This is the building owner complaining about the character of the neighborhood. Of course it's the building with no character

Center medians (à la 1st Ave S. in Pioneer Square or NE Ravenna), replacing street parking with planted trees, installing small roundabouts with trees in the middle. So many options and most of them involve reclaiming space from cars for trees.

We should only be so lucky

This could be applied to every fee on the Junk Fee list. If LL's had to fight for tenants these fees would not be long for this world. Instead, we have a housing shortage and an elected body focused on the wrong solutions.

Design guidelines should be illegal under the 1st Amendment

I’m renaming SEPA the SEattle Process Annihilator - the place where good ideas go to die.

Why isn’t she announcing an extension of pedestrianizing Pioneer Square instead?

I've been walknig around Pioneer Square, looking at the food trucks and streets where people can walk without fear, and saying "we can do this ALL the time" throughout the World Cup. Pedestrianization works best when you just do it, rather than Seattle Processing the concept until it's a no.

We have a red alarm fire at City Hall after @mayorofseattle.bsky.social shelved legislation for an MHA holiday. We're down 94% in apt permits from peak and need to take every action possible to boost supply. Please use this link to contact her office to reconsider. actionnetwork.org/letters/unfr...

Really incredible the stuff we planned for when interest rates were 0

My ask for #waleg27, regulate modulations and balcony requirements out of existence. If we're feeling extra spicy, add outdoor/amenity space to that list as well.

NEW STORY// Tacoma Sees 62% More Homes Enter Pipeline Following 2025 Zoning Overhaul By Ryan Packer via @theurbanist.org

They closed the streets in Pioneer Square for World Cup games and it is glorious down here! Copy/paste for Seahawks and Sounders games.

Imagine a Sounders or Seahawks game watch here.

Weaponizing environmental concerns to prevent people from living in our urban environments isn’t new. It’s deployed by people with resources to restrict access to high opportunity areas. It’s nimbyism. In order to reach our housing goals, our land use processes must stop enabling this behavior.

these people can't be for real 😂

We've been holding this in for a little while: we're adding four new public restrooms in Pioneer Square. @mayorofseattle.bsky.social is delivering on her promise to provide more clean, accessible, and safe public restrooms. You shouldn't have to struggle to find a public bathroom.

The dramatic responses to David’s post prove his point perfectly.

I'd love to see the line on the pro forma that provides cash flow from leaving units vacant

For some context, Seattle's budget is $8.9b, so a cut of $175m is just shy of a 2% cut.

Great presentation from SDOT and FIFA reps tonight about upcoming street closures for World Cup games. Despite many sour comments from cranky residents, SDOT and SPD reps handled them well.

Maybe we finally get fire truck reform so that NIMBYs can keep their parking spots? A win is a win

Letting business/property owners override the Vision Zero safety team based on vibes is par for the course at SDOT and needs to change. Making intersections safer by improving visibility is a proven strategy. Of the proposed locations with pedestrian collisions, 0 remain in the plan.

Seattle perfected the stacked flat over a century ago. Why is OPCD still fiddling around with FAR, setbacks, pitched roofs, materials, etc.?

I think it's time we reopened the conversation around redeveloping the Talaris site.

This is also how a lot of land use regulation works: local governments create a bunch of arbitrary rules that make it impossible to build anything profitably, then give themselves the power to hand out exceptions in exchange for public and private benefits.

This chart tells a pretty incredible success story MHA funds are the smallest slice of this graph and yet MHA is the only funding source that directly hurts renters by blocking new homes from being built @mayorofseattle.bsky.social let's use this success to undo the damage from MHA!

Join us to celebrate new affordable homes opening in Phinney Ridge! We're partnering with Homestead to showcase their homes & welcome new residents to an exclusive neighborhood. April 30, 6:00pm 5819 Phinney Ave. RSVP at the link below. See you there! actionnetwork.org/events/welco...

This project is ripe for some guerrilla urbanism.

For anyone curious about how expensive MHA is, here's an 89-uint complex planned for the U-District. Each unit is a small SEDU and planned for less than 300 SF. The total MHA fee for this building is $645,182. Those fees are not paid by the developer, they're paid in higher rents.

Rode the new 2 line today for the first time. Felt like such a little kid again. I remember driving on this portion of freeway on the last day it was open to cars and feeling excited that I’d be riding the train on it someday. That someday is today!

It's me, the Special Interest Group

"So breaking news, we are going to basically revisit the original phases three and four. Plan to be far more aggressive with our timeline," Wilson said, adding: "So likely these will include zoning for more housing within walking distance to transit and not just along our busy arterial streets."

3.5 years for this 🙃

Love seeing the new protected bike lane on Yesler!

Saw this really neat train in the Detroit Airport last night

If you're in the neighborhood, please come make your voice heard! Pioneer Square was the original walkable neighborhood and over time it's turned over too much space to cars. Let's regain some of that space for walkers, rollers, and riders!

SB 6026 will significantly boost where builders can site new apartments. The flexibility in ground-floor commercial is a key (and controversial) part of the new law. www.sightline.org/2026/03/11/w...

Incredible that we're still doing DRB for a 6-unit TH project. Easy win for @mayorofseattle.bsky.social to delete this program

TIL there are two residential condos on top of Harvard Market. They're both right on top of the old Bartells. One of them even sold 2 years ago for $2m! www.redfin.com/WA/Seattle/8...

Chevy Equinox (??) rear ends a Ford F-150. How fast do you have to be going for the Equinox to end up like that? Speed limit here is 25 mph.

More proof that the state needs to take over planning.

I took the 7 once and it was the only time I’ve seen someone undress on transit. Can’t imagine how awful this line must be for people who take it regularly.

One of the coolest streets in Manhattan is Stone St. A former road that's been converted into outdoor dining. Pike Place could go this route and provide so much more revenue opportunities for restaurants, and better dining options for patrons.

Why don’t bus only lanes extend down 3rd Ave S? This is such a cluster.

Sunday's email: "We need a packed room to respond to this proposal." There are fewer than 20 attendees here.

Missoula, Montana has just: - Eliminated single family zoning - Eliminated parking requirements citywide - Allows 100-125' of height in many of its mixed-use zones with no limits on density or FAR Why is Missoula so much more progressive than Los Angeles?

It's wrong that they won't let me live in a 55+ community simply due to my age. They should let you in if you match the "general vibe"

Why do we use hollow bollards? They’re just always broken

This photo of a NIMBY complaining about change is going to age like those old photos of urban renewal. Congrats to BC on making missing middle a new reality.