Zoning

Read more about the article The Tale of Two Streets: Why Have Stone Way and 45th Street Developed Differently?
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The Tale of Two Streets: Why Have Stone Way and 45th Street Developed Differently?

As a resident of Wallingford for my entire life (just over 17 years), I’ve always enjoyed walking down Stone Way and along 45th Street. Each street contributes to my home’s Walk Score of 95, making it a “Walkers’ Paradise,” where most errands can be done on foot. Lately, I’ve wondered why more housing has been built on Stone Way than on 45th Street.   This question led me to look more deeply into the knobs and levers that control a neighborhood’s…

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Read more about the article Wallingford targeted for more housing growth than most other urban villages under HALA

Wallingford targeted for more housing growth than most other urban villages under HALA

As I reported in November, the City has released the "Preferred Alternative" maps for proposed zoning changes under HALA (if you don't know what HALA is, you can find out more here). What I did not have in my hands when writing about the Preferred Alternative maps the first time, was the figures for just how much new development Wallingford could expect under these proposed zoning changes. As you can see in the document linked below, Wallingford is targeted for a…

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Read more about the article The life and death of our Neighborhood Plan

The life and death of our Neighborhood Plan

  I’d like to tell you a story about the life and death of our Neighborhood Plan. The story starts back in the 1990’s. It was a time when Seattle was still a small big city before Amazon took over a whole neighborhood, when we were the center of a musical grunge scene and flannel was everywhere (well, maybe that last part hasn’t changed). If you are old enough, you may remember this version of Seattle. But while the cool kids…

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Read more about the article Draft Zoning Maps Released for Wallingford

Draft Zoning Maps Released for Wallingford

The city has released Wallingford’s draft MHA zoning map. Click here to download the PDF. Under this draft proposal, there would be no single family zoning left inside the urban village boundaries. The website includes instructions on how to interpret the map, which I recommend you read. In general, when you look at each zone on the map, our current zone is on the left and the new proposed zone is on the right. The most dramatic changes, where the city wants to…

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Conlin’s Legislation Won’t Affect ‘CVS’ Design

Updated 12:04pm. See (*) below for additional content. Seattle City Councilmember Richard Conlin has introduced new legislation to implement minimum density requirements to Neighborhood Commercial Zones. You can read the entire legislation here) but here's the gist: "The legislation requires a minimum density for Neighborhood Commercial (NC) zones in urban centers, urban villages and station area overlay districts that have a pedestrian designation overlay. The minimum density level, measured by the Floor Area Ratio (FAR), would be based on the maximum allowable…

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House no more

For more information about this house, see our latest post: The Straight Skinny About the Big White House. David wrote to tell us that the big white house in lower Wallingford (3519 Wallingford Avenue N.) has been demolished: Lots of changes going on in lower Wallingford.  I came home today to find the big house (I think actually a triplex) at 35th and Wallingford demolished!  Always stood out to me as such a big residence with a nice view.  Nothing but…

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Alley Scraper update

Update: 9/11/12, 9:56am: This morning, The Daily Weekly reported that City Council approved the emergency legislation in a unanimous vote.  Back in May, Shannon told us about the Disturbing Development in Tangletown, in which a new, three-story house was being built on a tiny lot at 55th and Kensington. In July, Shannon provided us with an update, letting us know that the infill issue has cropped up in several neighborhoods throughout Seattle. Now, Shannon has provided us with information about a…

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