On Monday, The Urbanist board of directors approved the organization’s 2025 advocacy agenda. This year, The Urbanist will focus on:
- Fighting for safe, abundant, affordable housing for all via prudent updates to local Comprehensive Plans and supporting social housing initiatives and upzones to boost homebuilding.
- Advocating for enhanced transit service, including advocating for siting light rail stations to maximize ridership, increasing pedestrianization and bike lanes, increasing county transit funding, and advocating for policies that make riders and drivers safer.
- Seeking a just economy and cities as communities for all by advocating for renter protections and rent stabilization, supporting holistic public safety interventions, advocating raising progressive revenue, and opposing infrastructure designed for the internment and mass deportation of immigrants.
The agenda builds on and updates the 2024 advocacy agenda the board approved last January. Similarly, that agenda backs increasing the region’s housing supply, selecting future light rail stations with an eye towards healthy ridership, and expanding funding for local multimodal transport.
The intent of our annual advocacy agenda is not just to direct our advocacy efforts and events programming but also to guide the editorial direction of the publication. Our news coverage will be sure to hit these topics, and we’ll also be seeking op-ed posts aligned with our espoused agenda. Reach out to our editors if you’re interested.
As our publisher Doug Trumm wrote last year, “Our journalistic coverage will continue to be rigorous and fact-based as always, but we think it’s helpful for readers to know where we stand. We are advocacy journalists, which means that we reject the falsehood that journalists are neutral observers, and instead openly state our preference for the policies that we believe will bring about the vision we seek for our region: abundant housing affordable to all; safe, sustainable, and reliable transportation; and a strong, just, and decarbonized economy.”
In addition to informing our readers, we also want to provide opportunities to get involved. We are in the middle of a February special election and our state’s legislative session, and various bills relevant to our advocacy agenda are being moved through the legislature. Luckily, there are a variety of upcoming events to get involved in.
February 3 – The Urbanist & House Our Neighbors Social
Come join The Urbanist and House Our Neighbors for a social on February 3rd! We’ll have a speaker from House Our Neighbors talk about Prop 1A (which The Urbanist has endorsed) and how you can get involved as the special election draws near. It’s also a good way to meet some fellow urbanists.
- What: Social Gathering and learning about Prop 1A with House Our Neighbors
- When: Monday February 3rd, 6pm-7:30pm
- Where: TeKu Tavern + Cafe, 552 Denny Way, Seattle, WA 98109
- Transit Stops: Near stops for Routes 4, 5, 8, 28, and 62 or the E Line.
February 5 – Seattle Complete Communities Coalition Rally
Focused on Seattle’s Comprehensive plan and how it will affect housing? The rally on February 5th is a must-attend. If you can’t go, we urge you to provide public comment online, meet with your councilmembers, or shoot them an email. Luckily, some dedicated folks have made it easy for you to get involved. Sign up below to attend in person, or go to the One Seattle Plan for All website to easily send an email to your councilmember.
- What: Seattle Complete Communities Coalition Rally
- When: 4pm for the rally, with public comment beginning at 5pm and going as long as 7pm.
- Where: Seattle City Hall
- Transit Stops: Near stops for routes 3, 4, 7, 14, 27, 62, the E line, light rail (Pioneer Square Station), and any other routes that stop downtown or in Pioneer Square.
- Sign up to attend in person here.
Washington Bikes Lobby Days in Olympia on February 11th & 12th
Washington Bikes, for those unfamiliar and as their name implies, is a non-profit that advocates for bike-friendly infrastructure, improving access to and safety of riding bikes, and builds a community of cyclists who can advocate for those things. They are having a lobby day in Olympia on February 12th, with training on February 11th. For urbanists interested in pedestrianization and biking infrastructure, this is the place to go.
Democracy Lobby Day on February 12th
Democracy Lobby Day is Jointly hosted by Free the Vote Washington, People Powered Elections Washington, Washington for Equitable Representation, Washington Voting Justice Coalition, Civil Survival, FairVote WA, Fix Democracy First, Fuse Washington, Northwest Progressive Institute, and Washington Conservation Action. This coalition falls into the “cities for all” bucket, and will generally be focusing on efforts to preserve democracy and ensure all communities have a voice.
Reach out to tony@waconservationaction.org if you have questions as to how to get involved.
- What: Democracy Lobby Day
- When: February 12th
- Where: Olympia
- Sign up here
We hope to see you at some of these events – but if these events don’t work for you, keep an eye out for other advocacy opportunities coming soon. The best way to stay informed of upcoming opportunities is to sign up for our events newsletter, which will become active in the coming weeks as a weekly reminder of upcoming opportunities.
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State legislation to follow
The Urbanist has recently reported on a handful of bills moving through the state legislature related to housing, transportation, and parking minimums, which deserve supports from urbanists. Now is the time to make your voice heard on these bills to ensure they advance. Below I’ve shared links to the bill pages where you can track progress and submit comments to your legislators.
HB 1175 – Neighborhood cafes and corner stores
As The Urbanist’s Ryan Packer wrote, “After a bill legalizing neighborhood cafes in residential areas across Washington failed to advance last year, the bill’s sponsor Mark Klicker (R-16th, Walla Walla) is back with a new version that goes even further. House Bill 1175 would force local cities and towns to allow both restaurant cafes and corner stores in all residential areas, ending current bans that exist throughout the state on commercial uses in lower density neighborhoods.” Read Packer’s full article for more.
We encourage you to sign in as pro and submit comments to your legislators on the HB 1175 legislation page. You can also sign up to receive email updates on the bill.
HB 1217 – Rent stabilization
House Bill 1217 would cap annual rent increases at 7% and prohibit landlords from raising rent by any amount in the first year of tenancy. “The bill exempts newly constructed apartments for their first 10 years, existing buildings that are less than 11 years old, public housing, and small rental arrangements, such as a homeowner who only rents out their accessory dwelling unit,” Packer wrote of the proposal. “The proposal also caps all move-in fees and/or security deposits at the equivalent of one month’s rent, and limits fees on late rent to 1.5% of monthly rent, and requires six month’s notice on all rent increases over 3%.” Read Packer’s full article for more.
Reach out to your legislators and sign in as pro on the HB 1217 bill page to weigh in. You can also sign up to receive email updates on the bill.
HB 1491 – Transit-oriented development
Cities in Washington who don’t currently allow apartment buildings around their rapid transit stops would be required to change their zoning to allow more housing to be built, under House Bill 1491. Legislators have tried to pass this bill the last two sessions, and hope that the third time is the charm. One big point of contention will be affordability mandates. Read more in The Urbanist’s writeup.
Contact your legislators and sign in as pro via the HB 1491 bill page. You can also sign up to receive email updates on the bill.
SB 5184 – Reducing parking requirements to spur housing
Senator Jessica Bateman (D-22nd, Olympia) introduced Senate Bill 5184, formally capping almost all minimum parking requirements for both residential and commercial uses. Additionally, it would block local governments from mandating parking in a wide array of cases, apart from what is required under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Under the bill, no city could require more than one parking stall for every single new house or apartment, nor more than one stall for every 1,000 square feet of commercial space, with the state’s largest cities and counties restricted to one stall for every two housing units. Read more in Ryan Packer’s writeup
We encourage you to reach out legislators to back the bill on the SB 5184 bill page. You can also sign up to receive email updates on the bill.
Check out our full 2025 advocacy agenda for more legislation that we’re tracking.
Diego Batres
Diego is the Director of Development and Events of The Urbanist. He believes in making Seattle and the Puget Sound region a model example of good urban living for the rest of the country by expanding transit, ending our housing crisis, pedestrianizing our neighborhoods. He graduated from Seattle University in 2023, and currently lives in Seattle’s Central District.