Forcing Developers To Build Affordable

Two downtown housing plans in Seattle present different demands to developers; each calls for the creation of an affordable housing fund, yet the amount of funding and additional amenities required varies.

1 minute read

March 6, 2006, 6:00 AM PST

By David Gest

"Currently, two plans are on the table: [Mayor] Nickels's, which requires developers who build above current height restrictions to pay $10 a square foot into an affordable-housing fund and requires no new downtown amenities; and Council Member Peter Steinbrueck's, which doubles the affordable-housing requirement and mandates extensive green-building standards, historic preservation, and other downtown amenities. Critics, including many downtown developers, have assailed Steinbrueck's proposal, arguing that it would make developing downtown prohibitively expensive."

Said former neighborhoods department director Jim Diers: "We've had more and more and more density in this city. Has housing become more affordable? No!"

FULL STORY: Housing Grousing

Thursday, March 2, 2006 in The Seattle Stranger

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