Seattle council OKs legislation to streamline housing production

Seattle on Wednesday streamlined the permitting of some housing projects, including mixed-income developments if the affordable units are built on-site.

The City Council approved two bills. The first passed 8-0 and the second — a pilot program — was approved with two members, Tammy Morales and Kshama Sawant, dissenting because the red-tape-cutting legislation will help market-rate builders.

The legislation moved quickly, with passage coming just three weeks after Mayor Bruce Harrell proposed it, reflecting the council's desire to make progress on big issues for voters like housing affordability.

The bill that passed 6-2 includes a provision to temporarily exempt projects from the time-consuming design-review process if the developer chooses to meet Seattle's Mandatory Housing Affordability (MHA) requirement by including the lower-cost apartments in the building. Most builders elect to instead pay into the MHA fund, which other developers tap into to build low-income units elsewhere.

https://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2023/07/05/seattle-council-approves-bill-streamline-housing.html