Tenant Protections for Survivors of DV and Roommates This week we had a first discussion in Civil Rights, Utilities, Economic Development and Arts Committee on legislation I’ve sponsored to protect survivors of domestic violence from being held liable for damages incurred by an abuser, and to protect roommates and family members from categorical housing denials […]

Impact Fees This week the Sustainability and Transportation Committee had a briefing on impact fees. Impact fees are charges to developers to address the needs for capacity improvements to transportation, parks, schools, and fire facilities. I last wrote about impact fees here and provided some history about the Council’s efforts to develop an impact fee […]

Bus Commutes on 1st Avenue West Seattle bus riders are facing unacceptably long wait times on 1st Avenue to get back home in the evening. Earlier this week my office sent a request to SDOT Director Zimbabwe to examine options to speed up traffic. The email that I sent to constituents earlier this week requested […]

Housing Bond and Eviction Reform Legislation Update I’ve been advocating to use the City’s bonding capacity for affordable housing and services since taking office in 2015.  In 2017, I sponsored legislation that authorized the City to issue $29 million in limited tax general obligation (LTGO) funding for building affordable housing—using the City’s line of credit […]

SOCR 2018 Housing Discrimination Testing The Seattle Office of Civil Rights (SOCR) conducts testing every year to determine the prevalence of racism and bias in our housing and employment sectors. Also called “affirmative testing,” this strategy gives the City an opportunity to do outreach and education for people in violation of the law, intentionally or […]

LGBTQ Inclusive Services in Homelessness Services & Ingersoll Report Last year I sponsored a Statement of Legislative Intent that requested Seattle’s Human Service Department  (HSD) to submit guidelines to make sure that the providers with whom the City contracts are offering services and have policies that are inclusive of LGBTQ recipients of those services.  The […]

Fireworks In Seattle, except for permitted fireworks displays, fireworks are illegal under the  Seattle Fire Code. The Seattle Fire Blog and the SPD Blotter both published posts encouraging residents to leave the fireworks to professionals, and requesting that you call 911 only in the event of an emergency. After hearing a number of constituent complaints in […]

Administrative & Funding Plan for City’s Investments in Affordable Housing On Monday, the Full Council approved the Administrative & Funding Plan for how the Office of Housing (OH) awards and distributes funding for affordable housing in the City. Seattle has a large network of nonprofit affordable housing developers and providers who are experts in building housing to […]

ADU Legislation Update The Sustainability and Transportation committee voted on Tuesday to advance the Accessory Dwelling Unit legislation. There were several amendments that were discussed, including two of mine.  I support the construction of Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) which can provide more housing options in our city, as well as potentially provide an income source […]

Now Live – Vacant Building Monitoring Program The Council passed legislation during budget last year to implement a fee-based enhanced vacant building monitoring program. The enhanced vacant building monitoring program went into effect on June 1.  I will continue to monitor its effectiveness and receive monthly reports from the department. As the program rolls out, […]