New municipal and state laws have made it possible for Seattle to sell excess land to affordable housing developers at below-market rates, or even to give it away.

In expensive cities, land acquisition is a persistent conundrum for affordable housing developers. City-owned land, especially parcels close to jobs and urban amenities, could be one way to meet that demand. "This year," Josh Cohen writes, Seattle's "Office of Housing received $245 million in project applications, but had only $70 million in funding to disburse. By providing land to affordable housing developers at little to no cost, the city could make those limited funds go much further."
"The approach has seen some success in the region," Cohen says. "In the past year, several Seattle nonprofit affordable housing developers have been able to purchase public land at a discount or have been outright gifted the land on Sound Transit surplus property."
Legal changes have been a big part of the push. Seattle's City Council recently passed a resolution requiring city departments to prioritize affordable housing in their disposition of surplus land, stipulating that "if a department sells land for a purpose other than affordable housing development, 80 percent of the net proceeds must be directed to either the city's Low-Income Housing Fund or Equitable Development Fund."
In addition, the nonprofit organizations Enterprise Community Partners and Futurewise have debuted a mapping tool showing all publicly owned and tax-exempt properties in King County, to aid affordable housing developers on the lookout for sites.
FULL STORY: Seattle wants to give away land for affordable housing

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Chicago’s Ghost Rails
Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

Study: Anti-Homelessness Laws Don’t Work
Research shows that punitive measures that criminalized unhoused people don’t help reduce homelessness.

The French Solution to Congested Tunnels: Make Them Car-Free
Bay Area transportation officials keep expanding car capacity. Lyon’s Croix Rousse Tunnel offers a different way.

Missouri Governor Reverses Anti-Discrimination Housing Policies
A new state law bars cities from prohibiting source-of-income discrimination against tenants using Section 8 housing vouchers.

USDOT Launches Unfunded 'SAFE ROADS' Program
The program targets “distractions” and “political messages or artwork,” and paves the way for autonomous vehicles.
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.
City of Fort Worth
planning NEXT
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie