ashley's blog

The Seattle Department of Planning and Development (DPD) released its biweekly land use information bulletin Thursday. The following list provides the highlights. For more detailed information, click here.

Twenty-four U.S.-based architecture, engineering and development firms have joined forces with Architecture 2030, a nonprofit research organization working to achieve reductions in energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, to call on Congress to update national building code standards with energy reduction targets.

The Puget Sound Regional Council’s October report on the population of cities and towns was released yesterday. The highlights are below.

Regional Population

The City of Seattle is considering rezoning parts of Ballard to change the neighborhood's course of development. Proposed changes include converting industrially- and commercially-zoned areas within the Ballard Urban Village and outside the Ballard-Interbay Industrial Center to Neighborhood Commercial and Industrial Commercial zones. (Maps of the proposed zoning changes are available here.) 

The beer-loving, Oregon-based McMenamin brothers will soon make their mark on Tacoma. The McMenamins are known for revamping early-20th century buildings, such as the Old St. Francis School in Portland and the Olympic Club Hotel in Centralia, Wash. They turn empty spaces into family-oriented brewpubs, hotels and theaters. Their next undertaking will be the renovation of the abandoned Elks Lodge on Broadway Avenue in Tacoma.

Clark County and five of the county's cities have been awarded a $1.2 million grant by the Washington Department of Ecology to assist them in completing updates to their Shoreline Master Programs (SMPs).

Three hundred miles of stream and lake shorelines in Clark County are under the jurisdiction of the plans to be updated. The City of Vancouver will administer the money for the plan updates, which impact shorelines in the cities of Camas, La Center, Ridgefield and Washougal, as well as within Vancouver and unincorporated Clark County.

Yesterday the City of Seattle’s Department of Planning and Development (DPD) launched the Green Q permitting program, which expedites the permitting process for energy-efficient development projects.

On Tuesday U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced more than $42 million in grants to improve ferry service and build new docks and facilities in 15 states and Puerto Rico. The grant recipients include several counties in Washington State.

Join Northwest Hub and Seattle Transit Blog on Oct. 8 for a lively discussion about transit-oriented development (TOD). We'll hear from local design firm, Case Design + Project Management, about the opportunities and challenges of building TOD in South Seattle and get a preview of Futurewise's policy initiatives for the upcoming legislative session.

Here are highlights from Seattle City Council Transportation Committee’s meeting, which was held on Sept. 29. (You can also watch the meeting on the Seattle Channel.)

Council Bill 116688: Alaskan Way Viaduct and Seawall Replacement