Seattle YIMBY

Graphic promoting a survey by the Washington State Department of Commerce for the Department of Housing Task Force, inviting public input on housing experiences. The deadline for responses is April 26.

We need your feedback on housing in Washington. Commerce opened a survey to gather input to help shape recommendations for a potential state Department of Housing.

The anonymous survey is open to anyone who is interested.

Take the survey by April 26: www.surveymonkey.com/r/2026StateD...

Uninspired. Backward-thinking. Fails to meet the moment.

How would you describe OPCD's plan for Northgate?

Take their survey today!

Great idea for an event!

☠️ HAPPENING NOW ☠️

Everyone deserves to breathe fresh air where they live. When you use an unfiltered diesel generator to do construction work, it creates a toxic nuisance for the entire neighborhood.

#greenwood #pollution #arterials

Seattle’s climate and housing efforts collide against an unexpected bottleneck State and city lawmakers have mandated denser housing and the electrification of new homes. A weak link has emerged.

Paywall link here: www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...

archive.is/Traj7

Seattle City Light makes homes more expensive through arbitrary hookup fees and delays of up to THREE YEARS per project.

It increases housing costs for everyone. Rents go UP for everyone.

We need permit shot-clocks & fee-sharing rooted in fairness.

NIMBYs have captured every city department to the point where even the thought of visual neighborhood change becomes an existential threat.

Meeting Dates: • March 19, 2026, 2 p.m. • April 6, 2026 - Public Hearing, 9:30 a.m. • May 29, 2026 - Public Hearing, 9:30 a.m. • June 4, 2026, 1 p.m. • June 18, 2026, 1 p.m.

Mean girls image meme for "GET IN LOSER" GET IN SEATTLE OPCD WE'RE BUILDING SOCIAL HOUSING IN ALL NEIGHBORHOODS

We need to start blowing up council inboxes & public comment, to fix the @seattleopcd.bsky.social plan that only allows social & affordable housing on loud, polluted, & dangerous roads. Mark your calendars, put in your PTO 😭, & bring your friends. ALL HANDS ON DECK for Alternative 5 Corridors.

Washington has scored another first in the nation for statewide legislation to boost housing:

Yesterday HB 2228 to legalize scissor stairs passed the Senate 48 - 0, now headed to the Gov's desk.

Thank you Rep. Zahn and Sen. Bateman, and also @markusja.bsky.social who got this conversation started!

So we're going to rezone for transit oriented development in a 1-mile walk shed around all link stations? Right?

As YIMBYs, we celebrate inclusive, sustainable, and thriving communities where everyone has a place to call home.

Concentration camps are anathema to that vision. We must do whatever it takes to block them.

Not in Our Backyards.

ADUs: In 2024 there were 38 permits issued for pre-approved ADUs in Seattle, making up 4% of the 913 total permits issued for them that year. www.seattle.gov/documents/De...

Adding homes lowers rents for low-income tenants, even if they do not move into the new homes.

Policies that impede the construction of homes - even those marketed as luxury housing - hurt tenants.

Design Review is hostile to low-income tenants.

We are hearing the same thing with respect to the Comprehensive Plan, which is continuing to undergo years-long review without any plans to speed up the process.

Planning for neighborhoods must be sped up.

Design Review should be killed immediately.

We didn't vote for the status quo.

A chart showing that the nationwide rental vacancy rate has been rising since late 2021.

A chart showing that median rent spiked precipitously around the pandemic but has since begun a modest decline.

Rents are declining nationwide because the United States is building more housing. www.apartmentlist.com/research/nat...

www.seattletimes.com/opinion/diff...

Standard NIMBY arguments conjure scarcity: our island is full. There is no more land, water, or fresh air.

We counter scarcity with abundance: compact living is GOOD, more housing types are GREAT, & sustainable communities are NECESSARY.

Another today:

HB 2304 passed the House 94 - 0!

It's a small but key fix to last year's HB 1403 that extends the allowance for the use of 2-10 express warranties to cover liability on condo construction up to four stories and 12 units.

Thank you Rep. Taylor!

app.leg.wa.gov/BillSummary/...

WA bill HB 2228 to allow scissor stairs passed the House today, 95 - 0!

Thank you Rep. Zahn!

app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary/...

Zoning overlays that would require single-stair design to achieve lot coverage limits and preserve green space while allowing additional height...

Denver stepping up. Let's pay attention, folks! 👁️👁️

Read: archive.is/YNspf

Seattle renters, it's time to speak up! Share your renting experience with @mayorofseattle. The survey ends Feb 13th. Link in bio. #yourcity #seattle #thisisyourcity #seattlerenters

Nice job 👏👏! Would these projects quality for single-stair design as well?

As we work to make housing more affordable, renters across the city need to keep speaking out. That’s why today we’re launching our Mayoral Renter’s Survey. forms.office.com/g/B1K37QsKtf

www.instagram.com/reel/DUY32i7...

San Francisco's bizarre history of (literally) moving houses Don't like your 'hood? Just grab a couple horses and move your house to a new one.

San Francsico did this in the early 1900s:
www.sfgate.com/local/articl...

Chicago also has a history of doing it:
www.wolfehousebuildingmovers.com/project/rees...

This needs to be repeated:

Our housing plans should not revolve around "Corridors."

Homes belong in neighborhoods.

We voted for new leadership on housing. Unfortunately, it has not yet arrived.

🔊 ACTION ALERT 🔊

Send an email TODAY to Sharon.shewmake@leg.wa.gov, Victoria.hunt@leg.wa.gov, & Matt.boehnke@leg.wa.gov telling them to oppose SB5609

This bill would strangle efforts to address affordability, adding several layers of red tape to building homes for people.

Please send a couple emails TODAY to committee members, urging them not to advance #SB5609.

sharon.shewmake@leg.wa.gov
victoria.hunt@leg.wa.gov
matt.boehnke@leg.wa.gov

This bill risks gutting our breakthrough SEPA exemption passed a few years ago to increase certainty for housing development.

Housing 🤝 Transit

Let's build something together!

🚨 IMPORTANT 🚨

Historic preservationists are attempting to roll back the critical SEPA exemptions that #waleg passed for infill housing. In other words, #SB5609 would require historic preservation review even for projects that are SEPA-exempt.

There’s a hearing tomorrow!

Sign in CON now:

If we want to see the process (not just the outcomes) changed w/r/t planning for housing, we need to get loud!

NEW: Mayor Wilson has issued an Executive Order to "rapidly bring unhoused people inside and expedite the expansion of shelter and affordable housing."

View here: wilson.seattle.gov/wp-content/u...