Daily Plan It Office of Planning & Community Development

The Daily Plan It Blog

A OPCD Blog

City Government, School District to plan together on future schools, Memorial Stadium, and Fort Lawton

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Seattle Mayor Tim Burgess speaks at Memorial Stadium to announce the City’s partnership with the Seattle School District, November 2017.

The City of Seattle and Seattle Public Schools today announced a historic new partnership to plan for a new Memorial Stadium and the potential of a new school at Seattle Center, provide land for a new downtown elementary school, and allow the school district to join the Fort Lawton Redevelopment Agreement process.

The agreement signed today at Memorial Stadium outlines a process for the district and the City to plan together for a growing student population, explore opportunities for the district to acquire land for educational uses at Ft. Lawton and other areas of the city, and achieve an exciting shared vision for Seattle Center. The school district and city will form joint technical teams to review school capacity issues, plan strategically for future school locations, and redesign Memorial Stadium.

The City of Seattle has added almost 100,000 residents since 2010. Nearly 8,000 additional students have enrolled in Seattle Public Schools over the last decade. The City and the district will better coordinate their planning efforts to meet future school needs for students and families.

“Making sure every one of our children has a strong, healthy, and fair start is the measure of a great city. Public education is one of the most important factors in sustaining a great city. This partnership agreement signals an even stronger relationship between the city government and Seattle Public Schools,” Mayor Tim Burgess said. “As part of our agreement, the city is committing to consider a financial partnership for Memorial Stadium’s revitalization and we will proactively help identify other potential partners. We will make land available for schools and other school-related uses. We will establish technical teams to review capacity issues and to prepare designs for the new Memorial Stadium.”

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City issues preliminary proposal to guide growth in Uptown Urban Center

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After more than three years of engaging community members in envisioning a vibrant future for the Uptown neighborhood, the Seattle Office of Planning and Community Development (OPCD) today issued a preliminary rezone recommendation. The proposal will result in an estimated 600 new affordable homes, neighborhood design standards that respond to community priorities, incentives for new arts and cultural spaces, improved connections to Seattle Center, and enhanced walkability in the Uptown Urban Center.

“Seattle continues to grow as our strong economy attracts new workers from across the country and around the world,” said OPCD Director Sam Assefa. “While we have done a great job of guiding that growth to our urban centers like Uptown, we have failed to grow affordably. We are implementing Mandatory Housing Affordability in Uptown, so that new development contributes to affordable housing options for low-income families.”

Over 20 years, the upzone will result in an estimated 600 new income-restricted and rent-restricted homes for low-income residents through the City’s new Mandatory Housing Affordability (MHA) program. Under MHA, Uptown development will be required to include between 7 percent and 10 percent affordable homes in each building, or contribute between $8.00 and $29.75 per square foot to the Seattle Office of Housing to support affordable housing, depending on the specific location in the neighborhood.

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Public input sought on guiding growth in Uptown Urban Center

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After more than two years of gathering public input on the future of Uptown, the Office of Planning and Community Development (OPCD) today issued three options to guide expected growth in the Uptown Urban Center. The options important to the community include new design guidelines to improve walkability and connections to Seattle Center amenities, a vibrant streetscape with active retail businesses, diverse housing types and more affordable housing, and new employment opportunities in large and small businesses.

“Thanks to all the neighbors who have been so actively engaged in designing a bright future for Uptown,” said Sam Assefa, director of the Office of Planning and Community Development. “We look forward to more input, including new and diverse voices, as we finalize our recommendation on how to implement the community’s vision.”

Since 2014, the City of Seattle has worked with the neighborhood to develop the Uptown Urban Design Framework to guide future development in the Uptown Urban Center.  New Uptown-specific design standards are intended to protect important view corridors, and establish building characteristics and streetscapes that enhance the livability of the neighborhood as it grows.

Key recommendations include a study of a range of building height and zoning changes in the neighborhood, which would include required contributions to housing affordability currently being considered by the Seattle City Council and implementation of the community recommendations in the Urban Design Framework. No changes are proposed outside of the Uptown Urban Center or in single-family zones nearby.

The three alternatives considered in the draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) released today evaluate a range of building heights that were developed in collaboration with the community:

  1. “No Action” alternative, which maintains current zoning and building heights for the dozens of parcels in the neighborhood that are expected to be redeveloped, but does not include new neighborhood-specific design and development standards to guide that growth.
  2. “Mid-rise” alternative, with five- to seven-story buildings that would include mandatory housing affordability requirements, along with new Uptown design standards.
  3. “High-rise” alternative, featuring taller, thinner, more widely spaced 16-story buildings in areas of the Uptown Urban Center, also including mandatory contributions to housing affordability and the neighborhood design standards.

 

The preferred alternative will be developed based on community comments and input on these three options.

OPCD and Seattle Center are hosting an open house and public hearing from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Aug. 4 at the Seattle Center Armory, Lofts 3 and 4. The public will have an opportunity to learn more about the alternatives, ask questions and provide public comment.

At the open house, neighbors can also learn about the upcoming Seattle Center and Uptown Strategic Parking Study, the emerging Uptown Arts & Cultural District, citywide housing affordability policies, and proposed transit improvements.

Written public comment can also be submitted until Sept. 1 by writing to jim.holmes@seattle.gov.

The final EIS of the preferred alternative is expected to be completed in November. Additional public comments will be gathered at that time before any proposed zoning changes are sent to the Seattle City Council.

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