CANDY MIKE AND TODD

Seattle ‘not using all the tools in kit’ to solve housing crisis

Nov 25, 2019, 12:25 PM

As the price of finding a home in Seattle continues to skyrocket, many are looking for solutions that will keep the city’s housing crisis from continuing to escalate. As for what that solution is, the answer could be a simple one: Building more homes.

Did Seattle’s upzoning measure not go far enough?

“We’re not using all the tools in the kit if we want to improve housing affordability,” said KIRO Radio’s Mike Lewis on the Candy, Mike and Todd Show. “If you’re a believer in the idea that more housing creates better prices and you’re not a believer in say, rent control, then this is kind of what you have to do — you have to start building supply.”

That’s even after the passing of Mandatory Housing Affordability, which upzoned an additional 5 percent of Seattle. In the wake of MHA’s passing, some argued that the measure didn’t go far enough toward making Seattle more friendly to allowing multi-family construction.

In Seattle, roughly 70 percent of the city is zoned specifically for single-family housing, restricting the construction of things like apartment buildings, town home complexes, and other options that create more housing supply in a city that’s short on affordable options.

In the future, more upzoning could very well be the key to keeping the city affordable for the most possible people.

“You can’t decide ‘I want the city to stay exactly as it is,’ and yet have affordable housing,” Lewis pointed out.

In order to address that, Seattle City Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda added a small item to the 2020 budget, that would require the city to look into the pros and cons of allowing what’s known as “middle housing” in any of the city’s numerous single-family zones.

Seattle unveils new plan to curb affordable housing crisis

Middle housing is seen as a stepping stone for multi-family construction, allowing for things like rowhouses, duplexes, triplexes, etc. in spaces previously occupied by a single-family home. But even that’s proven to be difficult in a city that’s clung to its questionable zoning restrictions for the better part of a century.

“For people who live in Seattle neighborhoods where you have single family homes, it’s the thing that they hate,” KIRO Radio’s Candy Harper noted.

Candy Mike and Todd

guns, assault weapons, gun, 1639, 1639 gun initiative, gun tax...

Mike Lewis

Mike: We should not restrict guns but their owners are different story

If you are a commercial pilot or general contractor likely you understand the value of licensing; So why not license gun owners?

4 years ago

snow day...

MyNorthwest Staff

What’s better for kids: a school snow day or a two-hour delay?

The recent snow fall stirred up a debate: What's better for kids, a snow day or two-hour delay?

4 years ago

shoveling snow...

MyNorthwest Staff

Candy: Everyone should shovel snow as a chore

Shoveling snow is a unique experience here in the Pacific Northwest. Here are five reasons everyone should shovel snow as a chore.

4 years ago

trans...

Todd Herman

The theft of parental rights in Washington state is unconscionable and immoral

Quoting a law passed in Democrat-controlled Washington state originally designed to make sure girls could get secret abortions, insurance companies have been writing to parents informing them they no longer have any rights to be involved in crucial, life-altering decisions their kids want to make.

4 years ago

tipping...

MyNorthwest Staff

Guilt tipping has got to stop

We are seeing tipping pop up in unusual places. I've seen new tip lines at a craft store, clothing store, and a 7-11 in the last few months.

4 years ago

Space Needle fireworks, New Year's Eve, seattle baby...

MyNorthwest Staff

Tell me I’m wrong: Everyone should have a New Year’s resolution

What is preventing us from reaching our fitness goals the rest of the year? KIRO Radio's Candy Harper weighs in.

4 years ago

Seattle ‘not using all the tools in kit’ to solve housing crisis