Seattle Adopts a New Growth Plan, but Major Zoning Battles are Just Beginning

The Seattle City Council approved a new long-term growth plan, but according to an analysis by Ryan Packer in The Urbanist, the debate over the details of any rezoning efforts is just beginning. 

The new comprehensive plan calls for 30 new “neighborhood centers” with higher-density zoning, but exact standards for those zones won’t be adopted until next year, when the city will also lift apartment bans in some transit corridors. 

Earlier this year, Mayor-elect Katie Wilson commented on the plan, saying “We should be adding more neighborhood growth centers, expanding the definition of ‘near transit,’ granting social housing the same density bonus that other types of affordable housing get, eliminating parking minimums, fix the stacked flats bonus so it actually results in building stacked flats, exempt smaller projects from [Mandatory Housing Affordability] fees so they will pencil out, etc.” 

The council will have to make some major decisions in 2026, Packer notes. But adopting the comprehensive plan update is “a big lift” that will allow city leaders to focus on the details without having to consider another major update until 2029.