Author Archives: WCC Communications

May WCC – “Land Use & Zoning” – News, Updates & Events

The Wallingford Community Council has been reporting monthly via newsletters and meetings on the progress of major land use changes impacting our neighborhood. We continue to actively monitor the state’s HB1110 “Middle Housing” legislation, which increases allowable density to 4-6 units on formerly single-family lots.

This is a special post to focus on this one “Land Use” topic. 

Why This Matters: The HB1110 legislation will significantly increase allowable building heights, lot coverage, and housing density citywide, including Wallingford’s traditional single-family areas. MHA fees, changes to Lowrise 1, 2, 3 and affordable housing provisions, and environmental impacts remain critical areas of concern.

Update on the city’s “Select Committee” review of HB1110 Interim Legislation (Council Bill 120969)

Initial opposition to the Mayor’s rezone proposals led to six appeals being filed against the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) in February 2025, which paused the review of the neighborhood map rezones and use March through  May meetings to finalize HB1110 by June. The City’s Hearing Examiner dismissed the six appeals this April on technicalities.

Upcoming “Select Committee” Meetings & Public Hearing on May 19th:

  • May 7, 2:00 PM: Discussion of Council member proposed amendments on HB1110
  • Monday, May 19, 9:30 AM Session I, 4:00 PM – City Hall, 600 4th Avenue
  • Wednesday, May 21, 2:00 PM: Select Committee Votes to finalize details of HB1110 development standards
  • Tuesday, May 27, 2:00 PM: Full Council Vote on HB1110 interim legislation 120969

Recent “Select Committee” Meetings:

  • March 19: Introduction to HB1110 requirements
  • March 28: Debate on Mandatory Housing Affordability (MHA) fees — the Mayor’s office proposed no MHA fees for developers in Neighborhood Residential zones.
  • April 16: Presentation on proposed development standards for setbacks, heights, and Floor Area Ratio (FAR).
  • April 30: Urban Forestry Commission presentation ( Mayor’s Office) 

Looking Ahead: What’s Next 

After the passage of Interim Legislation 120969, the Council will begin summer 2025:

  • Replace Interim Legislation with Permanent HB1110 Final Legislation (Phase 1)
  • Review and update Comprehensive Plan policies, growth strategies, and Future Land Use Maps
  • Address zoning map  changes in Neighborhood Centers, Urban Centers, and transit corridors (Phase 2)

Want to Share Your Voice with the City Council? 

We encourage you to continue to write, call, or sign up to make comments remotely at any Select Committee meeting in the next few months.

Or contact them directly:

Stay engaged! The next several months will be critical for shaping Wallingford’s future. We encourage residents to get involved! Please visit wallingfordcc.org/contact to send us your information. We will follow up with ways to get involved.

The next several months will be critical for shaping Wallingford’s future. We encourage residents to get involved! Please visit wallingfordcc.org/contact to send us your information. We will follow up with ways to get involved.

Thank you for your ongoing support and commitment to making Wallingford a thriving community. 

Annual Membership Meeting w/ Special Guest Jorge Baron (District 4), Waterways Walk, Gasworks Park News, and Historic Wallingford at Wally-Home Resource Fair

We have an an update that the “Waterways Walk” has been moved to 10:00 am on Saturday, May 31st, 2025. (Corrected below.) 

SAVE THE DATE: Annual Meeting and Officer Elections 2025 on Wednesday, May 14th, 7:00 PM

Elections for the Wallingford Community Council board member positions and our special guest: Jorge Barón, District 4 Representative on the King County Regional Council. 

Wallingford Community Council – General Meeting 
Date & Time: Wednesday, May 14, 2025 | 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM
Check-In: 6:30 PM – 6:55 PM (You must attend in person to vote)
Location: Good Shepherd Center, 4659 Sunnyside Avenue, North Chapel, 4th floor 
Special Guest: Jorge Barón, District 4 Representative on the King County Regional Council  (About Jorge Baron)

We invite you to an evening of learning about interconnections between state, county, and city government. Jorge is one of nine members of the King County Council for the 2024-26 term. D4 includes Belltown to the south, Broadview to the north, and West of I-5 to the water. Jorge follows Jeannie Kohl Welles, who retired two years ago. We are honored to have Jorge as our keynote speaker. Join us!

Agenda:

  • 6:30–6:55 PM: Member Check-In (must attend in person to vote)
  • 7:00 PM: Welcome and Officer Elections
  • 7:20–8:15 PM: Special Guest — Jorge Barón, District 4 Representative on the  Metropolitan King County Council
    8:15 PM: Announcements and Closing Remarks
    8:30 PM: Adjourn

Have a topic or question for Rep. Barón?
Please email pres@wallingfordcc.org by May 12.

Volunteers Needed:
We could use help setting up and putting away chairs before the meeting and leave in place after.. Thank you!

Membership Reminder:
To vote, you must have renewed or joined after November 1, 2024, and no later than April 28, 2025.

Interested in serving on the WCC Board?
Please email communications@wallingfordcc.org with a short description of your interest and neighborhood involvement.

Upcoming Event: Waterways Walk

Join us for a walk to learn about Wallingford’s historic connection to Lake Union and ongoing efforts to preserve public shoreline access.

SAVE THE DATE
When: Saturday, May 31, 2025 | Time: 10:00 A.M.
Where: Meet at the tiled plaza at the Wallingford Steps (above the Burke-Gilman Trail)
Learn More: Wallingford Shoreline Project

Gas Works Park News

The Wallingford Community Council Board recently met with the Assistant Superintendent of Parks to discuss concerns around large private music concerts and events at Gas Works Park. We have been meeting with park managers recently to ask for stricter monitoring of noise amplified at music and athletic events. We have requested better supervision related to traffic safety and congestion, parking management for extremely large private ticketed commercial events, as experienced last summer 2024. Gasworks has not hosted this type or scale of event since 2007. We have requested the Parks administration plan for the availability of on-site management to address problems that arise during these events.

The current schedule for large/major special events at Gasworks in 2025 is:

  • Seattle 4th of July Friday, ( 40 K estimated attendance)
  • Day Trip Concert: Saturday. July 26th (10K estimated attendance)
  • Obliteride: Friday August 8th (concert-3K estimated attendance)
  • Saturday. August 9th ( bike ride-7K estimated attendance)
  • AEG Concert: Saturday, August 30th ( 10K estimated attendance) ** date could be moved to August 23
  • Diplo Mascot Run+ Concert: Saturday, September 27 ( 8K estimated attendance)


Historic Wallingford Sponsors a Wally-Home Resource Fair at Wallingford Center 

When: Saturday, May 31, 2025, 10 AM-3 PM, free
Where: Wallingford Center, 1815 N. 45th Street
Learn more: https://www.historicwallingford.org/2025-home-fair/

Thank You

The next several months will be critical for shaping Wallingford’s future. We encourage residents to get involved! Please visit https://wallingfordcc.org/contact to send us your information. We will follow up with ways to get involved.

April WCC Meeting 7-9 pm: Zoning Proposals, FEIS Appeals, Q&A, Memberships

Dear Wallingford Neighbors,
Spring is here, and with it comes renewed opportunities for civic engagement and neighborhood advocacy. We’d like to invite you to stay informed and get involved as Seattle continues its planning process for housing and zoning changes that will shape Wallingford for years to come. Below are key updates and Save the Dates for our upcoming WCC general meeting and May Board Election meeting.
SAVE THE DATE: The Next WCC Meeting is April 2, from 7-9 PMWallingford Community Council – General Meeting 
Date: Wednesday. April 2, 2025 
Time: 7:00 PM- 9:00 PM
Location: Good Shepherd Center Room 202 at 4649 Sunnyside Avenue North (Free parking on site)

Join us for an informative session on the state-mandated HB1110, the “Middle Housing” legislation. We’ll delve into its direct impact on Wallingford and its surrounding neighborhoods. The meeting will feature a presentation and an open Q&A session, where we’ll explore the legislation’s requirements for the city to permit 4-6 units on previously single-family lots outside the urban village in NR or neighborhood residential zones.

The city has a June deadline to comply in passing the HB1110 state-mandated legislation. We will present some key slides from the Select Committee/City Council’s March 19 and 28 presentations. We will highlight information property owners need to know.

We will have  Wallingford Maps to check to see if your formerly single-family lot outside the urban village is designated NR and where HB1110 will be applied. 

There are three categories of NR zoning:
* NR3 = 5,000 square foot lots
* NR2 = 7,200 square foot lots
* NR1 = 9,600 square foot lots.

RSL Residential Small lot designations west of Stoneway are being replaced by Lowrise 1 zones for several blocks.

WHAT’S NEW

“Select Committee” shifts focus from the 2044 Comprehensive Plan ( Mayor’s rezone plans) to the State’s HB1110 legislation through late May

The recent filing of the six appeals challenging the validity of the FEIS ( Final Environmental Impact Study) forced City Council to postpone working on the Comprehensive Plan policies and Mayor Harrel’s plan on citywide rezones until the appeals are resolved in hearings before the city’s hearing examiner from April 28 to late May. The Wallingford CC did not file an appeal. 

Here is the link to look at details of the appeals challenging the FEIS by appeal sponsors: https://web6.seattle.gov/Examiner/casesearch?fid=0&sval=w-25 

All Select Committee meeting times listed are during the day so if you miss watching live use the link www.seattlechannel.org to find the recording of any Select Committee meeting listed below.

Pre-register to be able to make public comments either in person or remotely by signing up here.

Revised Select Committee Schedule:
* Wednesday, March 19 2:00 pm HB1110 meeting state requirements. Link to recorded meeting: https://www.seattlechannel.org/mayor-and-council/city-council/select-committee-on-the-comprehensive-plan
* Friday, March 28 9:30 am: Proposed interim legislation and Mayor’s office on HB1110 (no public comment today)
* Wednesday, April 16th 2:00 pm: HB 1110 an interim legislation
* Wednesday, April 30th – 2:00 pm: Discussion of key issues
* Wednesday, May 7th – 2:00 pm: Possible amendments 
* TBA date for May public hearing on HB1110 and interim legislation
* Wednesday, May 21st – 2:00 pm: Committee vote on legislation
* (Tentative date) May 27th – 2:00 pm: Council vote on legislation 

All the meetings will be located in City Council Chambers 600 4th Avenue Seattle, 98104. 

We encourage you to continue to write, call, or sign up to make comments remotely at any Select Committee meeting in the next few months. 

Email all city council: at council@seattle.gov or contact them directly by phone with your concerns.
* Bruce.Harrell@seattle.gov
* OneSeattlePlan.zoning@seattle.gov
* Joy Hollingsworth D3 Chair Select Committee Joy.Hollingsworth@seattle.gov 206 684 8803
* Dan Strauss D6 Vice Chair N. of 50th Wallingford/Tangletown Dan.Strauss@seattle.gov 206 684 8806
* Maritza Rivera D4 N.E Seattle Wallingford Maritza.Rivera@seattle.gov 206 684 8804
* Sara Nelson At Large Sara.Nelson@seattle.gov 206 684 8809
* Alexis Mercedez Rinck At Large AlexisMercedez.Rink@seattle.gov 206 684 8808
* Robert Kettle D7 Robert.Kettle@seattle.gov 206 684 8807
* Cathy Moore D5 Cathy.Moore@seattle.gov 206 684 8805
* Rob Saka D1 Rob.Saka@seattle.gov 206 684 8801
* Mark Soloman D2  Mark.Soloman@seattle.gov 

OTHER RESOURCES
* June to Sept – The Timeline for the council to resume review of Comp Plan legislation/Mayor’s Plan and release of revised zoning maps is postponed through at least the end of May
* Zoning Proposal Maps: https://one-seattle-plan-zoning-implementation-seattlecitygis.hub.arcgis.com/
* OPCD Project Documents / Mayor’s Recommended Growth Strategy (2024). This contains the Draft Plan and other key related documents. The FEIS (Final Environmental Impact Study) was just released on Jan 30, 2025. FEIS ( Final Environmental Impact Study. This document released in late January is 1,300 pages. If you are interested in downloading it, here is the link: https://www.seattle.gov/opcd/one-seattle-plan?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govde
Join or renew your Wallingford Community Council Membership for 2025 online at wallingfordcc.org

SAVE THE DATE
Wallingford Community Council Annual Membership Meeting for Election of Board
Date: Wednesday, May 14, 2025
Time: 7:00-9:00 PM (Member check-in for voting eligibility will be at 6:30 PM
Location: Chapel (The top floor of the Good Shepherd at 4649 Sunnyside Avenue North)
Featured Speaker: Jorge Baron D4 representative on the King County Regional Council. (About Jorge Baron)

If you would like to be considered for nomination to a board member position, please send a message describing your interest and past level of involvement with the neighborhood and WCC to communications@wallingfordcc.org by April 20. Elected officers are President, Vice President, Secretary, and three board members “at large”. The current Treasurer is serving one more year of a two-year term.

Here is a chance to show your support of the work of the Wallingford Community Council and their advocacy for the neighborhood by joining or renewing your WCC membership online today at wallingfordcc.org. You must reside in Wallingford, own a property, or manage a business within the boundary of the neighborhood to be a member to vote in May for the board renew by April 30.

Annual dues are as follows: 
* Family Membership: $25.00
* Individual Membership: $15.00
* Senior Member: $10.00
* Business: $100

Your annual membership fee runs from January to December each year.

The Wallingford Community Council meetings and newsletters from September to the present have kept you informed about important issues. Topics have included the transportation levy, the relationship between property taxes and rezoning, and citywide rezoning plans, specifically for Wallingford.

Join or Renew Today!
RECAP: February 12 Wallingford CC meeting
Residents were able to be heard and many voiced concerns and recommendations about rezone proposals for Wallingford directly to Maritza Rivera D4 City Council person, Michael Hubner Long Range Planning Manager Comp Plan and Rico Quinindongo Director OPCD. It was a full house and a great opportunity to provide feedback on rezoning proposals. 
Thank you for your ongoing support and commitment to making Wallingford a thriving community. 

Mar 5 WCC Meeting 7-9 pm: Zoning Proposals, FEIS Appeals, Q&A, Memberships

The Wallingford Community Council will hold a meeting on Wednesday, March 5th, from 7-9 pm. The meeting will cover updates on City Council Zoning Proposals and Select Committee February meetings. It will also detail the six appeals filed to challenge the FEIS’s validity. There will be a Q&A session on the city’s Wallingford rezone maps, a reminder to join or renew Wallingford Community Council memberships for 2025, and information about volunteer opportunities.

The City Council’s Select Committee is currently paused, awaiting the outcome of six appeals challenging the Final Environmental Impact Study (FEIS), which was released on January 29, 2025. The appeals were filed within the 14-day window in mid-February and will be heard by the City’s Hearing Examiner.

The Select Committee/City Council must resolve these appeals before voting on legislation within the One Seattle Zoning Plan, including the HB1110 state plan, the Mayor’s Plan, and the Comprehensive Plan. Although the Council may continue Select Committee discussions, the appeals likely prevent them from voting on legislation as previously scheduled.
March, April, and May Select Committee meetings are awaiting rescheduled dates.  The Wallingford Community Council did not join any appeal on the FEIS.
SAVE THE DATE: The Next WCC Meeting is Wednesday, March 5, from 7-9 PMWallingford Community Council Meeting
Date: Wednesday, March 5, 2025 
Time: 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Location: Room 202, Good Shepherd Center (4659 Sunnyside Ave. N.)

The FEIS (Final Environmental Impact Study) was just released on Jan 30, 2025. There was only a two-week appeal period. This document is 1300 pages if you are interested in downloading it, here is the link: https://www.seattle.gov/opcd/one-seattle-plan?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery
  
Here is the link to look at details of the appeals challenging the FEIS by appeal sponsors: https://web6.seattle.gov/Examiner/casesearch?fid=0&sval=w-25

We recommend reading the talking points about the impacts of rezoning for upcoming Select Committee meetings and public hearings on the Comprehensive Plan 2044 Wallingford Community Council’s “One Seattle Plan-Call to Action”. https://www.wallingfordcc.org/2024/12/14/call-to-action-the-city-needs-to-hear-from-you-on-one-seattle-plan/
 
Join or renew your Wallingford Community Council Membership for 2025 online at wallingfordcc.orgJoin or renew your Wallingford Community Council membership for 2025 online today! Your annual membership fee supports our primary fundraising efforts and helps sustain our operations throughout the year (January- December). As a member, you’ll stay informed about current issues, meet new friends, and give back to your neighborhood. You’ll also receive our emailed newsletter and have the opportunity to participate in Wallingford Council initiatives that shape our neighborhood’s future on a local, citywide, and statewide level.

This year, we’re focusing on outreach and educational information about the city’s rezone plans. Our all-volunteer board members work on concerns voiced by neighborhood residents and businesses. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to vote in the mid-May Annual Election Meeting for 2025-26 board officers – you must join by April 25th to be eligible.

Annual dues are as follows: Family Membership $25.00, Individual Membership $15.00, Senior Member $10.00, Business $100.00.

Key Criteria: You must be an active part of Wallingford to join as a voting member. (You have to either reside, own a property, or manage a business, in Wallingford).You must join or renew by April 25 to vote in the mid-May election.Join or Renew Today!
Volunteer to be a “Friend of Wallingford Council” to offer occasional helping hands If you would like to help us out during a demanding year of challenges with rezoning proposals for Wallingford, please give your contact information to any of the board members to be a “Friend of Wallingford Council”. This means we would contact you for occasional tasks such as distributing informational flyers about special meetings, graphics, or extra hands at meetings or special events, such as greeting people at the door. Give us your contact information at the next WCC meeting or sign up to volunteer online!
Gasworks Park Project Needs Volunteer with Excel or Numbers SkillsIn 2024, the city permitted special private weekend music concerts/events at Gasworks Park, accommodating up to 10,000 people per event. These events are expected to continue in 2025.  We need help creating a calendar or graph of permitted events to ensure sponsors meet contractual obligations for allowed usages (e.g., displaying permits) and that the public retains access to Gasworks during peak weeks of public demands for park access.

If you have a few hours and Excel or Numbers skills to help with this project, please email hodder@gmail.com.
 
Key Topic for 2025: The City Council/Select Committee now focuses on the Public Process for the Comp Plan 2044 and Re-zoning Legislation. The City Council’s Select Committee, consisting of all nine City Council members, began discussions on January 6th regarding the 2044 Comprehensive Plan and the One Seattle Plan. The Council is responsible for making final decisions on the Comp Plan legislation, the HB1110 Middle Housing state mandate (passed in 2023), and the Mayor’s additional rezone map proposals.

Select Committee meeting dates and times for public participation in Phase 1 legislation (through May 2025) are subject to change due to appeals filed on the FEIS. The state deadline for the city to adopt HB1110 legislation is June. 

All Select Committee meetings can be seen live at the time of the meeting or recordings are made available on the Seattle Channel shortly after the meeting ends. (Link: https://www.seattlechannel.org/mayor-and-council/city-council/select-committee-on-the-comprehensive-plan)Jan. 6 “Comprehensive Plan Overview”Jan. 15: “Growth Strategy Overview & Phase 1 Zoning Preview”Jan. 29: “Select Committee key Topic ‘Displacement’”Feb. 5 “Public Hearing on rezone plans” 5 hours of neighborhood commentsFeb. 19 “Special meeting from City Departments on Infrastructure Needs”Refer here for the full City Council Select Committee Schedule.

Only two more Public Hearings are planned through May!

Please review the Wallingford Community Council’s “One Seattle Plan-Call to Action” page for more details and talking points. 

The Select Committee meeting schedule below is now subject to change due to the appeals filed on the FEIS

Comprehensive Plan reference for March, April, and May meetings:https://www.seattle.gov/documents/Departments/OPCD/SeattlePlan/OneSeattleComprehensivePlan.pdfWednesday, March 5th – “Comp Plan Issue ID Part I”Wednesday March 12 Comp Plan Amendments due sponsored by a council personWednesday, March 19th – “Comp Plan Issue ID Part II”April 2,16,( April 30 Public Hearing Comp Plan and Zoning)May 16 Public Hearing, May 22,23May 29th – Final Vote on Phase I – Meeting the state requirements for HB1110June to Sept – “Phase 2 zoning legislation”Other Resources: Zoning Proposal Maps: https://one-seattle-plan-zoning-implementation-seattlecitygis.hub.arcgis.com/ OPCD Project Documents / Mayor’s Recommended Growth Strategy (2024). This contains the Draft Plan and other key related documents. Essential WCC November / December – Meeting Information on One Seattle Plan and Rezone Maps Attached and Major Impacts explaining the 5 story plan on Bus Arterials for Wallingford 

On October 16, 2024, the city released online maps with the locations of “NR” (Neighborhood Residential) zones where formerly single-family lots outside urban villages will be converted to denser multi-family 5,000 square foot lots allowing 4-6 units per lot as required in the state-mandated legislation HB1110. Four units are now allowed in all designated NR zones, but six units are allowed ¼ mile from major transit (rapid ride or light rail). 

OPCD provided opportunities to comment on online maps using social media and held open houses for each city council district, distributed paper maps for neighborhoods, and closed public comment in December 2024. 

At our meetings, we demonstrated how you can use the online maps to show current and proposed zoning for individual properties by address. We also distributed maps showing proposed rezone locations and differences in the lowrise and NR zones, including heights, setbacks, and far, lot coverage for each of the zone changes.

WCC’s November presentation explained the details of the Mayor’s plan which is additional and separate from the state plan. The Mayor’s rezone proposals include expansions of 30 Neighborhood Centers and conversions of thousands of single-family lots to multi-family surrounding the 30 Neighborhood Centers citywide increasing bulk, height, and scale. In addition, the Mayor’s proposal proposes to rezone single-family lots facing arterials city-wide on the bus routes for “frequent transit” from “single-family lowrise” to 5 stories. The public comments received on the rezone maps through December 20 will be compiled and shared this coming spring 2025.

The Comp Plan housing growth target from April 2024 set a target of 80,000 to 120,000 housing units. The FEIS ( Final Environmental Impact Study) just released studied the 80k to 120k impacts for that housing growth target. The Mayor’s plan released on Oct. 16, 2024, surpasses the Comp Plan housing growth target by increasing housing unit growth to 330,000 housing units. 

The public comments during the Select Committee hearings for the next several months will be considered before the second set of rezone maps are prepared by OPCD and released in May 2025. The vote on revised maps will follow. Michael Hubner, Director for the Comp Plan said “he guarantees there will be changes on the revisions of rezone maps.

Major Wallingford Impacts

Ask the city to reduce heights in the Mayor’s frequent transit plan from “Lowrise 3” 5-story/50-foot buildings to more compatible heights of “NR” (4-6 units per lot 30 height) or “Lowrise 1” (30 feet) along arterials in Wallingford of routes 62, 31, 32.Let us consider the residents who want to stay in their neighborhoods and the potential displacement here. Many blocks of the formerly single-family zoned lots located along these bus routes in Wallingford have naturally affordable older homes. Many homes are family-sized rentals, including duplexes, triplexes, small apartments, and businesses. 

The Mayor’s plan is proposing city-wide upzoning on all “frequent transit “arterial facing streets encouraging demolitions, not rehabilitation. These proposed high unit capacity zone proposals at LR3 allow 5-story/50-foot buildings to offer more built-in profitability for developers and will likely accelerate demolitions. This can displace and force out occupants of all ages, races, and incomes who reside in these homes facing arterials citywide. Rezoning for greater unit capacity and jumping to the highest residential zones can increase land values and property taxes for homeowners, renters, businesses, and those on fixed incomes who simply can not keep up with these increases. Assessors base property values on market sales on “highest and best use”. That means you can have property tax increased on the rezoned potential capacity of your lot even though you choose not to redevelop it.

The 5-story city-wide plan for rezones citywide along “frequent transit” bus routes….Lack of nuances of various neighborhood street considerationsOver-reliance on the city’s online website and absence of  direct outreach by the city to neighborhoodsLack of consideration of context and existing heightsCreate corridor and canyon effects, reduce access to light and airShadow neighboring homes, devaluing investments in solar panelsCreate a loss of trees with an increase in lot coverage from 35% to 50%. Decrease front setbacks for larger tree retention and plantingCreate a scarcity of amenities like parks, libraries, and grocery stores for increased populations.Lack of mitigations for traffic, parking congestion Overall, a very weak plan for truly affordable housing Loss of older “naturally affordable “ small duplexes, triplexes, small apartmentsDisplacement of those who cannot keep up with higher property taxes as a result of rezones
A win/win can be achieved with either an NR designation (Hb 1110 4-6 units per 5,000 sq. foot lot) or a Lowrise One zoning designation both blending in with existing heights of 30-foot maximum in the context of older neighborhoods instead of such a height jump to 50 feet to large 5 story buildings on the bus route arterials described below. NR zones 4-6 units per lot or Lowrise one zones increase unit housing capacity and density at heights, but are more compatible with the existing context of these blocks.

Ask the council about revisiting and implementing impact fees for parks, fire, schools and roads instead of more levies which could help reduce property taxes.  Many other municipalities outside of Seattle collect impact fees for infrastructure.

Ask for reduced heights from LR3 /5 story /50 feet zoning proposed to NR or LR One /3 story/ 30 feet zoning for residents of these specific streets impacts for arterials on Wallingford bus routes 62, 31,32.Route 62 proposes to upzone properties to Lowrise LR3/5 stories, 50-foot buildings along Meridian north/south from 50th- 56th Routes 31 & 32 propose to upzone properties to LR 3 5 stories, 50-foot buildings along 40th east/west from UW to WallingfordRoutes 31 & 32 arrive at the 40th and Wallingford intersection then travel south on Wallingford to 35th Routes 31 & 32 at 35th and Wallingford intersection the bus travels west/east to Fremont Ave



(Click here for larger versions of the Wallingford Impacted Areas as seen above) 
 
Email all city council: at council@seattle.gov or contact them directly by phone with your concerns.

Next WCC Meeting on Feb 12th with Maritza Rivera, Seattle City Council Member (District 4)

Wallingford Community Council Meeting
Date: Wednesday, February 12, 2025
Time: 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Location: Room 202, Good Shepherd Center (4659 Sunnyside Ave. N.)

Join us on February 12 for the first WCC meeting of 2025, featuring District 4 Council member Maritza Rivera. We’ll discuss the latest updates on the Comprehensive Plan and zoning changes and their impact on Wallingford. With the Final Environmental Impact Study (FEIS) just released and a short window for public input, this is a critical time to stay informed and engaged. Key upcoming meetings and public hearings will shape the future of our neighborhood—get involved!

Maritza is a representative of the “One Seattle Team,” and this is a critical opportunity to hear about and discuss the impacts/mitigations identified resulting from the Comprehensive Plan updates and zoning proposals for Wallingford.  Maritza can review her role on the Select Committee as she and the full council review the One Seattle Zoning plans and Comprehensive Plan legislation with a public process. (The Select Comm for 2044.)

Mark your calendar, bring your questions, and provide feedback to shape the future of our community.

BREAKING NEWS: The FEIS (Final Environmental Impact Study) was released yesterday, Jan 30, 2025. There is only a two-week appeal period that closes on Feb 13th, 2025. This document is 1,300 pages and available for reading here: https://www.seattle.gov/opcd/one-seattle-plan?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery

We recommend reading the talking points about the impacts of rezoning for upcoming Select Committee meetings and public hearings on the Comprehensive Plan 2044 Wallingford Community Council’s “One Seattle Plan-Call to Action”
Key Topic for 2025: The City Council/Select Committee now focuses on the Public Process for the Comp Plan 2044 and Re-zoning Legislation. 

The City Council’s Select Committee launched discussions on Jan. 6 on the 2044 Comprehensive Plan and the One Seattle Plan. The “Select Committee” is comprised of all nine City Council staff members. They are responsible for final decisions on the Comp Plan legislation, the HB1110 Middle Housing state mandate passed in 2023, and the Mayor’s additional rezone map proposals. We are including the Select Committee meeting dates and times for people to participate in the public process for Phase 1 legislation through May 2025. The state deadline for the city to complete adoption legislation for HB1110 is June. 

All Select Committee meetings can be seen live at the time of the meeting or recordings are made available on the Seattle Channel shortly after the meeting ends. (Link: https://www.seattlechannel.org/mayor-and-council/city-council/select-committee-on-the-comprehensive-plan)

Upcoming “Select Committee” Meetings. (located at City Hall 600 4th Street Floor 2)
– Wednesday, February 5 at 11 am – “Public Engagement” 
– Wednesday, February 5th at 5:00 pm – “Public Hearing”.Pre-register to be able to make public comments either in person or remotely by signing up here.
– Email: council@seattle.gov.

Refer here for the full City Council Select Committee Schedule.

Only two more Public Hearings are planned through May!

Please review the Wallingford Community Council’s “One Seattle Plan-Call to Action” page for more details and talking points. 

Past “Select Committee” Meetings:

Here is the link to a Seattle Times article with quotes from the council from the first Select Committee meeting on:
– Jan. 6: “Comprehensive Plan” Overview: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/fault lines-emerge-as-seattle-council-takes-up-housing-plan
– Jan. 15: “Growth Strategy Overview & Phase 1 Zoning Preview”
– Jan. 29: “Select Committee key Topic ‘Displacement’”You can watch recordings and find the presentation slides for the Jan. 6th, 15th, and 29th meetings here: https://www.seattlechannel.org/mayor-and-council/city-council/select-committee-on-the-comprehensive-plan. 

Future “Select Committee” Meetings:
The Select Committee has announced tentative dates for future meetings in March, April, and May. 
– Wednesday, March 5th – “Comp Plan Issue ID Part I”
– Wednesday, March 19th – “Comp Plan Issue ID Part II”April 2,16,( April 30 Public Hearing Comp Plan and Zoning)
– May 16 Public Hearing, May 22,23
– May 29th – Final Vote on Phase I – Meeting the state requirements for HB1110
– June to Sept – “Phase 2 zoning legislation”

Other Resources: Zoning Proposal Maps: https://one-seattle-plan-zoning-implementation-seattlecitygis.hub.arcgis.com/ OPCD Project Documents / Mayor’s Recommended Growth Strategy (2024). This contains the Draft Plan and other key related documents. Recapping the WCC November / December  Meeting Information on One Seattle Plan and Rezone Maps

On October 16, 2024, the city released online maps with the locations of “NR” (Neighborhood Residential) zones where formerly single-family lots outside urban villages will be converted to denser multi-family 5,000 square foot lots allowing 4-6 units per lot as required in the state-mandated legislation HB1110. Four units are now allowed in all designated NR zones, but six units are allowed ¼ mile from major transit (rapid ride or light rail). 

OPCD provided opportunities to comment on online maps using social media and held open houses for each city council district, distributed paper maps for neighborhoods, and closed public comment on December 2024. 

At our meetings, we demonstrated in our meeting how you can use the online maps to show current and proposed zoning for individual properties by address. We also distributed maps showing proposed rezone locations and differences in the lowrise and NR zones including heights, setbacks, far, lot coverage for each of the zone changes.

WCC’s November presentation explained the details of the Mayor’s plan which is additional and separate from the state plan. The Mayor’s rezone proposals include expansions of 30 Neighborhood Centers and conversions of thousands of single-family lots to multi-family surrounding the 30 Neighborhood Centers citywide increasing bulk, height, and scale. In addition, the Mayor’s proposal proposes to rezone single-family lots facing arterials city-wide on the bus routes for “frequent transit” from “single-family lowrise” to 5 stories. The public comments received on the rezone maps through December 20 will be compiled and shared this coming spring 2025.

The Comp Plan housing growth target from April 2024 set a target of 80,000 to 120,000 housing units. The FEIS ( Final Environmental Impact Study) just released studied the 80k to 120k impacts for that housing growth target. The Mayor’s plan released on Oct. 16, 2024, surpasses the Comp Plan housing growth target by increasing housing unit growth to 330,000 housing units. 

The public comments during the Select Committee hearings for the next several months will be considered before the second set of rezone maps are prepared by OPCD and released in May 2025. The vote on revised maps will follow. Michael Hubner, Director for the Comp Plan said “he guarantees there will be changes on the revisions of rezone maps.

Major Wallingford Impacts

Ask the city to reduce heights in the Mayor’s frequent transit plan from “Lowrise 3” 5-story/50-foot buildings to more compatible heights of “NR” (4-6 units per lot 30 height) or “Lowrise 1” (30 feet) along arterials in Wallingford of routes 62, 31, 32.Let us consider the residents who want to stay in their neighborhoods and the potential displacement here. Many blocks of the formerly single-family zoned lots located along these bus routes in Wallingford have naturally affordable older homes. Many homes are family-sized rentals, including duplexes, triplexes, small apartments, and businesses.

The Mayor’s plan is proposing city-wide upzoning on all “frequent transit “arterial facing streets encouraging demolitions, not rehabilitation. These proposed high unit capacity zone proposals at LR3 allow 5-story/50-foot buildings to offer more built-in profitability for developers and will likely accelerate demolitions. This can displace and force out occupants of all ages, races, and incomes who reside in these homes facing arterials citywide. Rezoning for greater unit capacity and jumping to the highest residential zones can increase land values and property taxes for homeowners, renters, businesses, and those on fixed incomes who simply can not keep up with these increases. Assessors base property values on market sales on “highest and best use”. That means you can have property tax increased on the rezoned potential capacity of your lot even though you choose not to redevelop it.

The 5-story city-wide plan for rezones citywide along “frequent transit” bus routes….
– Lack of nuances of various neighborhood street considerations
– Ignore direct outreach by the city to neighborhoods
– Lack of consideration of context and existing heights
– Create corridor and canyon effects
– Shadow neighboring homes
– Devalue investments in solar panels
– Reduce access to air and light
– Create a loss of trees with an increase in lot coverage from 35% -50%. 
– Decrease front setbacks for larger tree retention and planting
– Create a scarcity of amenities like parks, libraries, and grocery stores for increased populations.
– Lack of mitigations for traffic, and parking congestion
– and overall is a very weak plan for truly affordable housing 

A win/win can be achieved with either an NR designation (Hb 1110 4-6 units per 5,000 sq. foot lot) or a Lowrise One zoning designation both blending in with existing heights of 30-foot maximum in the context of older neighborhoods instead of such a height jump to 50 feet to large 5 story buildings on the bus route arterials described below. NR zones 4-6 units per lot or Lowrise one zones increase unit housing capacity and density at heights, but are more compatible with the existing context of these blocks.

Ask the council about revisiting and implementing impact fees for parks, fire, schools roads instead of more levies which could help reduce property taxes.  Many other municipalities outside of Seattle collect impact fees for infrastructure.

Ask for reduced heights from LR3 /5 story /50 feet zoning proposed to NR or LR One /3 story/ 30 feet zoning for residents of these specific streets impacts for arterials on Wallingford bus routes 62, 31,32.
1. Route 62 proposes to upzone properties to Lowrise LR3/5 stories, 50-foot buildings along Meridian north/south from 50th- 56th
2. Routes 31 & 32 propose to upzone properties to LR 3 5 stories, 50-foot buildings along 40th east/west from UW to Wallingford
3. Routes 31 & 32 arrive at the 40th and Wallingford intersection then travel south on Wallingford to 35th 
4. Routes 31 & 32 at 35th and Wallingford intersection the bus travels west/east to Fremont Ave.
(Click here for larger versions of the Wallingford Impacted Areas as seen above) 

Email all city council: at council@seattle.gov or contact them directly by phone with your concerns.

Thank you for your ongoing support and commitment to making Wallingford a thriving community. Our goal is to update you on the Select Committee meetings and public hearing dates so you can be a part of the public process before final maps and policies for the Comp Plan 2044 are voted on in 2025. 

Warm regards,
The Wallingford Community Council
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