The City’s Comp Plan must be updated every seven years. The next update must be completed by 2011. This is an opportunity to address and anticipate new growth, new challenges and new opportunities for Seattle. The city is changing, and the world is changing. We want your help in creating a visionary Comprehensive Plan that addresses the next 20 years and continues Seattle’s promise as the city of the future.
Seattle is in a challenging time. The global and local economies are stuck in a recession that doesn’t show a sign of relenting. Governments here and abroad are looking for ways to reduce the likelihood and the effects of climate change.
At the same time, Seattle is embarking on major capital projects: the replacement of the Alaskan Way Viaduct and the SR 520 Bridge; repair of the Waterfront seawall; expansion of the just opened light rail line.
All of these projects are part of what the region needs to do in order to prepare for the future. But we know there are more projects and activities we will need to undertake so that we are prepared for the population growth that forecasts say will occur here. We need to anticipate the needs of the future and use our community’s values to identify the general direction of future decisions we will need to make.
In the fall of 2009, the City of Seattle is launching a conversation with the public about how we should plan for the next 20 years, by updating the City’s Comprehensive Plan. One way to think about this is to imagine a time even further in the future, say 2050, and think about what will be needed to keep our city and our region livable and vibrant. Many of us won’t be here to see that time, but we all have ideas about how we want our children and grandchildren to live. In the conversation about updating the City’s Comprehensive Plan, we can think about the steps needed along the way, in the next 10 to 20 years, to get us where we want to be farther in the future.
New Growth
Seattle is growing. Since 2005, over 20,000 new household units were completed in Seattle, with over 6,000 of those units built in 2009 alone. To help keep such growth manageable, the State of Washington provides Seattle and other cities and counties with growth targets for new households and new jobs, to be absorbed over the next 20 years.
New Resources
Seattle’s first light rail line is up and running – and will reach the airport in December 2009. Seattle’s Pedestrian and Bicycle Master Plan are in place. With new residents moving to our city, we are more diverse and have more human resources than ever before.
New Challenges
Seattle is on its way to becoming America’s most livable city. Seattle is recognized around the world as a green and sustainable city. In fact, Seattle has lead the nation-wide movement for city Mayors to sign the Kyoto protocols on climate change. However, we continue to face the threats of climate change and global warming. Turning that around is a challenge for all of Seattle’s citizens –individual behavior and City policies must both be tools we use to conquer those threats. To this end, the City will build on state targets for reducing vehicle miles travelled and greenhouse gas emissions. Sustainability is a key goal of the update project.
New Outreach Tools
The City and DPD are using new “social media” tools to hear your concerns and ideas. The Comp Plan update project will be DPD’s first Facebook page! The Update will also feature an “RSS feed”. You can keep in contact with us as the update continues over the next two years.
