Single-Family Zones

Seattle Victorian

Zoned Out: Seattle Prioritizes Single-Family Residential

In Seattle, most (88 percent) of the city's new housing is being developed in a few small, already dense areas around the city. Most of the city is reserved for single-family housing.

May 7, 2018 - The Seattle Times

Metro Gold LIne

L.A.'s Mayor Garcetti Sides With Single-Family Housing Near Transit

Politicians are taking positions on a controversial California housing bill to densify by transit. Even after amendments were accepted on March 1 in response to concerns about displacement and demolitions, the mayor of Los Angeles remains opposed.

March 9, 2018 - The Architect's Newspaper

Single-Family Homes

Dormant Inner Suburbs and the Affordability Crisis

Richard Florida takes a look at a new report that traces the affordability crisis to cities' inability to densify their older, inner suburbs.

February 12, 2018 - CityLab

Maryland

Sprawl and Stagnation—Housing Growth and its Discontents

Mapping housing production over the decades since the 1960s reveals a pattern that must be shifted to achieve the housing growth needed to face the economic and environmental challenges of the 21st century.

February 5, 2018 - Buildzoom

Seattle

Revisiting Single-Family Zoning After a Political Setback

Few cities have gone so far in considering drastic changes to single-family zoning as Seattle did in 2015. Still, the discussion about single-family zoning would have to go a lot further to turn into meaningful reform.

November 1, 2017 - The Urbanist

Eichler

In the Silicon Valley, Eichler Is Synonymous With Single-Story Overlay

Residents of homes designed by Joseph Eichler are concerned that new two-story homes could invade their privacy and block sunlight and views. They have sought and won zoning protection.

June 14, 2017 - The Mercury News

Definition of Family Still Up for Debate in Hartford Zoning Case

When zoning codes separate uses, they require definitions about what constitutes each of those uses. The question in Hartford, Connecticut: Does a group of cohabiting adults fit the definition necessary to reside in a "single-family house"?

November 18, 2015 - The Hartford Courant

Plan Charlotte Survey Finds 9 Percent of the City Zoned for Mixed-Uses

Surveying the 373 square miles, or 238,720 acres, under jurisdiction of Plan Charlotte to see how much of it is zoned for mixed-use.

October 1, 2015 - Plan Charlotte

Seattle skyline

Lesson from Seattle: Zoning Is a Political Debate, Not a Policy Debate

The swift rejection of a proposal to upzone residential neighborhoods in Seattle inspired The Urbanist to evaluate the lessons of the episode. One takeaway: don't demonize single-family homeowners.

August 12, 2015 - The Urbanist

Seattle's 'Oh So Human' Hesitations About Change

Seattle's recent Housing and Livability Agenda (HALA) recommendations have created a sensational dialogue about zoning, affordability and neighborhood change. Chuck Wolfe explains how this may create an unprecedented basis for consensus in the city.

August 9, 2015 - Crosscut

Can Seattle Solve the Affordable Housing Crisis With Zoning?

Seattle returns to zoning as a tool to promote the construction of affordable housing.

July 14, 2015 - CityLab

Suburban Dead End

The End of Single-Family Housing? Seattle Housing Committee Creates a Stir

A draft report, by the Housing Affordability and Livability Agenda (HALA) Advisory Committee created by Seattle Mayor Ed Murray, includes language about single-family zoning that has provoked debate.

July 8, 2015 - The Seattle Times

Seattle City Council Votes to Limit Small Lot Development

After the Seattle City Council voted to approve new small lot zoning regulations this week, the decision was hailed as a victory for neighborhood interests. The city had placed a moratorium on small lot development in September 2012.

May 21, 2014 - Seattle Times

Seattle Updating Zoning Regulations for Small Single-Family Lots

Planners in Seattle have responded to controversy over the size and scale of development on small lots in many of the city's single-family neighborhoods, with a new set of zoning regulations.

April 4, 2014 - Seattle Department of Planning and Development

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