On Monday, the Seattle City Council approved legislation to implement Mandatory Housing Affordability (MHA) in Downtown and South Lake Union. The new ordinance requires that new commercial or residential development in Seattle’s downtown urban centers contribute to affordable housing in exchange for increased development capacity. It is estimated that the MHA requirements for Downtown and South Lake Union would produce over 2,100 new affordable housing units over 10 years, more than one-third of all affordable housing produced by MHA citywide.
More information on the new ordinance is available here. This legislation is a key piece of the Housing Affordability and Livability Agenda (HALA).