Great City—a group of environmentalists, neighborhood leaders, business people and citizens—issued a new land use white paper this week to recommend actions the incoming mayor and city council could take to create “a better path forward for Seattle.” The intention is to complement efforts gaining momentum around the region such as the Cascade Agenda and the Quality Growth Alliance.
In an email accompanying the white paper, Joshua Curtis, executive director of Great City, wrote, “Freshly elected officials, a new administration and an economic recession that has temporarily slowed new development will provide the city a chance to re-evaluate its current approach to planning and development.”
The paper covers five themes that would guide proposed implementation strategies. Here are the highlights:
Articulate a Clear and Long-Term Vision for Growth
The vision should build on the Comprehensive Plan’s successful Urban Centers/Urban Villages strategy, while allowing for innovation and localized planning.
Elevate Our Planning Process
The new mayor and council must foster a working climate where the Department of Planning and Development has the tools and resources to support informed decision-making that results in policies that address our long-term, structural challenges rather than short-term fixes. Elevate the Planning Commission to a more significant role in making recommendations.
Invigorate Neighborhood Planning
Empowered and informed grassroots efforts can help positively define how growth takes shape at the neighborhood level while also meeting the city’s growth goals.
Build Bridges Between Departments and Disciplines
The city can break through silos within the bureaucracy by bringing applicable departments and disciplines together to address specific projects. The city’s Bell Street Boulevard project is an example of how department collaboration has worked well to bring together key city staff.
Create a Flexible and Responsive Planning Environment
We need to redefine the core functions needed in a zoning code so they will more fully address specific context, thoughtful urban design and sustainability in a manner that creates a durable city.
The paper outlines short-term actions to “set the city on the path towards achieving these goals.” Proposed implementation includes: consolidate land use information resources in a “transparent and accessible system,” audit existing zoning to identify areas where sustainable land use patterns can be encouraged, implement and use Planned Action as a model, and evaluate recently enacted 2008 Incentive Zoning legislation.
