Land Use

Committee regular meeting days and time:

2nd and 4th Wednesdays, 2:00 p.m.

Committee Members:

• Chair: Dan Strauss
• Vice Chair: Tammy Morales
• Member: Teresa Mosqueda
• Member: Alex Pedersen
• Member: Sara Nelson

Committee Scope:

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

• planning and land use, including comprehensive planning, community development, zoning, design, and land use regulations, including the Office of Planning and Community Development, and the Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections, except for issues related to rental regulations;
• Major Institution Master Plans and quasi-judicial land use decisions; and
• the equitable development initiative (EDI) and its projects.

Meeting Schedule for the Tree Protection Ordinance

The Land Use Committee is holding a series of committee meetings in 2023 dedicated to discussing the proposed tree protection legislation, Council Bill 120534. Many of the meetings will solely focus on the tree bill. The full schedule can be found below. Please note that dates are subject to change:

Downtown Seattle Environmental Review Thresholds

Land Use Committee Chair, Councilmember Dan Strauss is considering a proposal to adjust the thresholds for environmental review of development in Downtown Seattle under the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA). The proposal would exempt residential buildings with up to 200 units and buildings with up to 30,000 square feet of non-residential space from environmental review based on new provisions in the Washington Administrative Code (WAC) section 197-11-800. Currently those thresholds are 20 residential units or 12,000 square feet of non-residential space.

The proposed new thresholds are needed because downtown Seattle exceeded the anticipated levels of growth that were estimated under Seattle’s most recent Comprehensive Plan. Before downtown Seattle exceeded that level of growth, projects with 250 residential units or 30,000 square feet of non-residential space were exempted from review under SEPA.

Please see the Draft Bill here.

Please see a report on how the requirements for environmental analysis, protection and mitigation for impacts to elements of the environment are currently addressed through other City, State and Federal regulations here.

Councilmember Strauss welcomes your input. Written comments on the legislation will be accepted through 5:00 PM on June 5, 2023. Please send comments to Kate Hoffman in Councilmember Dan Strauss’ office, via e-mail at: Kate.Hoffman@seattle.gov or by mail to:

Councilmember Dan Strauss
Seattle City Council
600 4th Avenue, 2nd Floor
PO Box 34025
Seattle, WA 98124-4025

Annual Seattle Comprehensive Plan Amendments for 2022-2023

The Washington State Growth Management Act gives Seattleites the opportunity to amend our Comprehensive Plan once a year. Anyone can suggest an amendment, including neighbors, business owners, councilmembers and City departments.

How to Apply

Use the application form to submit your proposal to the Council. To be eligible for consideration, applications for proposed amendments must be submitted by 5 p.m. on May 16th. Submit the application electronically via email at compplan@seattle.gov.

Background

With a few limited exceptions, the City Council may amend the Comprehensive Plan once a year. Generally, the Council process occurs in five steps.

First, in the spring the Council issues a call for amendment proposals. Anyone can submit a proposal.

Second, in the summer the Council reviews the amendment applications it has received and considers recommendations from the Office of Planning and Community Development (OPCD) and the Seattle Planning Commission. The Council then establishes by resolution a docket of the amendments the City will consider. This is often referred to as the “docket setting” resolution.

Third, the Office of Planning and Community Development (OPCD) reviews the docketed amendments and conducts environmental analysis, making a recommendation to the Council regarding which amendments should be made.

Fourth, in the winter, the Council receives recommendations from the Seattle Planning Commission.

Fifth, the Council considers the merits of proposed amendments, and acts on a bill amending the Comprehensive Plan.

Timeline

Resolution 31807 contains a timeline for the annual Comprehensive Plan amendment process:

Questions?

Naomi Lewis / Land Use Clerk / (206) 684-8806 / naomi.lewis@seattle.gov