HALA Legislation Takes Shape
SHA's Tamarack Place (by the author)
The Housing Affordability and Livability Agenda (HALA), a Mayor-Murray inspired "grand compromise" between for-profit developer and affordable housing interests, started to take legal shape in the last few weeks with a series of new council bills.
The first item, approved September 28th, was a work plan to address the HALA recommendations (with the notable exception of allowing duplexes and triplexes in some single-family zones). Broadly speaking, the Council plans to enact various affordable housing programs in the near term, with the upzones happening in 2017. According to Sarra Tekola of Mike O'Brien's office, "The upzones in 2017 are not delayed, with the environmental review, DPD and public process this will take a year."
There are a total of 15 separate pieces of legislation in the plan, a number of reports, and two additional bills may be required.
In 2015, the Council planned passed "framework legislation" for the Commercial Linkage Fee on November 9th 9-0. It also renewed and revised on September 28th the Multifamily Property Tax Exemption (MFTE), a tax break to encourage inexpensive housing construction. These items do not come into effect until the upzones do in 2017. Still to come, the council will also adopt an agreement with regional partners to set up a revolving loan fund for transit oriented development.
In the first half of 2016, the Council would pass legislation authorizing a much larger Housing Levy on the ballot and authrorize a "credit enhancement program" for Yesler Terrace. New laws would also remove barriers to housing for people with criminal records, strengthen Tenant Relocation Assistance if a report calls for it, and reform both Design Review and Historic Preservation Review.
Later next year, the Council would amend the standards to encourage construction of Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), and regulate the "short term rental" (e.g. AirBnB) market, based on a report earlier in the year. It would outlaw discrimination against renters based on source of income. It may also create a formal program to preserve existing affordable housing, based on the outcome of a staff report.
2017 is when the best stuff comes: upzones and changes to development standards linked to the Commercial Linkage Fee and MFTE in the deal, as well as reduced or eliminated minimum parking requirements in urban centers, urban villages, and frequent transit corridors.
Throughout the whole period the Council will seek to transfer public property for development via specific legislation, where possible. Missing, of course, is course is the bulk of the HALA committee's recommendations on single-family zones, withdrawn soon after the proposal, despite it being the best tool to accommodate larger families in Seattle.