DAVE ROSS

Economist: Gov. Inslee’s proposal to rework single-family zoning ‘a good start’

Jan 11, 2022, 5:54 AM

Tacoma single family zoning...

Tacoma's Hilltop neighborhood. (Jacob Rose, Wikimedia Commons)

(Jacob Rose, Wikimedia Commons)

Gov. Jay Inslee is pushing for a bill this legislative session that would alter single-family zoning requirements across many of the state’s major cities. Windermere Chief Economist Matthew Gardner — who sits on Inslee’s economic advisory council — spoke to KIRO Radio’s Dave Ross to explain what the proposal would look like in practice.

Economist: Lack of affordable homes in Puget Sound region is ‘lunacy’

Other cities and states have enacted legislation to do away with single-family zoning entirely. That includes Minneapolis, as well as all of Oregon and California. The bill being proposed by Inslee, though, is more limited in scope.

“We certainly are aware of different parts of the country that have implemented that broad brushstroke plan of eviscerating single-family zoning,” Gardner said. “The difference here in Washington state is the proposal that the governor’s put forward is isolated within a certain proximity of mass transit stations.”

“Whether it be light rail, whether it be a bus — whatever it is — so it’s not arbitrary,” he added. “It’s not across the entire state in any single-family zone.”

More specifically, the bill would seek to allow townhomes, duplexes, triplexes, and quadplexes — known more colloquially as “middle housing” — in areas within a half mile of transit stops in cities with populations over 20,000, affecting just over 70 cities in Washington.

How to ‘sympathetically’ upzone Seattle’s single-family neighborhoods

In many ways, it echoes a recently-passed bill passed in Tacoma, which recategorized the city’s zoning classifications to allow for more middle housing options in areas near transit hubs that have traditionally been set aside exclusively for single-family homes.

Gardner has long pushed for cities like Seattle to reimagine their approach to zoning, labeling Inslee’s bill a solid first step toward that goal.

“It’s not broad, but it’s certainly a good start,” he noted.

Listen to Seattle’s Morning News weekday mornings from 5 – 9 a.m. on KIRO Radio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.

Dave's Commentary

Dave Ross on KIRO Newsradio 97.3 FM
  • listen to dave rossTune in to KIRO Newsradio weekdays at 5am for Dave Ross on Seattle's Morning News.

Dave Ross

car culture...

Dave Ross

Ross: Are we killing car culture? Or is car culture killing the US?

I don’t think the question is whether we're going to "kill" our car culture. The real question is can we stop our car culture from killing the U.S.?

3 days ago

drivers data insurance...

Dave Ross

Ross: As cars release driving data to insurance, is your driving my business?

Every move you make, every swerve you take, every lane change you fake – someone’s watching you. Do drivers have a right to keep driving data private?

10 days ago

rent control...

Dave Ross

Ross: Rent control was never the answer in Wash.

The rent control bill died in the Washington State Legislature this week, even though Democrats control both houses.

30 days ago

end of democracy...

Dave Ross

Ross: Conservative activist earns applause for pledging an ‘end of Democracy’

The theme from Jack Posobiec's speech is that Jan. 6 was a righteous attack not on democracy, but on those who threaten democracy.

1 month ago

Image: Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colorado, is seen on Capitol Hill on Jan. 6, 2023. (Photo: Alex Brand...

Dave Ross

Ross: Voters can help cull bad politicians from the herd early

Let's remember that just about every occupant of a higher office once occupied a lower office, and was put there by us, Dave Ross says.

1 month ago

Super Bowl celebration...

Dave Ross

Ross: The NFL does it again

The NFL once again put on a show that was able to keep me tuned in for four hours even though I had no stake in either team.

1 month ago

Economist: Gov. Inslee’s proposal to rework single-family zoning ‘a good start’