Compatible New Neighborhoods Rainier Vista Hope VI   The normal route to Heaven: die after being kind to others. "Naughty townhouse builders of the immediate past caused Seattle's lowrise residential capacity to not meet expectations" so said the proponents of "modernizing the lowrise multifamily development regulations. Some of the proponents are said naughty towhouse builders. This site elsewhere explains the real cause of the lost capacity and the real assumptions behind related legislative upzoning. One never knows what will turn up in a brower search. Here is a bit of history from 2002 and an administration slightly more interested in the unvarnished truth. On page 30, you will find that Highpoint Hope VI, the project at the top of this page, produced a one year anomaly where 1/3 of the units built in L-3, the workhorse apartment zone were single family units. Lowrise capacity is not everything, which is exactly the report's conclusion (page 34): " Since 1990, the density of new development has averaged about 70% of the allowed limit. In the last six years, this average has been even lower: new development has averaged about 65% of the maximum allowed density. This decrease is due to more lower-density housing types such as townhouses and four-plexes being built, and a decrease in average built density of stacked flat units, due in part to both changes in Land Use Code that have increased restrictions on development standards, and the housing [ownership] market, where the demand has increased rapidly. Assuming full redevelopment of the 1,621 redevelopable parcels at 800 square feet of lot area per unit, 13,250 housing units could be built. However, if recent trends continue parcels will likely be developed at about 1,153 square feet of lot area per unit, and only 9,194 units would be built - a potential deficit of 4,056 dwelling units. What these numbers equate to is this: while over half of what has been developed in Lowrise 3 zone is below the density target, there is still substantive opportunity for increasing housing within Lowrise 3-zoned areas on redevelopable parcels. Beyond reaching growth targets mandated by state law, increasing housing opportunities can help alleviate the pressure on costs caused by a high demand for housing. The challenge is to ensure that any land use regulation that increases housing opportunities are changes that will ensure quality development that fits into our neighborhoods." Known at the time and since confirmed, the lowrise zones are most essential for the existing affordable housing they provide because the larger share of new units are being built in mixed use zones and for higher incomes. With townhouse mania blockbusting lowrise neighborhood after neighborhood, SHA's sum total waiting list grew to 6000 households. This does not mean these households are homeless, it most likely means we sent a lot of people out to where the Regional Council in its wisdom decided they should not be. This makes the report's conclusion all the more important. |
