ashley's blog

Mayoral candidate Joe Mallahan issued a sweeping environmental plan Monday, with the goal of making Seattle “the premier city for environmental protection and innovation in North America.”

On Monday Seattle City Council voted to adopt a series of amendments to the city’s stormwater management and grading codes. The vote followed a public hearing and briefing by Seattle Public Utilities before the Environment, Emergency Management and Utilities Committee on Sept. 21 and 22.

On Friday curious Seattle-area residents had the opportunity to explore the music-themed Holland America cruise ship ms Zaandam without ever leaving the dock.

Kirsten Kaufman, a Portland realtor, discussed her niche in the real estate market on Smart City Radio’s Sept. 24 broadcast. Kaufman has modified the old real estate mantra of “location, location, location” to “proximity, proximity, proximity.”

Though it may not be quite as catchy, she has found that homebuyers these days are much more concerned about access to bike lanes and public transportation than the width of a garage or the location of the nearest freeway on-ramp.

King County Executive Kurt Triplett today presented his 2010 budget proposal to the King County Metropolitan Council.

The $621 million 2010 General Fund budget is meant to address a projected $56.4 million shortfall. Though the budget aims to “preserve all direct core services” in the county, most major programs will see decreased funding next year.

The Washington State Attorney General’s office issued an opinion last Monday on the Kittitas County water controversy. Due to increased demand on groundwater, senior water rights holders are concerned that they may lose access to the water they are entitled to.

Last Thursday’s special meeting of Seattle City Council’s Planning, Land Use and Neighborhood Committee (PLUNC) took an unorthodox format. In order to better understand the consequences of proposed updates to the Multi-Family Code, PLUNC commissioned three groups to create “renderings, designs and site plans” reflecting the proposed updates. (Watch the meeting on Seattle Channel here).

The groups each gave presentations on their findings:

Seattle mayoral candidate Mike McGinn released a policy paper this afternoon titled "Issues—Planning, Land Use, and Zoning" (pasted below).

The Planning Land Use and Neighborhood Committee (PLUNC) held a special meeting on Sept. 23. Highlights are below. Some agenda items, including multi-family code updates and a proposed streamlined administrative review process for townhouse developments, were postponed to a future meeting.

The U.S. Federal Highway Administration released a primer, called "Transit and Congestion Pricing," that is part of a series intended to introduce congestion pricing to decision makers and transportation professionals. The primer "was produced to examine the interrelationships between congestion pricing and transit operations and use" in a manner accessible to non-specialists.