Because what every city needs is more landlords extracting unearned wealth, be it through backyard cottages or parking lots downtown…
Many homeowners have fought proposals to allow denser development in their neighborhoods because they feel it will change the area’s character and cause parking headaches.
I wonder what they mean by “change the area’s character?” And of course parking comes into it…this is a city built for cars, so their servants are at the ready.
While the survey shows a majority of King County residents want to see single-family home areas opened up to apartments and condos, there’s an interesting twist: Most of them would rather not live in those types of housing units themselves.
I appreciate that King County’s largely exurban/rural residents are willing to see Those People in Seattle take one for the team…I would remind them that the King County property tax database that could allow all property to be taxed separately on land and improvements is county-wide, not just for Seattle. Maybe some of those big parcels Out There have more remunerative uses…
It’s clear from the survey that King County residents see more development as one way to help make homes more affordable.
Is it though? Do the good people of North Bend care about that? Or are they willing to see development Somewhere Else? No shade on those folks but this attributes some intention they may not actually feel.
A solid majority — around 63% — wants to see more housing allowed on underdeveloped land, which could mean anything from unused vacant lots to low-rise buildings in upzoned areas. Another change that appeals to the majority of county residents is to open up public golf courses to housing development, supported by 53%.
That makes sense but still…Seattle residents defended their golf courses so I’m still wondering if this glosses over some antipathy for Seattle from the rest of King County. After all, it’s Seattle’s growth that has made everything worse and more expensive.
The survey’s crosstabs show the elimination of single-family home zoning in the city of Seattle is favored by more men than women. There is particularly strong support among people who live in South Seattle (67% approve). Also, people who have recently moved within Seattle, and those who have been struggling with rent or mortgage payments, show a higher-than-average level of support for ending single-family home zoning.
That tracks…I continue to think that South Seattle has a more realistic set of expectations about the city than the north end, which seems more and more like any well-off bedroom community, on the outskirts of Atlanta or Plano. The topography of Seattle doesn’t help here, with the narrow waist and no good ways to get through to join north and south. But that was always here: Forward Thrust tried to get past that with a transit system for a future version of Seattle that the voters rejected. Maybe a bifurcation of N and S Seattle should have been the other choice: either connect these parts or let them go their own way. In the ensuing 50 years, maybe the inequities we see today could have been addressed by the people affected by them. The Metro King County idea was not to have Seattle vs the rest of the county but the voters didn’t really buy into that.