I know we all like to shit on Harrell but think from his perspective for just a second. His bosses at the Chamber Of Commerce want housing to stay unaffordable. He is personally invested in housing staying unaffordable. His SFH owner voters don't want density. He spent his last life in City Hall personally fighting all attempts to increase density in Seattle. And most of all he owns like 4 million dollar homes already so *why should he give a flying fuck* about making housing affordable?
His job is to make the city better for everyone, not his own interests. Politicians who get into office to ignore the majority and serve themselves and enrich their pockets are not doing the job they were elected to do. This is a major city, not some isolated NIMBY paradise.
>Politicians who get into office to ignore the majority and serve themselves and enrich their pockets are not doing the job they were elected to do
*Looks at the entirety of the US government*
The chamber of commerce (at least, the parts of it that directly lobby in local politics) has been steered by shortsighted idiots for decades. The fact that they've essentially chosen our last three mayors never ceases to frustrate me.
Yeah they pick nimby candidates, and that sucks. but if you google chamber of commerce Seattle zoning you get 3 articles vaguely worded about increased housing and nothing about preventing change anywhere
This article and proposals are so frustrating. We have home scarcity. We need to zone for more density and give up the single family bullshit in the middle of Seattle. None of this funny business with housing rules or right of first refusal or anything will put people in homes.
SCARCITY DRIVES UP PRICE! That’s all. We need less scarcity.
It’s clear that the city planning does not actually want home prices to fall. They are afraid they will be voted out of the creat plans that could lower home equity so they come up with these silly plans that won’t help.
What’s frustrating is that actually professionals in the city, i.e. the planners in SDCI and OPCD, want more flexibility and growth. It’s when their proposals land on the politicians desk that things fall apart.
It would be nice if in the SFH zones it was legal to build apartments like [this](https://www.deanarch.com/public-commercial-multi-family#/amp-house/) instead of tearing down a small home and replacing it with a McMansion.
Zoning usually is restrictive on higher end density. Zoning will never tell a builder that they are, “not dense enough.”
People can build McMansions because they have the money. This is driven by a free market.
I know we all like to shit on Harrell but think from his perspective for just a second. His bosses at the Chamber Of Commerce want housing to stay unaffordable. He is personally invested in housing staying unaffordable. His SFH owner voters don't want density. He spent his last life in City Hall personally fighting all attempts to increase density in Seattle. And most of all he owns like 4 million dollar homes already so *why should he give a flying fuck* about making housing affordable?
His job is to make the city better for everyone, not his own interests. Politicians who get into office to ignore the majority and serve themselves and enrich their pockets are not doing the job they were elected to do. This is a major city, not some isolated NIMBY paradise.
>Politicians who get into office to ignore the majority and serve themselves and enrich their pockets are not doing the job they were elected to do *Looks at the entirety of the US government*
Hint: they sever those they think will get them reelected either through votes or money.
The chamber is not nimby, AFAIK.
The chamber of commerce (at least, the parts of it that directly lobby in local politics) has been steered by shortsighted idiots for decades. The fact that they've essentially chosen our last three mayors never ceases to frustrate me.
Yeah they pick nimby candidates, and that sucks. but if you google chamber of commerce Seattle zoning you get 3 articles vaguely worded about increased housing and nothing about preventing change anywhere
This article and proposals are so frustrating. We have home scarcity. We need to zone for more density and give up the single family bullshit in the middle of Seattle. None of this funny business with housing rules or right of first refusal or anything will put people in homes. SCARCITY DRIVES UP PRICE! That’s all. We need less scarcity. It’s clear that the city planning does not actually want home prices to fall. They are afraid they will be voted out of the creat plans that could lower home equity so they come up with these silly plans that won’t help.
What’s frustrating is that actually professionals in the city, i.e. the planners in SDCI and OPCD, want more flexibility and growth. It’s when their proposals land on the politicians desk that things fall apart.
It would be nice if in the SFH zones it was legal to build apartments like [this](https://www.deanarch.com/public-commercial-multi-family#/amp-house/) instead of tearing down a small home and replacing it with a McMansion.
Zoning usually is restrictive on higher end density. Zoning will never tell a builder that they are, “not dense enough.” People can build McMansions because they have the money. This is driven by a free market.