The HALA rezone proposal has been all in the news since it was released on Monday and is city-wide. Here is the zoning change map, and here is that map overlaid in Google Maps. The key element of the plan is to expand urban villages and eliminate single family zoning near urban villages.

We’ve also been looking at the major U-District light rail upzone that will become reality this fall. Here is the 588 page Environmental Impact Statement for the upzone. Don’t want to read all 588 pages? A synopsis:

Existing zoning in the U-District maxes out at 8 stories…

If there’s one day every year that’s “Wallingford Day”, that would be today. Here’s the line up:

10 to 4: Seattle Tilth’s Chicken Coop & Urban Farm Tour. If you’re at all interested in bees, goats, chickens, or just seeing cool stuff people build in their yards, this is a great event. I’ve been on the tour twice and gone on the tour twice. I’m always bummed when they schedule it the same day as the Wallingford parade / Mike Carton Derby.

11 to 12: The parade, followed by the festival-ish.

12 to 4: Pharmaca (a sponsor) is having a …

Our Seafair parade enters its 66th year with the theme “Route 66”. The drill teams are a lot of fun to watch. My daughter did drill team, so I went to ALL the parades (every weekend, all summer). Try to position yourself near the Wallingford Center, that’s where they perform for the judges. If you like it, check out the International District parade, as the Chinese drill team is amazing there (dragons and tight choreography with hundreds of kids).

For such a long tradition, the parade has been on shaky ground lately. At one time the parade was the main …

Rodents killed our hot tub not once, but twice. Plywood isn’t enough to protect it; they like the warmth. In retrospect, we should have wrapped the base in galvanized wire mesh, but the tub came with the house and we were too lazy to hoist it out of the ground for retrofitting. Anyhow, thanks to craigslist, at least it’s gone (the power of “free!”) Now we have 240 volts sitting there plus a hole in our deck. What next?

Density of course! Seattle City Council preaches DADUs, or Detached Accessory Dwelling Units. You can install them if you have the …