Housing Issues Source of Income Discrimination (SOID) Law SOID is important new comprehensive tenants’ rights legislation, enacting one of the Mayor’s Housing Affordability and Livability Agenda (HALA) recommendations.  The final bill created a new protected class for people with alternative sources of income, created a new “first in time” requirement to make the housing application […]

Budget Wrap Up I’ve been writing to you weekly since September with updates on the deliberations on the proposed 2017-2018 budget.  This will be my last budget update of the year because on Monday, the City Council adopted the 2017 City of Seattle budget and 2017-2022 Capital Improvement Plan. As part of the biennial budget […]

THIS WEEK IN THE BUDGET On Wednesday the Budget Committee met to vote and discuss changes to the proposed budget. My big news is that the Council supported the passage of my proposal to create a $29M housing bond intended to expand financing for affordable housing in Seattle for 2017.  I wrote about this proposal […]

Housing Bond Proposal Last Friday, Councilmembers Bagshaw, González, Johnson, O’Brien, Sawant, and I signed on to a proposal to fund additional affordable housing for Seattle residents. The proposal is a measured approach that adds $29 million in bond financing for housing which, if leveraged with other resources, could support additional affordable housing. The housing production […]

HALA potential rezones in Urban Villages, District 1 On Wednesday, November 9th, from 6pm-9pm, the Department of Neighborhoods, the Office of Community Planning and Development and Councilmember Johnson’s office will host the Westwood Highland Park Urban Village Community Design Workshop at Chief Sealth High School Library, 2600 SW Thistle St. Seattle, WA 98126. This workshop […]

Barrier Reduced for Utility Shut-off for Late Payments Whether because of a lay-off at work or an unexpected medical expense, Seattle City Light (SCL) and Seattle Public Utility (SPU) customers sometimes come up short when it’s time to pay their bill and face a shut-off of their utilities. When a customer receives a shut-off notice, […]

Comprehensive Plan 2035 Community Involvement On Monday the Council approved the 2035 Comprehensive Plan update. In committee, the Council approved amendments I sponsored relating to Seattle Public Utilities, Arts, Economic Development and Growth, and then this week in Full Council amendments I sponsored to the Community Involvement element were also approved. I worked with neighborhood […]

Encampment Legislation Earlier today I sent the following e-mail to people who’ve written me about homeless encampments: Thank you for writing to me about proposed Council Bill 118794.  Like you, I care deeply how the City manages public land for use of the general public as well as how our policies impact our ability to […]

Next Week in the Budget Process Here’s what’s coming up during the next week in the budget process. The Budget Committee will hold Department Overviews on October 7 and 10, covering the following departments: Friday, October 7, 9:30 a.m.: Human Services: Homelessness Overview Monday, October 10 9:30 a.m.: Seattle Police Department Monday, October 10, 2 […]

Comp Plan 2035 The 2035 Comprehensive Plan is the 20-year framework for most of Seattle’s big-picture decisions on how to grow while preserving and improving our neighborhoods. The Plan guides City decisions on where to build new jobs and houses, how to improve our transportation system, and where to make capital investments such as utilities, […]