CITY OF SEATTLE
RESOLUTION _________________
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A RESOLUTION confirming that the City of Seattle's core value of race and social equity is one of the foundations on which the Comprehensive Plan is built.
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WHEREAS, Seattle was a national leader when it made social equity one of the four core values in the original 1994 Comprehensive Plan and will continue to demonstrate leadership in advancing social equity through planning processes; and
WHEREAS, the state Growth Management Act requires goals for housing, economic development, and community participation, and Seattle is committed to social equity through establishing equity goals and policies for all elements of its Comprehensive Plan; and
WHEREAS, Mayor Nickels launched the City's Race and Social Justice Initiative (RSJI) in 2004 to eliminate race-based disparities within Seattle, and Mayor Murray's RSJI Executive Order 2014-02 declared the City will incorporate a racial equity lens in citywide initiatives to achieve coordinated planning and equitable growth; and
WHEREAS, while it has long been assumed that there is a trade-off between equity and economic efficiency, new evidence shows that regions that work toward equity have stronger and more resilient economic growth - for everyone; and
WHEREAS, race and social equity planning includes not only shared distribution of the benefits and burdens of growth and investments, but also partnership in the process resulting in shared decision-making and more equitable outcomes that strengthen the entire region; and
WHEREAS, the City works to create racial equity by explicitly naming and addressing the historic and current impacts of institutional and structural racism in our policies, procedures, programming, initiatives, and budgetary decisions; and
WHEREAS, the City acknowledges that structural and institutional racism, including redlining, restrictive racial covenants, and other discriminatory practices led to racial segregation and current rac...
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