The policies that govern the way we use land should reflect our diverse and vibrant communities. Making our neighborhoods more affordable, easier places to walk and use transit, and better for the long-term health of our climate are all challenges that demand a collaborative approach – one that puts people at the center of the discussion. A truly collaborative approach isn’t afraid to engage diverse organizations, interests and ideas; it gets its strength from them. And it succeeds where there is the leadership to carry those ideas back to City Hall and see them through.

The past eight years have focused on top-down planning driven by development interests. We need planning that considers the issues that affect people, and ensures we remain a city that meets our basic human needs for a home, safe neighborhoods and a sense of community as we grow.

Reforming Seattle’s land use policies starts with articulating a clear and cohesive planning vision for Seattle with our people as its focus. This will require the involvement of communities in the planning process, setting clear goals to frame our discussions of growth, tapping into our progressive values, and taking an integrated approach that helps us meet our broader social, economic and environmental goals.

I have worked in the land use arena at the neighborhood level as the President of the Greenwood Community Council, at the regional level as Chair of the Cascade Chapter of the Sierra Club, and at the City level where I founded and ran the Seattle Great City Initiative, a nonprofit organization that brings together neighbors, environmentalists, and business leaders.

As Mayor I will:

Re-Invigorate Neighborhood Planning
Seattle’s neighborhoods are the soul of our City. We have recently embarked on a neighborhood plan update process that is beginning to bear fruit, but lacks a clear roadmap for where it’s headed or the resources to ensure its success. I am committed to working with the City Council to re-invigorate neighborhood planning by providing a city-wide framework that sets priorities to guide the process, while allowing Seattle’s innovative and creative citizens to shape the plans for their neighborhoods through grassroots effort and initiative. I will provide the resources to expand the neighborhood plan updates, ensure the plans help direct future public investments to the neighborhoods that need them most, and leverage all appropriate financing tools to fund needed neighborhood improvements. Neighborhoods Policy

Plan for People, not Just Places
Creating great neighborhoods involves much more than putting zoning in place and hoping for the best; it requires an integrated and coordinated approach that ties together land use, transportation and economic development goals, all with a focus on improving the lives of people. Too often we focus only on physical infrastructure, and not on investments in people and communities. I will refocus City departments on the capital investments and programs that support small business and cultural institutions, provide living wage and local jobs, create affordable housing, and ensure new development enhances the strengths of our diverse neighborhoods.

Focus on Transit
Living and working close to transit improves our quality of life, reduces living expenses, and helps reduce our impact on climate change. Where appropriate, I will focus city planning efforts, development incentives and policies on creating neighborhoods where residents can easily walk, bike, use transit or car-share.

Simplify Zoning and the Permitting Process
Seattle’s land use regulations are an essential tool in helping us meet our social, economic and environmental goals. I will work to develop and adopt a simpler, more predictable land use code and permit review process. If elected, we will conduct a zoning audit to ensure that our zoning code advances the values and goals articulated in our comprehensive plan and in our vision for the city; while providing for neighborhood flexibility and meeting community goals. This will include a review of incentive zoning to ensure that it provides real incentives for affordable housing, builds in flexibility for different neighborhoods, and coordinates with other incentives (like reduced parking requirements, affordable family-friendly housing, good local jobs and businesses, and sustainable development).

Collaborate at the Regional and State Levels
The land use decisions we make in Seattle affect our entire region, and vice versa. Seattle and the Puget Sound region are home to the innovative people and businesses that drive the state and make us a leader in the global economy. The economy of the region depends on predictable land use policy that supports livable communities that retain existing good paying jobs, as well as attracting the well-educated, creative professionals who drive many of the merging growth sectors in our economy. I will strike a collaborative tone with peers in our region’s cities, counties and regional jurisdictions — making our growing neighborhoods more livable while supporting the goals of the Puget Sound Regional Council’s Vision 2040 and the Growth Management Act. Partnering with regional stakeholders, I will work with the state legislature to create a viable infrastructure financing mechanism to focus growth in the places that make sense while enabling cities to invest in the services and amenities that are needed to support this growth and increase livability.

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