Seattle's Housing Can't Handle Projected Growth

Posted by: Nate Berg

19 September 2008 - 7:00pm

Seattle is growing, and it's going to have to start thinking about augmenting its single-family neighborhoods with more multi-unit housing if it wants to keep up with the pace of growth.

"Seattle cannot accommodate the people it's projected to gain over the next three decades without adding homes in single-family neighborhoods, according to members of the Northwest EcoBuilding Guild.

The reason is that 65 percent of Seattle's land is zoned single-family, with lots averaging 5,000 square feet, creating a population density less than such cities as Chicago, Boston, San Francisco and even sprawling Los Angeles, three representatives of the group said during a session at the 2008 Housing Washington conference, in Tacoma, on Tuesday."

Full Story: Seattle's growth projection reflects a city pushing limits

Source: The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, September 19, 2008