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MHA

Photo of a single-story duplex in Wallingford, with three-story townhomes behind it.

The Historic Preservation We Need: Four Floors and Corner Stores

We cannot escape the echoes of history. I live in and own a house in a formerly redlined section of Wallingford. This house was...
Seven-story midrise apartments along a pedestrian plaza.

Growing Social Housing in Seattle

Social housing composes 8.6% of Seattle's housing stock, which is well below many peer cities around the globe. Some standouts are far ahead. In...

City Reflects on Seattle’s Affordable Housing Progress in 2019

Our city is facing a housing crisis. Before the onset of the pandemic, when the economy was humming and jobs were bountiful, we had...
Even a few miles from Downtown, single family homes start taking over. Madrona is not an urban village. (Photo by author)

SCALE Thwarted Again in Latest Appeal of MHA Rezones

Last week, the Growth Management Hearings Board issued a ruling denying an appeal of recent zoning changes brought by a coalition of homeowner groups...

Progressives like Scott, Sawant, Strauss, and Lewis are Winning the Housing Debate, Opponents Are...

We live in alternate realities. I realized this when I received a pro-Alex Pedersen mailer from People for Affordable Livable Seattle (PALS) political action...

City Contemplates Upzoning or Downzoning The Ave

There is probably not much that District 4 City Council candidates Shaun Scott and Alex Pedersen agree on, but one topic on which the...

Mayor Durkan Signs into Law Mandatory Housing Affordability Rezoning 27 Urban Villages

The bills' signage marks the end of a long fight by housing advocates to get affordability requirements enshrined in Seattle law. Before a crowd of...

How We Got Here: A (Brief) History of Mandatory Housing Affordability in Seattle

Today Seattle City Council is voting on "citywide" implementation of Mandatory Housing Affordability (MHA), a form of inclusionary zoning from which single family zones...