CITY OF SEATTLE
ORDINANCE __________________
COUNCIL BILL __________________
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AN ORDINANCE relating to land use and zoning; amending Chapter 23.32 of the Seattle Municipal Code (SMC) at page 8 of the Official Land Use Map to rezone land in the Lake City neighborhood.
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WHEREAS, the Lake City Community Center was severely damaged by fire in 2023 and Seattle Parks and Recreation and the Seattle Office of Housing are partnering to pursue an innovative project to rebuild the community center in a mixed-use building with a new community center at the ground level and multiple stories of affordable housing above it; and
WHEREAS, Seattle continues to face significant housing affordability challenges as an estimated 32 percent of all households in the city are cost burdened, and of these, close to 50,000 households are severely cost-burdened and at especially high risk of housing insecurity; and
WHEREAS, new rent- and income-restricted affordable housing is one of the most direct ways the City can support affordable housing for its residents and aid community members at risk of displacement; and
WHEREAS, rebuilding a new Lake City community center is a high priority for residents and workers in Lake City and a new community center will provide an important public service to households throughout Lake City and adjacent neighborhoods; and
WHEREAS, this ordinance would increase development capacity for housing and community serving uses and maintain a Mandatory Housing Affordability requirement on a group of parcels that include currently lightly used or vacant properties; and
WHEREAS, this proposal will be compatible with the planned land use pattern envisioned in the Comprehensive Plan and the Seattle Municipal Code, since the proposal meets rezone criteria, and would be consistent with the precedent of the mix of uses in other nearby areas and would provide a more gradual stepped transition between higher intensity and lower intensity zoned areas; and
WHEREA...
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