Complete Communities Coalition Letter on Draft One Seattle Plan

April 16, 2025

Dear Councilmembers:

Seattle needs and deserves a bold Comprehensive Plan that allows for more homes in every neighborhood. We, the Complete Communities Coalition and the undersigned organizations— affordable housing developers, businesses, labor unions, environmental advocates, and community groups—urge the City Council to put housing first in the One Seattle Plan.

Seattle is a city of immense opportunity, innovation, and creativity. But right now, far too many people are priced out of the very communities they help sustain. Young people and families struggle to find an affordable home. Teachers, nurses, childcare workers, service and retail workers, and countless others who make our city function cannot afford to live in the neighborhoods they serve. Seniors looking to downsize and remain in their community can find few accessible and affordable housing options.

Our housing shortage did not happen overnight—it is the result of decades of restrictive zoning policies that have limited where and what types of housing can be built. By limiting new homes, these policies have fueled cutthroat competition, causing rents and home prices to skyrocket and pushing working people, families, and longtime residents out of Seattle.

Allowing more housing is not just good for affordability—it also strengthens our local economy. Businesses struggle to hire and retain workers when employees can’t afford to live nearby, and a strong, sustainable tax base depends on growing housing alongside jobs. Expanding housing choices will help make Seattle competitive, vibrant, and inclusive for generations to come.

If we don’t allow more housing in every neighborhood, we will only deepen these problems. The status quo is failing Seattleites, and we need bold action to change course.

We commend Mayor Harrell for taking major steps forward with the proposed One Seattle Plan. It rightly goes beyond state-mandated minimums under HB 1110, by allowing for small apartments and mixed-use development in 30 new Neighborhood Centers and expanded Urban Centers such as Upper Queen Anne, Upper Fremont, Greenwood, the Admiral District, and the Central District.

We support the ambitious direction set forth in the proposed One Seattle Plan and urge the Council to strengthen—not weaken—this critical roadmap for our city’s growth. Some ways to improve the plan are to:

• Expand Stacked Flats for Accessible Middle Housing: Make stacked flats legal on all lots near frequent transit, removing the unnecessary lot size minimums. This will unlock more accessible housing options in Seattle’s most desirable, high-opportunity neighborhoods.

• Expand the Affordable Housing Density Bonus: Allow the affordable housing density bonus to be used citywide, without parking mandates. Additionally, ensure the bonus can be used by a broad range of developers—including private, nonprofit, and social housing developers—to build mixed-income housing without relying on scarce public funding.

• Create a New Affordable Housing Density Bonus for Lowrise Zones: Establish a similar density bonus for lowrise zones, making it feasible to build 6-story midrise affordable housing in more neighborhoods. This will unlock more land for affordable development and ensure that housing for low- and moderate-income families is built in a wider range of communities.

• Eliminate Parking Requirements for Homes Near Frequent Transit: Remove all parking mandates for new housing in areas with frequent transit service, not just those that are within Urban or Regional Centers. Arbitrary parking mandates increase housing costs, limit the number of homes that can be built, and work against the city's climate and transportation goals by locking in car dependency.

• Add More Neighborhood Centers: Retain all proposed neighborhood centers and create new neighborhood centers in low-displacement risk and high-opportunity areas, including North Broadway, North Queen Anne, Alki, Gas Works, and Loyal Heights. These locations, near parks and community hubs, would allow more people to live in walkable, amenity-rich areas where they can meet daily needs without relying on a car.

• Expand Small-Scale Commercial in Neighborhoods: Build on the corner store proposal by allowing small commercial spaces on all residential lot.

• Expand Mixed Use Housing Near Frequent Transit: Apply Neighborhood Commercial zoning consistently along transit arterials to allow for more homes above and alongside essential services like childcare, grocery stores, and small businesses. Additionally, extend multifamily zoning beyond arterials to include blocks within a five-minute walk of frequent transit, ensuring more people can live in transit-connected, low-pollution neighborhoods.

Seattle has a choice: we can continue down the path of housing scarcity and rising costs, or we can take bold action to build a more affordable, walkable, and vibrant city. We urge you to act decisively and deliver a Comprehensive Plan that meets the urgency of this moment.

Thank you for your leadership. We look forward to working with you to pass a bold, visionary Comprehensive Plan that ensures Seattle can be a thriving and welcoming city.