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Committee holds public hearing on repeal of stadium-overlay housing allowance; no vote today
Summary
The committee opened and closed a public hearing on council bill 121171, which would repeal the ordinance that allowed residential use within the Stadium Transition Overlay District after a Growth Management Hearings Board finding of procedural error. Testimony included maritime and neighborhood perspectives; the committee did not act on the ordinance at this meeting.
Chair Eddie Lynn opened a public hearing on council bill 121171, an ordinance proposing repeal of Ordinance 127191 (the measure that had allowed residential use within the Stadium Transition Overlay District under Seattle Municipal Code Chapter 23.74). Chair Lynn said the repeal is a response to a Growth Management Hearings Board decision that found procedural errors in the original passage.
Dan McKiss, representing the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 19, said the repeal is a necessary step to comply with the hearing board's order and to allow policy work to account for freight and maritime impacts. "Council member Lynn's bill is simply the necessary step to comply with growth-management oversight requirements," he said.
Billy Hetherington, speaking for an employer/union coalition, said he opposed the repeal as presented but noted ongoing negotiations and indicated stakeholders are working on a pathway that could allow residential uses in the future under different terms.
Remote testimony from Jessica Timber, deputy director of the Alliance for Pioneer Square, urged the city to treat the repeal as a procedural step and to continue work that responsibly allows more residential presence in Pioneer Square, which the group said is transit-rich and ready for more housing. Other residents raised concerns that removing residential allowances in the Stadium District may conflict with broader comp-plan upzoning goals.
The committee received the public input and then closed the hearing; no vote was taken on the ordinance at this meeting. Chair Lynn then called a short recess to begin presentations on the shelter-expansion proposal.
