Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Feasibility topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Commission weighs subsidy gap versus zoning and regulatory tools in feasibility phase
Summary
Members urged the Blue Ribbon Commission to broaden the 'subsidy gap' language to include regulatory and zoning changes, not just financial subsidies, arguing non‑financial tools (code changes, connection charges, SEPA thresholds) can affect project feasibility.
Several members said the feasibility phase should explicitly address regulatory changes and zoning tools alongside financial incentives. One participant cautioned that the phrase "identify project subsidy gap" could be read narrowly as only financial assistance; he urged adding municipal code and zoning changes as tools that could make projects viable without direct city subsidy.
Nicole and Heather noted state law already imposes proportional fee requirements and recent ADU and other code changes affect options; the commission discussed adding a regulatory review (including SEPA threshold considerations) to the feasibility work so the final charter captures both financial and non‑financial levers.
