Charging developers for improving local infrastructure impacted by their projects could boost transportation revenue, but permit applications in the city are slowing down.

he Seattle city council is once again weighing a proposal to institute transportation impact fees, which would impose a charge on new developments that would fund transportation improvements.
As Ryan Packer explains in The Urbanist, these fees are aimed at mitigating the impacts on local infrastructure and roads caused by new projects. “Transportation impact fees, a tool authorized by the state legislature as part of the Growth Management Act, are levied by more than 70 cities statewide but have never been used in Seattle.”
However, “the issue of adding additional fees on new housing during a well-identified affordability crisis is causing additional scrutiny of the idea.” The proposal is being appealed by a “shadowy group” called the Seattle Mobility Coalition, which claims that the city skimped on its environmental review of proposed development impact fees. As Packer notes, “an impact fee that discourages housing growth in Seattle, making sprawl more cost-competitive and drives up commute times would put more demand on the region’s transportation system overall, defeating the entire purpose of the impact fee program.”
Supporters of the fee see it as a replacement for revenue from the Move Seattle transportation levy, which expires next year. Meanwhile, development permit applications are slowing down, with a 62 percent decline in applications in the second quarter of 2023 from the previous year.
FULL STORY: Seattle Council Pushes Forward on Transportation Impact Fees

Rethinking Redlining
For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.

Montreal Mall to Become 6,000 Housing Units
Place Versailles will be transformed into a mixed-use complex over the next 25 years.

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

Connecting Communities to Nature Close to Home
Los Angeles County’s Nature in Your Neighborhood program brings free, family-friendly wellness and nature activities to local parks, making it easier for residents to enjoy and connect with the outdoors.

Palmdale’s Beloved Water Park Gets $2 Million Upgrade
To mark its 20th anniversary, DryTown Water Park has undergone major renovations, ensuring that families across the Antelope Valley continue to enjoy safe, affordable, and much-needed water-based recreation in the high desert.

Help Stop the Beetle Killing Southern California’s Oak Trees
Claifornia residents can join a volunteer “blitz” this June to help detect and map infestations of an invasive beetle that is killing thousands of oak trees across Southern California.
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.
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
City of Clovis
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions