Housing, Arts, & Civil Rights

Committee regular meeting days and time:

2nd and 4th Wednesdays at 2 p.m.

Committee Members:

Committee Scope:

To provide policy direction and oversight and to deliberate and make recommendations on legislative matters relating to:

  • the Office of Housing, including housing policies and programs, investing and promoting the development and preservation of affordable housing for workers, families, and retirees;
  • Rental regulation policies and practices, including regulations and enforcement activities administered by the Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections and the Office for Civil Rights;
  • Coordinating and managing the Council’s work related to the Seattle Social Housing Developer; the Office of Arts and Culture; and the Office for Civil Rights.

Housing Accelerator Information

The Seattle City Council’s Housing, Arts, and Civil Rights Committee will consider two pieces of legislation, a council bill and a resolution, related to the City’s Mandatory Housing Affordability – Residential (MHA-R) program.   

MHA-R is an affordable housing incentive program. In areas where increased residential development capacity has been provided, dwelling units meeting affordable housing requirements must be provided within a new development or the developer must make a payment “in-lieu” of providing those dwelling units.  

The council bill would temporarily reduce development fees under MHA-R to induce residential development for eligible projects.  Types of development projects eligible for the proposed in-lieu payment reductions are within two categories: 

  • Category 1 - vested development projects that are subject to MHA-R and make substantial progress towards construction demonstrated by foundation completion within two years – development fees for projects in this category would be reduced by 80 percent.  
  • Category 2 - future development projects that will make a building permit application by January 1, 2028, and make substantial progress towards construction demonstrated by foundation completion within three years and: 
    • Will include at least 25 percent of dwelling units as two or more bedroom units; and 
    • Will not be located in specified areas that are subject to high displacement risk unless the development site has been in continuous ownership since January 1, 2006. 

Development fees for projects in this category would be reduced by 60 percent.   

The Housing, Arts, and Civil Rights Committee will hold a public hearing to accept comments on the council bill on Thursday, December 3, 2026, at 2:00 p.m.   

The resolution would state the Council’s intent to: 

  • Implement inclusionary requirements into Neighborhood Residential (NR) zones, 
  • Scale affordable housing requirements in those zones to not significantly deter new development and establish a sliding scale with progressively higher requirements for less dense development, and 
  • Maintain inclusionary requirements at a flat rate in NR zones for at least five years. 

Development capacity in NR zones was recently increased through Ordinance 127376 as part of implementation of the “Middle Housing” mandate in ESHB 1110. 

Materials 

Documents for the proposal, including environmental documentation, public notices, and drafts of the bill and resolution are available here: 

City Council

Address: 600 4th Ave. 2nd Floor, Seattle, WA, 98104
Mailing Address: PO Box 34025, Seattle, WA , 98124-4025
Phone: (206) 684-8888
Fax: (206) 684-8587
Meet the Council

The Seattle City Council establishes City policy through enactment of ordinances (laws) and adoption of resolutions. The City Council also approves and adopts the City's budget. The nine Council members and their legislative assistants are part of the City of Seattle Legislative Department.