OPCD summarizes public engagement on Seattle comprehensive plan; councilors press for clearer outreach and tree protections

Seattle '025 '005 '05 '0'0'0'0'0 The Select Committee on the Comprehensive Plan on Feb. 5 heard a briefing from the Office of Planning and Community Development (OPCD) on public engagement for the city—s draft comprehensive plan and accompanying zoning proposals. OPCD staff summarized outreach carried out across four engagement phases, described changes made between the spring and fall drafts, and said staff are still reviewing tens of thousands of public comments to inform forthcoming zoning legislation.

OPCD—s presentation focused on two rounds of citywide engagement that produced roughly 6,000 comments on the draft plan in spring 2024 and more than 9,000 comments during a fall 2024 comment period focused on proposed zoning maps, Michael, staff member at the Office of Planning and Community Development, told the committee. Michael said the spring engagement led staff to increase the number of proposed neighborhood centers from 24 to 30 and to revise the proposed neighborhood residential zoning.

Why it matters: the comprehensive plan and the zoning that follows will guide where Seattle expects to accommodate growth over the next 20 years. Changes to growth strategy maps, neighborhood-center designations and zoning standards affect building scale, parking, tree canopy, infrastructure needs and the risk of displacement.

Most significant changes and where they came from - Growth strategy: OPCD said it increased the number of proposed neighborhood centers (from 24 to 30) after spring public comment and made limited boundary refinements in the mayor—s September recommended growth strategy. - Middle-housing/zoning standards: OPCD said the draft middle-housing proposal (referred to in the briefing as the city—s response to "HB 11 10") was revised to raise the proposed floor-area ratio (FAR) from 0.9 to 1.2 to align with a state model code released after the spring draft, to add incentives for "stacked flats," and to remove a previously proposed lower-density carve-out for areas identified as being at higher risk of displacement. - Parking: OPCD staff said the mayor—s proposed approach would reduce off-street parking requirements in many areas the city is still allowed to regulate under state law; one example discussed in committee would reduce the typical requirement from one space per unit to roughly one space per two units in some locations. - Environmental review: OPCD confirmed the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) published last week responds to the more than 500 comments received on the draft EIS earlier in 2024; the fall comment period did not reopen the EIS record.

Public participation and outreach methods OPCD summarized a multi-year engagement program with four phases beginning in 2022, including contracts with community-based organizations, district open houses, a citywide online engagement hub, targeted meetings with neighborhood groups and boards and commissions, virtual office hours, paid advertising (including radio spots on KUOW) and earned media coverage. Staff said they contracted with several community-based organizations to reach residents who historically have been underrepresented in planning processes.

Numbers cited by staff (approximate): nearly 6,000 total comments in spring 2024 (about 1,200 unique commenters on one count of the spring draft plan), and more than 9,000 comments in the fall 2024 engagement with roughly 6,000 unique commenters during that fall process. OPCD said it is reviewing all comments from the fall to inform two forthcoming packages of legislation: the March proposal implementing the new neighborhood-residential zoning (the HB 11 10 legislation) and a May package for centers-and-corridors zoning and maps.

Council questions and concerns Committee members pressed OPCD on outreach reach and timing, and raised recurring concerns that appeared across districts: whether outreach had reached renters, Black, Indigenous and other communities of color, the effect of map timing on the ability of residents to influence the plan text versus the later zoning code, tree canopy preservation, infrastructure (stormwater and streets), parking, transit service, and the tradeoffs between additional density and affordability.

- Councilmember Strauss questioned whether everyday residents had been able to engage in the fall open houses and said constituents told her they were only learning of the zoning maps late in the process. - Councilmember Rivera said many constituents felt messages explaining that fall map comments would inform zoning (not the already-transmitted plan text) were unclear; she urged clearer, earlier information in future processes. - Councilmember Kettle and others noted local concerns about neighborhood centers, grocery and retail access in downtown and urban centers, and the desire to preserve historic character while allowing more housing. - Councilmember Moore asked whether OPCD will remove neighborhood-center designations based on fall comments; OPCD staff said they are not removing center designations but are still analyzing zoning details within those designations. - Multiple councilmembers urged stronger attention to trees and tree canopy. OPCD acknowledged tree concerns are multifaceted (the comp plan, zoning changes and the city—s tree ordinance intersect) and said staff will coordinate with the chair on a fuller conversation dedicated to trees.

What OPCD said it will do next OPCD told the committee it is using fall comments to revise the March and May zoning proposals. Michael said those zoning bills are the primary place to address many granular impacts raised by commenters (for example, parking requirements, building scale, open-space treatment and incentives for specific housing types). Staff emphasized the comp plan text is higher-level policy and that zoning legislation contains the detailed rules that shape development outcomes.

Meeting outcome and next steps The committee received the briefing and engaged in a lengthy Q&A; there were no formal votes on plan adoption or zoning at the Feb. 5 meeting. OPCD said it will transmit a March package for neighborhood-residential zoning (HB 11 10 implementation) and a May centers-and-corridors package; a public hearing on the comprehensive plan was scheduled for the evening of Feb. 5 starting at 5 p.m. Staff also noted the FEIS published last week includes responses to comments submitted during the FEIS comment period in spring 2024.

Ending note Committee chair Joy Hollingsworth closed the meeting and reminded the public of the hybrid public hearing that evening. A number of councilmembers said they will continue outreach and neighborhood conversations as OPCD finalizes zoning proposals for transmittal to the council.