The City Council’s Planning, Land Use and Zoning (PLUZ) Committee will hold a public hearing to take comments on Council Bill 118959 on Thursday, June 1 at 6:00 p.m. in the City Council Chambers, Seattle City Hall, Floor 2, 600 Fourth Avenue, Seattle WA 98104.
The bill proposes changes to land use and zoning regulations affecting property in the Chinatown International District by rezoning land to implement Mandatory Housing Affordability (MHA) requirements.
The legislation would require new commercial or multi-family development in the affected zones to contribute to affordable housing by including affordable housing within the development or paying into a fund that will support development of affordable housing. To offset this requirement, the legislation would also add height (ranging from 10 to 30 feet, approximately one to three stories) or additional floor area for buildings in zones where the MHA requirements would apply.
The Council may consider the following amendments to the legislation, and is also seeking public comment on these potential changes:
- Amending the boundaries of the Design Review Boards to include the all areas within the CID in the boundary for the Downtown Design Review Board.
- Extending the boundary of the Special Review District east of Interstate 5 to include the blocks between 12th Avenue S and Rainier Avenue S and the blocks between S Jackson Street and S Main Street to Include all property in the CID in the International Special Review District.
- Exempting projects containing significant amounts of affordable housing from requirements of the incentive zoning program to gain more floor area and height. Such projects could achieve the maximum floor area and height permitted under the zoning without providing Downtown amenities or purchasing Transfer of Development Rights from South Downtown historic buildings or public open space.
View the proposals online at seattle.legistar.com/Legislation.aspx. Search for Record number “CB 118959.” For those who wish to provide comment, sign-up sheets will be available starting at 5:30 p.m. Public comment will be limited to 2 minutes per person (time needed for translation is not included in time limit). The public hearing will begin at 6 p.m., with a short presentation on the proposal. Childcare will be provided. Translation and interpretation will be provided in Cantonese, Mandarin, and Vietnamese.
Written comments on the proposal will be accepted through 5:00 p.m. on June 1, 2017. Send comments to Spencer Williams in Councilmember Rob Johnson’s office, via e-mail at: [email protected], or by mail to:
Councilmember Rob Johnson
Seattle City Council
600 4th Avenue, 2nd Floor
PO BOX 34025
Seattle, WA 98124-4025
