My comments:
I’ve lived in Seattle for 15 years, but even if I had lived in Seattle for 15 days I should also get a say in this conversation.
I’d like to remind the City Council that their actions don’t just impact their small district. And their actions impact not just the whole city, but the whole region. The cities around us are having to pick up the slack for the failure of Seattle to have enough housing. The state wouldn’t have acted if Seattle had more housing in the last comp plan. Every single neighborhood in every single city in the region has people that want the new housing “somewhere else”, “down the block”, “across the street”, “somewhere else”. All these people saying no to new housing is the reason we have a housing crisis. This is supported by data, which I know is a bit out of fashion these days.
The Mayor and many people on this council have made it clear with their austerity policies who they support in our community and who they do not; who they think belongs and deserves to be in our city and who does not; they prioritize cruise ship passengers and World Cup attendees and 2 million dollar property owners over those who struggle to pay their rent but make up more than half of our city.
Slow down our streets; Build the housing near transit and near parks and on quieter streets, and let’s boldly move forward with future land use that reduces the number of people getting run over on our unsafe arterial streets and ensures our city is the most welcoming places in our country.
I ask this council to include values statements around accessibility, affordability, social housing, transportation, and anti-displacement which other people are focusing on with more eloquence this evening.
I’m #41 online so don’t know if I’ll get a chance to share my comments tonight for the #CompPlan #Seattle
Hope folks like @ericacbarnett.bsky.social @jcohenwrites.bsky.social
@typewriteralley.bsky.social encourage people to reach out with the comments they didn’t get to share this evening.