Medina Clinging to ‘Semi-rural’ Streets While Vying for Complete Streets Dollars
In pushing back on a requirement to adopt a Complete Streets ordinance to compete for infrastructure grant dollars, Medina's leaders clearly saw a threat of changes being forced on the city. The wealthy enclave doesn't appear to want to change.
Redmond Supportive Housing Project Advances After Appeals Thrown Out
The pair of appeals focused on alleged impact from providing too few off-street parking stalls, but the Hearing Examiner upheld City's decision to permit the project. Plymouth Housing's long-planned project can now advance toward construction.
Urbanism on the Eastside Panel Hints at Suburban Sea Change
At The Urbanist's “Urbanism on the Eastside” panel earlier this month, panelists discussed a sea change happening in the suburbs that are beginning to urbanize and break free of car dependence. Check out this recap of the discussion.
Sammamish Council Pursues Denser Town Center Vision Amid Backlash
Sammamish will study increasing the upper limit on housing in its Town Center to 4,000 units, after nearly two decades of anemic growth under a previous growth framework. The 6-1 vote came after a significant amount of community opposition and misinformation.
Bothell Drops Parking Mandates, Legalizes Neighborhood Corner Stores Citywide
Bothell becomes the first city in either King or Snohomish County to fully eliminate off-street parking mandates in order to reduce costs for homebuilding. The move clearly solidifies the city as a leader on housing and land use reform.
King County Advances K Line Designs for Eastside’s Next RapidRide
The adoption of a locally preferred alternative allows Metro to fully advance design work while seeking federal funding. Outstanding questions remain, including how bus priority will be added along a contentious segment in Houghton.
Bellevue Creates Special City Office for ‘Grand Connection’ Pedestrian Corridor
Former Seattle permitting director Nathan Torgelson will lead the new city department, intended to advance an ambitious plan for a new bike and pedestrian bridge over I-405. One of the largest capital projects in city history, it's also intended to be a major placemaking project.
Bellevue Council Approves Scaled-Back Middle Housing Code
A narrow four-member majority caved to housing opponents as the Bellevue City Council finalized zoning changes impacting the city's lower density residential areas. Scaling back an ambitious proposal that increased flexibility for builders, Bellevue is only set to exceed the state minimum in a few areas.