish your comments, please go ahead and email us to council at seattle.gov.
We will be having an additional in-person public hearing this afternoon.
So it is now 1054 AM and if there is no objection, the select committee and the comprehensive plan will be in recess until 3 PM.
Hearing no objection, this meeting is in recess until 3 PM.
Thank you all.