Council News Release

Councilmember Peter Steinbrueck
Councilmember Richard Conlin

COUNCIL PASSES TRAILBLAZING URBAN SUSTAINABILITY PACKAGE
Legislation amends City’s Comprehensive Plan including aggressive new goals

SEATTLE – The Council today voted to update Seattle’s Comprehensive Plan to achieve greater urban sustainability. The Comprehensive Plan amendments changed policies related to utilities, land use, and climate change. Included in the amendments were changes to the environmental and transportation sections of the plan that call for an inventory of environmental impacts and strategies to increase urban sustainability.
The sustainability amendments include:

• An inventory of greenhouse gas emissions every three years
• A study of best practices from other agencies and private organizations and their approach to sustainability
• A more aggressive schedule to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 80 percent of 1990 levels by 2050 with an interim goal of 35 percent by 2024
• Development of standards for greenhouse gas emissions for privately owned buildings
• Using green building practices for repairs in all City owned buildings
• Encouraging reduced vehicle miles traveled through the adoption of transportation demand strategies
• A call for the Board of Health to create and support policies with measurable outcomes focused on prevention and based on the most current science
• Expanding health to include disease prevention and access not just to health care but also to physical and mental fitness for vulnerable communities
• Targeting at least 27 percent of expected housing growth to be affordable housing
• Establishing principles to ensure that new construction and housing is compatible and integrated with existing use patterns
• Promoting complete streets and making walking and biking a priority in transportation planning

Each year the Seattle City Council engages with community stake holders to consider changes to the Comprehensive Plan which is required by the Growth Management act.

“These amendments will move us forward by using the Comprehensive Plan to achieve greater urban and environmental sustainability,” said Councilmember Peter Steinbrueck. “Our actions today set new and more aggressive goals for the future of Seattle and are a model for the nation.”

The inclusion of more aggressive greenhouse emissions goals are consistent with Councilmember Steinbrueck’s recently passed legislation adding greenhouse-gas emissions to the City’s environmental review process for building permits.

“We must continue to support changes to our Comprehensive Plan that will result in a sustainable Seattle,” said Councilmember Richard Conlin. “These amendments reflect a consistent focus on sustainability for the Council.”

In October 2007, the Council adopted Resolution 31016 which changed the Comp Plan amendment process. Beginning with the 2008 amendment cycle, suggestions for amending the Plan should be sent by January 20 to the City Council at complan@seattle.gov , rather than to DPD as in the past. This is intended to streamline the review process and allow additional time to analyze requests. DPD will still be the executive’s lead for analyzing the possible amendments once they are identified in the Council’s resolution.

-30-

City Council