Seattle as an Open City: Seattle’s Growth and Rising Housing Costs
The central argument of this post is that Seattle is facing a crisis of housing scarcity, and so municipal zoning restrictions on the supply of housing should be lifted. Seattle is currently the fastest growing large city in the United States. According to U.S. Census figures, in the one-year period from July 2012 through July […]
San Francisco: What a Real Debate About Housing Looks Like
I pointed out how desultory the City Council’s discussion about housing has become. Councilmembers seem to be sleepwalking through the most important discussion our city has ever had about housing. Instead of engaging with the community and each other, Councilmembers are rubber stamping legislation that will end up doing serious damage to housing affordability. However, […]
Council Does More Damage to Affordability Without Debate
I think the Seattle City Council has forgotten what a legislative body does: debate issues. Yesterday the City Council, with very little process or discussion, plowed ahead and passed substantial changes to the Multifamily Tax Exemption (MFTE) Program for Small Efficiency Dwelling Units or SEDUs, the new version of microhousing created by the City last […]
