State Mandate - Build Middle Housing,
not Single Family Homes and Tower-hoods

HB1110 defines Middle Housing as: “compatible in scale, form, and character with single-family houses and contain two or more attached, stacked, or clustered homes including duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, fiveplexes, sixplexes, townhouses, stacked flats, courtyard apartments, and cottage housing.”

We represent 22 neighborhoods that want abundant Middle Housing in Seattle., ensuring our city has housing that is affordable to middle income families- teachers, firefighters and police.

What is not Middle Housing: Detached single-family “tower homes” and oversized attached units over 1,250 square feet do not align with the spirit or intent of Middle Housing. When developers replace older, modestly priced homes with luxury units—especially tall, bulky tower homes—they eliminate existing Middle Housing, erase tree canopy, and drive up land values. These projects often attract wealthier buyers relocating from other cities, while long-time residents seeking attainable housing are left with even fewer options.

If we continue down this path, we risk accelerating the destruction of true Middle Housing—ironically, under the banner of creating it.

LETTER TO COUNCIL MEMBERS JUNE 24 - LET’S BUILD ABUNDANT MIDDLE HOUSING IN SEATTLE

This letter is being sent to you on behalf of a cross-neighborhood group that represents over 20 neighborhoods. We want abundant Middle Housing in Seattle. We think it’s important that everyone knows what Middle Housing is: it is housing affordable to middle income families (teachers, firefighters and police). Middle housing is attached (not detached) and small (800-1250sf) – this is what makes Middle Housing affordable. What is not Middle Housing: detached single-family tower-homes and attached units that are over 1,250+ square feet.

In HB1110, the state defined and mandated Middle Housing, specifically excluding detached homes. It is up to the City and City Council to implement HB1110 in Seattle, fairly and honestly. By including non-Middle Housing in the density mandate, Permanent Legislation CB120993 will have the effect of destroying the Middle Housing we have and preventing the construction of new Middle Housing. It actively creates an economic barrier to abundant Middle Housing by 1) including detached single-family homes—-which HB1110 specifically excludes, 2) increasing FAR limits to include unit sizes well beyond Middle Housing, and 3) shrinking setbacks, growing lot coverage, and raising heights (which HB1110 precludes when it states Middle Housing should be consistent with existing housing). As it is written, Permanent Legislation CB 120993 will enable luxury developers to always outbid Middle Housing developers for parcels, and build multiple luxury single-family homes on those parcels – taking advantage of the new development regulations to create significant non-Middle Housing single-family home projects. In their wake, they will destroy any affordable middle housing, as well as trees and greenspace. That is NOT what HB1110 stipulates, nor will it create abundant affordable Middle Housing in Seattle.

If we want Middle Housing, and if we want the future as was intended with HB1110 and desired by many frustrated residents that cannot find Middle Housing, we need to specify Middle Housing characteristics in CB120993. The attached letter details the specific changes and amendment concepts.

As Seattle Residents, unfunded, and working our day jobs, attempting to evaluate over 600 pages of legislation in under 2 weeks has been a huge effort – and hundreds of folks have participated in the process. The attached is a culmination of all of our efforts, supported by thousands of residents. We realize that the devil is in the details and Councilmembers have too much on their plates to take deep dives into this legislation. We hope that you will, however, take the time to read our <2 page position statement and consider our amendment requests to create abundant Middle Housing in Seattle, which also has the positive effect of saving our trees and greenspace while making Seattle a place everyone can call home. It is what HB1110 intended.

SEATTLE RESIDENTS FOR THOUGHTFUL GROWTH

Position Statement and Amendment Requests

Over 22 organizations and neighborhood groups agree: Seattle can do better. The City’s HB1110 Permanent Legislation, which applies to every single-family lot in the city, unnecessarily shrinks setbacks, raises roof heights, and expands lot coverage—changes that will fast-track demolition and large-scale redevelopment across neighborhoods – to the benefit of developers and investors and to the detriment of affordable Middle Housing, current residents, and the environment. There are many examples of middle housing in Seattle today that respect the scale, character, and tree canopies of their neighborhoods – the true intent of HB1110. Let’s do more of that!

EVENTS

Friday, July 11 2pm: The council is set to finalize the boundaries for new neighborhood centers, a key component of the Mayor's Plan. This includes the establishment of future land use map boundaries for urban and regional centers, alongside 30 newly designated neighborhood centers.

Monday, August 4, 9:30: Phase 1 Amendments to Comp Plan

RESOURCES

SEATTLE TIMES ARTICLES

Background

This summer, the City Council is prioritizing major decisions on future growth citywide. A significant focus is on passing CB120993, legislation to comply with the state mandate (HB1110) allowing 4-6 units per lot across the city. This will substantially increase housing capacity and density. Between June and September, the Council will review, debate, and legislate the Comprehensive Plan CB120985, featuring new policies and Future Land Use Maps. Rezoning and converting all single-family lots to multi-family is the objective of Phase 1. The Full Council and Select Committee Meetings will primarily focus on HB1110 and the Comprehensive Plan legislation, aiming for a final vote in September. Council will shift to budget work in October-November, resuming Comprehensive Plan Phase II in Dec-January.