A conversation with Seattle
“One sore spot,” admitted Richard Conlin recently, “has been the way that developers have used their ‘unit count’ in different ways depending on what City regulation they are working with.” Land use code counts units, as mentioned earlier, by kitchens. But “some developers,” Conlin says, also applied for a Multi-Family Property Tax Exemption (MFTE). Continue reading City Council Looks into Micro-Housing’s Free Lunch
“I don’t think we should accept the idea that people are doomed to be homeless and live in tents,” Conlin had told Publicola in November 2010. In October 2011, the Council passed legislation making it easier for religious groups to host tent cities for longer periods of time. Continue reading Op-Ed: City Council Has Nickelsville’s Rat-Infested Floodwater on Its Hands
Conlin, who studied history as an undergraduate, sounds like a history major still when he argues that, “Only since World War II has it become customary for local governments to be primary funders–and the current trend may be away from public finance.” That “only” refers to about 70 years. Continue reading City Council’s Two “No” Votes on Arena Justify Their Lack of Love
The City Council’s Nick Licata has just published an update on the effort to regulate towing company fees in Seattle. As you recall, this was something we were all spitting mad about last December. Every once in a while, diffuse populist outrage coalesces around an easy target, like a plague of potholes or Kardashians. Last winter, it was towing companies. Continue reading Nick Licata’s Costly Car-Towing Battle Set for a July Joust
The argument here, as it has played out in other parts of the city as well, revolves around the amount of money that builders can make by adding extra stories. Developers, in fact, would like 180-foot-tall buildings. But should Pioneer Square look like Belltown?
To that point, argues Licata, the Pioneer Square Preservation Board spent the last four years working with the DPD to settle on suitable height limits: in this case, the proposed maximum height of 120 feet, if developers use an incentive zoning program. Continue reading Licata, Clark, O’Brien Say Keep Pioneer Square People-Sized