Plans and Policy

Newcastle Mayor Robert Clark pushed to remove references to promoting racial and social equity as "vague," "subjective," and "irrelevant," and called climate change "subjective." Many of his recommendations were adopted by the Newcastle Planning Commission.

After weathering a budget scare, Seattle’s Equitable Development Initiative is growing, with $22 million in new awards aimed at combating displacement and anchoring communities of color.

Seattle City Councilmembers and top planning officials are making the rounds visiting homeowner-dominated community councils in their district to get feedback on the One Seattle growth plan.

Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) set a new record of 52.6 million passengers in 2024, and the Port of Seattle is advancing an improvement plan to better accommodate 56 million passengers by 2032.

The appeals, filed by residents in Madison Park, Mount Baker, and Hawthorne Hills, seek to require additional environmental review, pushing back the City's plan to allow more housing.

Housing advocates outnumbered opponents by a margin of 89 to 75 during a five-hour public hearing Wednesday on the One Seattle housing growth plan. Nevertheless, several councilmembers made it clear they sided with slow-growth advocates, rather than the majority demanding more housing options.

The 1,300-page environmental review of the One Seattle plan shows that the Mayor's preferred plan would increase hardscape, tree removal, and greenhouse gas emissions, while decreasing affordable housing over broadly supported Alternative 5.

Seattle has set a goal of 112,000 new homes over the next 20 years, but is that really enough to meet demand?