AN ORDINANCE relating to land use and zoning; amending Chapter 23.32 of the Seattle Municipal Code at pages 99, 98, and 100 of the Official Land Use Map to rezone land in the Uptown area; amending Sections 23.30.010, 23.45.517, 23.48.002, 23.48.005, 23.48.020, 23.48.021, 23.48.040, 23.48.055, 23.48.085, 23.48.620, 23.58A.042, 23.58C.050, 23.84A.025, 23.84A.042, and 25.05.800 of the Seattle Municipal Code; and adding a new Subchapter VI to Chapter 23.48 of the Seattle Municipal Code, consisting of Sections 23.48.702, 23.48.705, 23.48.720, 23.48.721, 23.48.722, 23.48.723, 23.48.724, 23.48.730, 23.48.732, 23.48.735, 23.48.740, 23.48.745, 23.48.750, 23.48.755, 23.48.780, and 23.48.785, to rezone areas in the Uptown Urban Center.
Agenda Item seven Council Bill 1190 55 Relating to land use and zoning in any Chapter 23.32, said Mr. Code Page at 99, 88 and 100, the official land use map to rezoning land in the uptown area. The committee recommends the bill passes amended. Thank you again, an issue that came through my committee. So I'll just sing a couple of bars about uptown and then ask if any of my colleagues have anything they'd like to weigh in on. I'm really pleased to bring this bill in front of you today. It's the result of a lot of hard work by the Office of Planning and Community Development, Jim Holmes from that department in particular, as well as several dozen folks that are still in the audience today. Thanks for hanging in there. Land use nerds. I really appreciate it. We, I think, have brought forward a really good set of amendments as part of this legislation. And one of the things that I think is really unique about the Uptown neighborhood is how often we heard from folks about their interest in more affordable housing, particularly affordable housing related to the arts community. This is a community that has really been rooted in the arts and cultural district that I hope we will adopt shortly after this, as well as we've we as a city have spent a lot of time intentionally trying to support and continue to see more artists not only doing work in the area, but also being able to live in the area. The changes would implement our mandatory housing affordability program, which would create a lot more affordable housing in the neighborhood as a result. We've also introduced some parking maximums to encourage the use of transit in the neighborhood. We've incentivized arts and cultural spaces and space for school bonuses, including our pre-K bonus. And we had a really spirited debate within community about a whole lot of different issues. But I think that they all got resolved in a pretty well oriented fashion. And I want to say thanks to many of those folks who came not all into the several meetings that we had here at City Hall, but then also the really hot night that we had up in Uptown at Uptown Cinema and then again here today. So excited to bring this one forward. I don't believe there are any amendments, but I look to see if any of my other colleagues have any other comments. Yes, please. Can I just one question to Councilmember Johnson. I know that there was reference made earlier about an amendment that had been pulled a couple of weeks ago, and that was assuring now that the buildings at 85 feet that any setbacks would occur at six storeys or 65 feet. Is that continuing to be accurate? That is my understanding, I believe, and I'm looking to scan in the audience to see if Spencer Williams from my staff is here and he's not here to give me the thumbs up that I'm that I'm saying the right thing out here. But I think multitasking the best that I can. Councilmember backs onto the best of my recollection we we hung things at 65 feet and we stopped there. Right. And that's my understanding as well. There was a question that had come up earlier. I just wanted to confirm that that was accurate. But I'm sure we will hear from Spencer if it's wrong. But in the meantime, I really want to say thank you. This has been four years of work. I don't see Jim out there, but Nathan Torgerson, thank you for all the work that your shop has done and much thanks. Councilmember Johnson. Your staff has been tremendous and I really want to acknowledge Spencer and Amy, Patty and Jerry, all who had worked in on my team, Alberta Black has worked very hard in reaching out to the community. The legislation really takes important strides in doing what we were trying to accomplish and really building on the Uptown Urban Design Framework. Debbie FRAUSTO is here and Rick Hooper and Nancy Sjoberg. Thanks to all of you for your good work and others from that community. I'm also really thankful, Councilmember Herbold, for your bringing through the art and culture overlay district. That's going to make a big difference, not just for Uptown but also in Belltown in South Lake Union, as we are working to combine those neighborhoods in no small part because of the work we're doing around Seattle Center. It's going to make a wonderful difference, both in the vibrancy of all the neighborhoods, but the excitement and being able to get there without your single occupancy vehicle, the more innovative mobility strategy. And again, I want to acknowledge the good work that the community has done about making that happen. I understand that there is more art and culture going on in uptown than any neighborhood north of San Francisco. I'll take that. I'm not sure that we've exactly had the count, but I like the approach. Also, members of Ward Street Alliance. Nancy, again, thanks to you for your help and to the Bayview community. I know that there was a lot of worry about that, the impact of shadowing on Bayview and there was, of course, debate about, well, it's already the tallest building. But considering what that building is used for, for some of our most vulnerable citizens, I've I believe that we're going in the right direction to have the 65 feet in that lot right in front of Bayview. So the rezoning obviously is not the end of the day. There's more work that we will be doing. But recognizing too that this is just the first step and I'm as your D7 representative, I'm really committed to making sure that this works and that the work, the additional work that we're doing now around Seattle Center is going to make a big difference in your lives. We want to make sure that it works smoothly and it works for your benefit. So thank you again. Thank you. Councilmember O'Brien, I saw you pulling your microphone closer. Yes. Thank you. And I won't reiterate many of the point. I agree with Councilmember Bagshaw. One of the points is this is not the end. There's ongoing work to be done. And I want to speak specifically to the and the property adjacent to Royce Street. That has been a piece of ongoing discussion about whether the appropriate height there is 65 or 85 feet. I support a well designed building at 85 feet at that site, but I've chosen not to bring an amendment forward today. I understand that there is ongoing conversation between the Bayview property and the property owners of the one that's subject to the up zone. And I just encourage that those conversations continue to happen. There are other processes for that to hopefully be resolved, and I want to just commit to folks to stay engaged as a councilmember on that and look forward to that. Community can have conversations. I don't think that the conversations were ripe enough to take action today, but I suspect with some good work on both sides, there could be a resolution that meets a lot of folks needs, and I look forward to supporting that if that opportunity comes back to the council. Excellent. So, yes, please. Councilmember Herbold. Just very quickly. We'll be talking about this a little bit more in the resolution that follows. But I wanted to thank you, Chair Johnson, for bringing forward the amendment that increases the floor ratio to to allow for the development of art spaces. This was one of the recommendations of the Creation, Activation and Preservation Report that came out of the Arts Office. There's three different ideas to encourage and activate our artists space in Seattle. And this is one one of those ideas and very important to the arts community and the conversations that we'll be having as it relates to the resolution, I think are a good example about how our inspiring are aspirational goals can actually work with the regulations that we put in our in our land use code about physical spaces. So thank you for bringing that forward. Thanks. Matthew Richter does great work. Happy to have carried his water. So we do have some technical changes. I missed that in the beginning. So there is a substitute version five in front of you. So I'd ask for your support and move amendment, but I'd move to amend accountable 119055 by substituting version five for version. For. Further discussion. All those in favor please signify by saying I by any opposed. Okay, we've got an amended bill in front of us. So I'd move to pass Council Bill 119055 as amended for the discussion. Okay, I've seen that and asked the clerk to please call the roll on the passage of the bill. Whereas. O'Brian. So what? Major Gonzalez Herbold Hi. Johnson. By seven in favor, nine opposed. A bill is passed and the chair will sign it. Congratulations. Uptown. Let's move on to agenda item number eight.