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
  • Session I: 9:30 AM, Session II: 4:00 PM. 
    • Public Hearing on HB1110 Interim Legislation 120969. Watch live at https://www.seattlechannel.org. Titled “Select Committee Comprehensive Plan”, by date.
    • Public Hearing agenda link. Reference Presentation: April 16 Select Committee Agenda and Meeting Slides.  Slides #22-27 compare current and proposed changes to development standards for NR zones within HB1110  legislation. Click this link for public commenting: Public Comment – Council | seattle.gov
• 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.

• Email City Council Members: council@seattle.gov 
• OneSeattlePlan.zoning@seattle.gov 

Or contact them directly:

• Bruce.Harrell@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 

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. 

Your Input Matters!

Seattle Design Process “Improvements” Public Hearing
MONDAY, Sept. 11, 2017

Sign up to testify: 5:00pm
Public comments begin: 7:00pm

LOCATION of Public Hearing:
SIFF Cinema Uptown, Auditorium 3
511 Queen Anne Avenue North
Seattle, WA 98109

Growth without Oversight
Do you believe in responsible growth that is positive for your community’s quality of life?

Then make your voice heard with the City Council! The City’s proposal to amend the design review process takes away your influence concerning what gets built in your immediate neighborhood.

Currently, both the City and the Neighborhood Design Guidelines combine with a format that offers two public Design Review meetings to make growth fit within the context of your neighborhood.  Without the check and balance of inclusive design review, growth can destroy neighborhoods.  With it, the character and quality of the neighborhood is strengthened when adding housing and commercial spaces.

If you can attend the Hearing & make public comment, please do so! See below for more info on the proposes changes.
Get there early & bring a neighbor! 

In addition to attending the hearing, please ask all Council Members to:
– Leave the Design Review process as is
– Enforce: Direct city employees and the Design Review Boards to enforce existing design guidelines

“Please leave the Design Process as is, and instead, direct the city to start enforcing design guidelines. Too many departures are being granted, too many setback requirements are being ignored, and too many loopholes are being exploited due to poor enforcement by the City.”

Please CALL City Council and tell them your thoughts:  206-684-8888
Please E-mail City Council:
sally.bagshaw@seattle.gov; tim.burgess@seattle.gov; mike.obrien@seattle.gov; kshama.sawant@seattle.gov; rob.johnson@seattle.gov; lorena.gonzalez@seattle.gov; lisa.herbold@seattle.gov; bruce.harrell@seattle.gov; debora.juarez@seattle.gov

Please submit your comments to Mayor Murray:
http://www.seattle.gov/mayor/get-involved/contact-the-mayor

Proposed changes that impact neighborhoods include:

• Removing neighborhoods from the process by replacing language such as:
  • “Neighborhood priorities among the design guidelines” with “identify guideline priorities”.
  • “Highest priority to the neighborhood” with “highest priority to the Board”.
• Exempting projects on properties of less than 10,000 square feet from any design review. In the past 2 years, 29% of projects were in this category. For perspective: most four story apartment buildings are on properties of less than 10,000 square feet.
• Restricting the scope of the Design Review Process:
  • Administrative – Developments inside Urban Villages get Administrative Design Review, with no public meetings, if less than 20,000 square feet.
  • Hybrid – Developments up to 20,000 square feet (or larger inside an Urban Village) would require only the Design Review Board “Recommendation” meeting and not the “Early Design Guidance” meeting.
  • Full – Only the largest developments, over 20,000 square feet, and only outside Urban Village boundaries, would require the normal Design Review Board “Early Design Guidance” and “Recommendation” meetings.
• Revising who is a stakeholder by changing straightforward terms such as “Developers” to more generic terms like “Project Proponents”.
• Shifting responsibility and authority from the Design Review Board to the Director. This has the effect of making Design Review Boards less independent, and will make the Board positions less attractive to the professionals who volunteer their time.
• Granting departures from building code without public review.

Your input DOES MATTER!  Last year, due to comments and push-back from all over the city, the proposed changes were tabled until now.

Want to learn more?

The Seattle Neighborhood Coalition (SNC) will be discussing the proposed Design Review changes at their monthly meeting this Saturday, 9:00AM, 500 30th Ave S. (Leschi neighborhood of Central District).

Read more about the draft recommendations here:
Design Review Program Improvements, Seattle Department of Construction & Inspections (SDCI).
Draft Ordinance (PDF format).