To preserve views, zoning rules from 2006 require adequate distance between residential towers of a certain height. As developers chafe against the restriction, residents still worry they'll be left facing a wall.
Another symptom of Seattle's success: limited access to a decent view. Condos boasting picture-window vistas a decade ago lose their allure when an even taller residential tower goes up 20 feet away.
Seattle has taken steps to prevent that from happening. "The city's tower-spacing rule, which governs a large swath of downtown, was adopted nearly a decade ago to preserve views and daylight in an increasingly dense downtown [...] When the city overhauled the zoning code in 2006, it allowed developers to build denser, higher towers in downtown's mixed-use areas."
"To prevent streets from becoming walled corridors that block out light and views, and make pedestrians feel like they're in a wind tunnel, the city required that new towers over 160 feet high be 60 to 200 feet away, depending on the part of downtown, from other existing or permitted ones." Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on how you look at it, this rule puts adjacent developers into competition for the permit to build higher. "Even small delays by either side can lead to being second in line for a tower permit and huge lost opportunities [...]"
Still, the tower-spacing rule enjoys public support. "Some residents of other downtown areas where the tower-spacing rules don't apply wish they had such restrictions. They say they live in fear of having a tower built a stone's throw from their window." To address those fears, some developers are experimenting with the podium-style developments (wide base, often with retail, and a thin, glassy tower on top) that have seen success in Vancouver.
FULL STORY: Rules preserving city views set up clash among towers competing to be first, biggest
Oregon Passes Exemption to Urban Growth Boundary
Cities have a one-time chance to acquire new land for development in a bid to increase housing supply and affordability.
Where Urban Design Is Headed in 2024
A forecast of likely trends in urban design and architecture.
Savannah: A City of Planning Contrasts
From a human-scales, plaza-anchored grid to suburban sprawl, the oldest planned city in the United States has seen wildly different development patterns.
Washington Tribes Receive Resilience Funding
The 28 grants support projects including relocation efforts as coastal communities face the growing impacts of climate change.
Adaptive Reuse Bills Introduced in California Assembly
The legislation would expand eligibility for economic incentives and let cities loosen regulations to allow for more building conversions.
LA's Top Parks, Ranked
TimeOut just released its list of the top 26 parks in the L.A. area, which is home to some of the best green spaces around.
City of Rochester
Boston Harbor Now
City of Bellevue
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Birmingham, Alabama
City of Laramie, Wyoming
Colorado Department of Local Affairs
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.