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The Daily Plan It Blog

A OPCD Blog

Extension of Comment Period for Seattle Comprehensive Plan Update SEPA Determination of Significance and Request for Comments on Scope of EIS

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On June 23, 2022, the Office of Planning and Community Development issued a notice of SEPA Determination of Significance and Request for Comments on Scope of EIS with a comment period running from June 23, 2022 to July 25, 2022. Through this notice, the comment period is now extended to August 22, 2022.

The City of Seattle is conducting a major update of its Comprehensive Plan and implementing development regulation with the goal of adopting a new plan in 2024 (referred to as “One Seattle Plan”). Seattle’s goal is to make the city more equitable, livable, sustainable, and resilient for today’s communities and future residents.

The Major Update will reflect community needs and desires through a robust public engagement process, fulfill new requirements of the Growth Management Act (RCW 36.70A), and plan for growth for the period of 2024-2044. As part of this analysis, the City proposes to analyze five different alternatives, including a no action alternative, evaluating different approaches to accommodating housing and job growth to the year 2044. In addition, the proposal will include changes to the 130th and 145th Street Station Area Plan and options for the City to streamline future environmental review in that area, which may include a planned action (RCW 43.21c.440), or infill exemption (RCW 43.21C.229), or other tools available under state legislation (e.g., SB 5818). The proposal could also incorporate sub-area plans for Urban Centers as well as Manufacturing and Industrial Centers.

The Seattle Transportation Plan Update process, currently underway and run by Seattle Department of Transportation, will provide a separate EIS to test multimodal transportation system changes. Close coordination will occur between the Major Update and the Seattle Transportation Plan Update.

Location of Proposal: City of Seattle city limits.

Proponent: City of Seattle Office of Planning & Community Development

EIS required: The Director of the Office of Planning & Community Development has determined this proposal is likely to have a “significant adverse impact” on the environment under Ch. 43.21C RCW, the State Environmental Policy Act (or SEPA). An environmental impact statement (EIS) is required under RCW 43.21C.030(2)(c) and will be prepared.

The lead agency has identified the following areas for study in the EIS to determine if there are any significant environmental impacts:

  • Earth and water quality
  • Air quality and greenhouse gas emissions
  • Plants and animals
  • Energy and natural resources
  • Noise
  • Land use patterns and urban form
  • Historic Resources
  • Relationship to plans, policies, and regulations
  • Population, employment, and housing
  • Transportation
  • Public Services: Police, Fire/Emergency Services, Parks, and Schools
  • Utilities

Equity and climate resilience objectives will be developed across the environmental element studied.

More information on the EIS process and alternatives as well as materials related to the proposal may be reviewed on the project website: http://www.seattle.gov/opcd/one-seattle-plan.

Scoping:

Agencies, affected tribes, and members of the public are invited to comment on the scope of the EIS. You may comment on alternatives, mitigation measures, probable significant adverse impacts, and licenses or other approvals that may be required. The method and deadline for providing comments is as follows:

Comments may be submitted 3 ways:

  1. On the Comprehensive Plan Update engagement platform at engage.oneseattleplan.com
  2. By email to brennon.staley@seattle.gov
  3. By letter to OPCD at the address below:

    Brennon Staley
    Office of Planning and Community Development
    P.O. Box 94788
    Seattle, WA 98124-7088

The deadline for agencies, tribes, and the general public to submit scoping comments is 5:00 p.m., August 22, 2022.

Scoping meetings will be held online on June 29 and July 19. For additional information regarding the meetings please visit the project website at www.seattle.gov/opcd/one-seattle-plan.

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Introducing the One Seattle Plan Engagement Hub!

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We are excited to launch our One Seattle Plan Engagement Hub as part of our engagement process for the Comprehensive Plan Update!

This platform is our central hub for virtual engagement for the One Seattle Plan, which will guide the future of housing, jobs, and community investments in our city. The Engagement Hub is designed to increase access to information and online engagement opportunities as we seek to lower barriers to participation for many communities. It’s a place to learn, comment, and connect with neighbors and the city to share your vision for Seattle.

Visit the One Seattle Plan Engagement Hub Now!

The Engagement Hub will also allow us to incorporate greater transparency and accountability into the engagement process, to showcase what we have heard, and share how your feedback is incorporated into the policies of the Draft Plan, and ultimately the Final Plan.

The Engagement Hub currently features a series of Issue Briefs on some of the major elements of the One Seattle Plan; a narrated slideshow that provides an overview of the One Seattle Plan (“Comprehensive Plan 101”), and our first public survey.  Finally, we’ve created a section dedicated to collecting general feedback about the One Seattle Plan, where users can share their hopes, needs, and visions for how the Comprehensive Plan Update should shape our city. Coming soon are a variety of exciting additional engagement tools ranging from interactive mapping exercises, workshops, an events calendar, quick polls, periodic engagement report outs, and more!

All elements of the Engagement Hub are interactive. Users can comment, discuss, and vote on user comments and suggestions; full site translations have also been integrated into the Hub. The interactive design of this platform is meant to be conversational. This aligns with the fact that the issues and elements of the Comprehensive Plan are topics of everyday conversation for people that live in or around Seattle. One of the goals of this platform is to encourage, listen to, and join that ongoing discussion, and to help weave these conversations into a larger story about our collective vision for Seattle.

Sign up on the Engagement Hub today to join that conversation, and to share this resource with friends, family, neighbors, and larger community.

Visit the One Seattle Plan Engagement Hub Now!

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Community Partnerships Will Drive “One Seattle” Comprehensive Plan Update

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The City of Seattle has selected six community-based organizations to help design and carry out public engagement strategies for the update of Seattle’s Comprehensive Plan. Each of the organizations submitted engagement proposals that center the voices of people of color as the City updates its vision for how we will grow and invest in our communities.  

Mayor Bruce Harrell’s One Seattle vision will provide a framework for the Office of Planning and Community Development (OPCD) as it works with residents to update our Comprehensive Plan. The planning process will continue through 2024, when the City Council is scheduled adopt the final plan, as required by the state’s Growth Management Act. 

“The Comprehensive Plan update is our City’s opportunity to envision the future we want to see in Seattle and to design the blueprint that makes that vision possible,” said Mayor Harrell. “Core to our mission – ensuring Seattle is a special place with enhanced affordability, climate resilience, and equity – is the need to center community. This thoughtful and targeted approach ensures that underrepresented communities don’t just have a seat at the table, but are actively shaping the conversation and helping drive forward our Comprehensive Plan update.” 

Each of these six organizations will receive a $30,000 contract to help co-create OPCD’s community engagement efforts for the Comprehensive Plan update: 

“The Capitol Hill EcoDistrict is honored to partner with OPCD to support all who live, work, and play in Seattle to have a voice in how our city grows,” Donna Moodie, Capitol Hill EcoDistrict. “We have faith in the creativity and compassion of our neighbors and look forward to helping OPCD create a shared vision for Seattle’s Comprehensive Plan.”  

“Engagement with communities across the City will shape each phase of the plan’s development,” said OPCD Director Rico Quirindongo. “Consistent with OPCD’s Equitable Community Engagement Ethos, we will prioritize giving voice and power to communities, especially BIPOC communities, that have been historically marginalized, while also engaging all residents of Seattle in shaping the City’s future.” 

The City is investing in a range of opportunities for all residents to participate in the Comprehensive Plan update. All residents will be encouraged to participate in a hybrid model of in-person events and online tools. The public will be invited to learn and provide input through community meetings, neighobhood walks, narrated presentations, surveys, and online open houses to help shape the plan. 

OPCD’s initial online survey on the Comprehensive Plan update is available now as we launch this next phase of community engagement.  

The Department of Neighborhood’s community liaisons will help develop and implement additional engagement opportunities in the months ahead. The community liaisons have deep connections with those who have been historically underrepresented in past planning processes. The City will incorporate translation and interpretation services to reduce barriers and increase participation. 

Last updated in 2016, the Seattle Comprehensive Plan will guide where and how the City grows to add housing and jobs over the next 20 years. The plan will address many elements: land use, transportation, housing, economic development, environment and climate change, parks and open space, arts and culture, quality of life, and more. 

Since 1994, the City’s goal has been to focus most new housing construction, jobs, and community investments within designated urban centers and urban villages. Updating the Comprehensive Plan will involve evaluating the current strategy as well as exploring new ideas for how Seattle can grow to be more equitable, affordable, and climate resilient. Last summer, OPCD presented to the City Council a racial equity analysis of the existing growth strategy. 

The City continues to invest in strategies that reduce residential, economic, and cultural displacement pressures as costs for housing and commercial spaces continue to rise. The City has pursued a range of efforts, including investing in rent- and income-restricted homes, grants to support permanent homes for BIPOC-led service providers, small-business supports, and grants to arts, cultural, and community organizations. During the planning process, OPCD will seek community input on which strategies are most effective, as well as ideas for new policies, programs, and investments that can help reduce displacement pressures. 

OPCD is also coordinating with the Seattle Department of Transportation as it crafts the Seattle Transportation Plan that will establish a renewed vision for the future of our streets and public spaces. SDOT is working with community to reimagine how we move through and enjoy Seattle’s streets. The plan is also our collective commitment – as a City – to a racially-equitable and socially-just transportation system that meets the needs of everyone, connecting us all safely and efficiently to the places that matter most.    

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Calling all Seattle community-based organizations and small businesses: We hope to work with you to develop the Seattle transportation plan and Seattle Comprehensive Plan.

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Read about and apply for the paid opportunity to help us address our most pressing challenges.

Little Brook Stay Healthy Street. Photo Credit: SDOT Flickr. 

Updates

Good news! Through the 2022 budget, more funding has been allocated to support community engagement for the Comprehensive Plan. As a result, OPCD will be able to resource additional partnerships with community organizations and small businesses in this effort. Click here to apply to partner with OPCD on the Comprehensive Plan Update!

Summary 

The City of Seattle’s Department of Transportation (SDOT) and Office of Planning and Community Development (OPCD) want to partner with community-based organizations and small businesses to develop the Seattle transportation plan and the Seattle Comprehensive Plan Major Update. 

[Read more…]
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Seattle’s Plan to Build Back Better During COVID-19 Recovery

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Updates to the Comprehensive Plan will promote transit access, job creation, walkable neighborhoods, and address impacts of systemic racism.

Seattle’s Office of Planning and Community Development (OPCD) recently outlined priorities for potential future changes to the City’s foundational city plan, the Seattle 2035 Comprehensive Plan, that will be studied in the coming year.

In testimony before the City Council yesterday, OPCD outlined Mayor Jenny A. Durkan’s vision for planning a reimagined and more equitable City which addresses the systemic issues brought to light during the COVID-19 pandemic, economic collapse and civil rights reckoning. Mayor Durkan proposed new station-area planning around the future 130th St. Sound Transit light rail station, strengthening the City’s industrial maritime jobs, committing to a racially equitable recovery from the global pandemic, and exploring the concept of “15-minute neighborhoods” which could include additional affordable housing near Parks facilities.

In addition to the presentation before the Seattle City Council’s Land Use and Neighborhoods committee, OPCD sent a memo that outlines the Administration’s ongoing work on transit-oriented housing, walkable amenities for every neighborhood, and equitable access to job opportunities in the maritime industrial economy.  

At 130th St. NE and 145th St. NE, Sound Transit is building new light rail stations as part of Lynnwood Link Extension. The City of Seattle has begun a 130th and 145th Station Area Planning project in partnership with community. Education and outreach continue this year as the community continues to craft its vision for more transit-oriented housing and other amenities near the stations. The City is considering early action in 2021 to allow for more housing in the block immediately adjacent to the new 130th St station.

In 2019, Mayor Durkan convened industrial-maritime stakeholders and neighborhood voices to discuss the future of these critical industries in Seattle, with specific focus on increasing family-wage jobs in the maritime and manufacturing sectors. The aim is to strengthen protections for existing maritime-industrial businesses, integrate Sound Transit’s new light rail stations in industrial areas, plan for major projects at the former National Guard Armory and other strategic sites, and encourage new economic opportunities and improved environmental health in industrial areas near residential neighborhoods. The aim is to release policy proposals in 2021.

The global pandemic is disproportionally impacting BIPOC communities, and the City is committed to a response to COVID-19 that addresses systemic racism and supports a more racially equitable future. While racial equity is already a core value in Seattle’s Comprehensive Plan, the City continues to work with BIPOC communities to expand current efforts to support community ownership and wealth building, affordable housing, and OPCD’s Equitable Development Initiative partnerships with community-led organizations combatting displacement and increasing access to opportunity.

The response to COVID-19 has also highlighted the importance of the city’s neighborhoods as places to live, work, and meet our daily needs. During the pandemic, the City has created new uses neighborhood curb space, streets and plazas. Seattle is a member of the C40 Cities and has published a Climate Action Plan that aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and build a climate-neutral city by 2050. Described as a key action for the health and well-being of our cities by the C40 Mayors’ Agenda for a Green and Just Recovery that was supported by Mayor Durkan, “15-minute cities” mean every neighborhood includes affordable housing choices, shopping and services, health care, parks, office space, and educational and cultural institutions within an easy walk or bike ride. OPCD will be exploring the concept of a “15-minute city” as a potential framework for the next major Comprehensive Plan update due in 2024.

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Half of Seattle’s new homes built within steps of Downtown jobs, transit

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Seattle added homes at rapid pace in 2017, with more than 88 percent of the city’s 8,753 net new homes built in Seattle’s urban centers and urban villages within walking distance of jobs, transit services, neighborhood businesses, and other amenities. Downtown is seeing the fastest housing growth, with half of all new Seattle homes built in or near the Downtown core.

Since the City began tracking annual housing production in 1980, no year has seen more construction of new homes than 2017. The City of Seattle’s most recent permitting and construction data were published in the year-end Urban Center / Village Growth Report.

Seattle’s urban villages are identified in the Seattle 2035 Comprehensive Plan as the places to guide future population growth, a policy established in 1994. The Office of Planning and Community Development (OPCD) notes that recent housing growth is even more focused in Seattle’s densest urban centers. Only 12 percent of homes were built in areas outside of the city’s urban villages last year, with fewer homes built in these areas in 2017 (1,030) than the year prior (1,119).

“Seattle’s urban village strategy guides more housing choices to areas served by good transit, community services, and shops with easy access from home,” said OPCD Director Sam Assefa. “We will continue to make investments in parks, transit, and other critical infrastructure to support the livability of our fastest-growing neighborhoods. And we will continue to implement Mandatory Housing Affordability and other solutions that support affordable housing, so that people who work in Seattle can live in Seattle, regardless of income.”

The Seattle neighborhoods with the most new homes in 2017 were:

  • Belltown (1,191 new homes constructed)
  • South Lake Union (1,045)
  • Denny Triangle (767)
  • Commercial Core (607)

Looking ahead to future development, buildings containing 21,434 homes have received permits, but have not yet been completed. More than 81 percent of these future homes will be in urban villages close to transit and neighborhood commercial areas. The areas with the most homes in the pipeline are:

  • South Lake Union (3,068 units permitted)
  • Denny Triangle (1,227)
  • First Hill (1,180)

In 1994, the City Council approved Seattle’s first Comprehensive Plan prepared under the state Growth Management Act, including the urban village strategy which guides growth to neighborhoods with more transit options. That strategy has been effective in locating more than 78 percent of new housing in urban villages and urban centers over the past two decades.

Seattle’s new Mandatory Housing Affordability (MHA) program will require that all new multifamily residential and commercial development contribute to affordable housing, either by including income-restricted affordable homes or making a payment to the City’s fund to support affordable housing. To put MHA into effect, the City makes zoning changes that add development capacity and increase housing choices. MHA has already been implemented in Downtown, South Lake Union, the University District, Chinatown-International District, Uptown, and along 23rd Ave in the Central Area, ensuring that future permitted projects contribute to affordable housing. The City Council is currently considering zoning changes necessary to implement MHA in all other urban villages and multifamily residential and commercial zones in Seattle.

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VIDEO: October 17 Comprehensive Plan Amendments / ADU EIS Scoping Open House

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In case you missed our Comprehensive Plan Amendments/ADU EIS Scoping open house last week, watch our presentation on the Seattle Channel:

http://www.seattlechannel.org/publicAffairs/?videoid=x84190

Topics discussed:

  • Comprehensive Plan Amendments – The City of Seattle is working to ensure that the language in existing Neighborhood Plans is consistent with the 2016 Comprehensive Plan and Mandatory Housing Affordability (MHA), a proposed policy that would require developers to contribute to affordable housing. You will have a chance to review Neighborhood Plan language and help choose new language that is consistent with the City’s updated vision and plan. Neighborhoods involved: Morgan Junction, North Rainier / Mt. Baker, West Seattle Junction, Westwood / Highland Park.
  • Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU) – The City of Seattle is asking for ideas on what Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that will study the effects of removing barriers to creating accessory dwelling units (ADUs) and backyard cottages. An ADU is a secondary unit inside, attached to, or in the backyard of your home. We want to help you understand the purpose and process of the EIS and find out what is important to you.
    Neighborhoods involved: CITYWIDE.
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Help Guide Our 2018 Comprehensive Plan Amendments

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We are making amendments to our Comprehensive Plan and we need your help! In October 2016, the Seattle City Council approved a major update to this plan which highlighted our vision for greater diversity of housing choices in urban villages and centers (our areas of growth). These changes are helping to tackle our growing housing affordability challenge.

To guide the process, our “Meeting in a Box” includes new policy options, including an option to create your own policy. Working with your neighbors and sharing insights is highly encouraged. Send us your best recommended policy options by December 8 for us to incorporate your ideas into the recommended language that will go to Seattle City Council next year.

If you live, play or work in the effected neighborhoods, please share your thoughts on the proposed language. Here’s how:

 

For more information, email us or visit the Comprehensive Plan website.

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Mayor Murray to Sign the Seattle 2035 Comprehensive Plan

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Tomorrow, Mayor Ed Murray will sign Seattle 2035, the comprehensive plan to guide City development, investments, and policies over the next 20 years. The plan focuses on equitable growth and aims to enhance the quality of life for all residents as Seattle adds hundreds of thousands of jobs and residents over the next two decades. The plan was unveiled in April of this year and unanimously passed City Council earlier this month.

Mayor Murray will also sign a separate executive order directing the City to invest in equitable development in Seattle’s downtown core.

Friday, October 28, 1:30 PM
City Hall, Norman B. Rice Room (7th Floor)
600 4th Ave., Seattle, WA 98104

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