Make Seattle Affordable & Walkable

a woman looks out from a balcony over a street with trees, lights, seating, people walking and biking, a variety of dense housing in the background
Image by Alfred Twu. Used with permission.

Dear Seattle City Council,

Thank you for putting forward amendments that could lead to a more affordable, equitable, and walkable Seattle.

I care about creating a Seattle where everyone can afford to live. Where people of all ages and abilities have equal access to thrive. And where people can walk to their daily necessities.

So please pass amendments that

  1. Legalize corner stores (aka neighborhood retail and community gathering places) on all lots, not just corners (amendment 66). Every neighborhood deserves places for community members to gather, buy essential goods, create art together, and build a community. But right now, that kind of commercial and community space can be hard to find or afford. Legalizing corner stores would help bring these services and community spaces to every neighborhood.

  2. Expand neighborhood centers. Increase the number of neighborhood centers through amendments like #34, and reject those that shrink neighborhood centers. Seattleites love walkable neighborhoods (source). Walking makes us healthier, happier, and more connected to our neighbors through spontaneous interactions (source, source). Expanding neighborhood centers will get us closer to a city where everyone can walk to grocery stores, child care, parks, coffee shops, restaurants, drug stores, and other daily necessities. This vision remains distant however with a recent analysis finding only 44% of Seattleites can walk to basic daily necessities (source).

  3. Add flexibility in car parking regulations. Amendment 84 would align Seattle with cities around Washington State like Bothell, Shoreline, and Spokane that now allow homebuilders the flexibility to determine what level of car parking makes sense.

  4. Incentivize the development of stacked flats. Stacked flats are more accessible for seniors to age in place and people with disabilities. Pass amendments that use the land use code to help incentivize the construction of more stacked flats.

  5. Support social housing. Seattleites overwhelmingly passed the social housing initiatives and want to see it succeed. Amendment 61 would help this effort succeed.