Get Engaged

2016-17 Cohort

Young adults bringing a new voice to City of Seattle boards & commissions

 

Get Engaged

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Accelerator YMCA • Young Adult Services • 2100 24th Avenue South, Suite 250 • Seattle, Washington 98144

December 20,

2016 The Honorable Rob Johnson Seattle City Hall 600 Fifth Avenue, Second Floor Seattle, Washington 98104 Dear Councilmember Johnson: As young adults advocating for our future, we are deeply concerned about Seattle’s housing affordability crisis. We are troubled by what we see in many other cities, like San Francisco, and we cannot allow that to happen in our city. Everyone deserves a place to call home – regardless of their race and income. Will you help pave the way to a more inclusive housing supply, or will you allow Seattle to be an enclave for the wealthy? Will you stand against displacement, and stand with us: people of color, low-income communities, nonconformists, artists, and entrepreneurs? A decade from now, will this be the same city you cherish today?

Our cohort of City board members and commissioners urges Seattle City Council to approve the University District Rezone without delay.

 While this is certainly not enough, it is a step towards a just, sustainable, and vibrant future. We support the rezone in the University District because:

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The infrastructure for public transit is already being upgraded to carry an increased capacity of riders through the improvements to the local bike and bus lanes and the expansion of two light rail stations within the Urban Village.

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The University of Washington is one of the largest employers in the City of Seattle.

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Policy regulations are in place to provide the development of a variety of housing through Mandatory Housing Affordability. The University District rezone is designed to create 620-910 affordable units and will be an example for future rezones across the city. This will not meet the demand in our economy, but until the first round of units is built and the process is evaluated it is the best first step.

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As a city bound on two sides by bodies of water there are only three directions to go: north, south, and up. The University District is an opportunity-rich neighborhood that can support this higher, taller density. The U District rezone provides the first opportunity outside of the downtown urban core to set a precedent for growth in Seattle that is varied, inclusive, and sustainable.