Seattle’s “snow day” doesn’t appear like it will stop a marathon public hearing Wednesday night on Seattle’s update to its comprehensive growth plan.

Wednesday marks Seattle City Council’s first public hearing on a process of outreach and feedback that stretches back two years. It comes as CHS reported here on the tricky balance the council comp plan committee chair District 3 representative Joy Hollingsworth must strike between meeting growth requirements under new state law and being responsive to her district constituents including strong opposition that has formed in neighborhoods like Madrona. “LR3 zoning would forever alter and potentially erase the historic character and charm of the existing, tiny business district and neighborhood, where many homes are over 100 years old and lovingly maintained,” a new petition against the rezoning plan there concludes.

Wednesday’s hearing will be a long one with the first segment dedicated to in-person testimony before a session mixing remote and in-person comment starting at 7:30 PM. As is typical of council sessions, the Seattle Channel will carry the proceedings live.

Hollingsworth’s office provided the following outline of the process to register be part of the night’s public comment:

• The Public Hearing will begin at 5 p.m. and only in-person public comment will be accepted in Chambers through 730 p.m.
• The hybrid public comment will begin at 730 p.m. alternating between sets of in-person and remote speakers and in the order registered.
• Online registration to speak will begin at 4:00 p.m. on Feb. 5 and registration will end at the conclusion of the Public Hearing. Speakers must be registered in order to be recognized by the Chair.
• In-Person Public Comment – Register to speak on the Public Comment sign-up sheet located outside Council Chambers at least 30 minutes prior to the meeting start time. Registration will end at the conclusion of the Public Hearing. Speakers must be registered in order to be recognized by the Chair.
• Written Comments: Please submit written comments to all Councilmembers by Wednesday, February 5, 2025, at 5:00 p.m. at [email protected] or at Seattle City Hall, Attn: Council Public Comment, 600 4th Ave., Floor 2, Seattle, WA 98104.
• Childcare will be provided by A-List Nanny Services from 5 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. Parents or guardians attending the Public Hearing and who wish to utilize the complimentary childcare, please RSVP via email at [email protected]. On the day of the hearing, please check in at City Council Reception between 4:30 p.m. and 6:00 p.m.

Another important public process around the comprehensive plan update is also underway as the Environmental Impact Study on the proposal is now up for comment through February 13th:

The FEIS (Final Environmental Impact Statement) for the One Seattle Plan was released on January 30, 2025. The FEIS responds to comments on the Draft EIS and analyzes the potential impacts of a Preferred Alternative. A 14-day appeal period began on January 30 and concludes February 13, 2025 at 5:00 p.m. For information on how to appeal see the FEIS Notice of Availability

While much of the debate around the proposal is focused on change in neighborhoods like Madrona, the new growth plan is not a reinvention of the city as we know it today and would continue many of the development patterns that have shaped modern Seattle. Nearly 70% of new construction expected under the draft plan would be constrained to “Regional Centers,” the plan’s designation for the city’s most densely populated, high transit areas — Downtown, Lower Queen Anne, South Lake Union, University District, Northgate, Ballard, and First Hill and Capitol Hill — or less dense but still highly developed areas like 23rd Ave from Union to Jackson.

Some of the most vocal opposition focuses on areas of the plan with some of the most modest proposals for growth including the creation of 30 new “neighborhood centers” across the city including D3’s Madison Park, Madison Valley, Montlake, and Madrona. The designation could “allow residential and mixed-use buildings up to 6 stories in the core and 4- and 5-story residential buildings toward the edges,” according to a plan draft — but Hollingsworth’s office told CHS it sees room for compromise.

“I hope people embrace and understand so much of the density is baked in to the state plan,” a Hollingsworth representative said. “But we will consider how, exactly, we implement.”

Hollingsworth, meanwhile, says an anti-displacement executive order issued by Mayor Bruce Harrell will “align and strengthen the City’s efforts to prevent displacement in Seattle communities.”

Following the February 5th hearing, Hollingsworth and the Seattle City Council will consider what they are calling Phase 1 of the legislation that will finalize the structure of the comprehensive plan and Neighborhood Residential updates to implement HB 1110. That’s the part that will say “Neighborhood Centers” exist — or they don’t — and sets their parameters.

The compromises over drawing the actual lines will be pushed into summer as the council considers Phase 2 including rezones for the new Neighborhood Centers, new and expanded Regional and Urban Centers, and “select arterial rezones along frequent transit routes.”

Want to add your voice? Here is how to join the record:

• You can submit your comments and questions to councilmembers via email. Addressing your message to [email protected] will send it to all nine council offices.
• You can give public comment at any of the remaining meetings of the Select Committee on the Comprehensive Plan. This webpage has more information about how you can sign up.

The complete comprehensive plan update proposal has been posted to Zoning.OneSeattlePlan.com.

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