The Seattle PI reports that Mayor Ed Murray unveiled his plan to add 50,000 new homes in Seattle over a decade, with 20,000 of them considered affordable.
The move is part of a plan to fulfill Murray’s vision where “the people who work in Seattle can afford to live in Seattle,” which he expressed during a packed City Hall news conference. His plan is also to alleviate the housing supply crisis that is plaguing many other West Coast cities.
To achieve this goal, the proposal requires developers to set aside five to seven percent of new multi-family developments for affordable residents that earn up to 60 percent of King County’s median income.
Mayor Murray also clarified that he is not going to eliminate or uproot single-family housing. Instead, his proposal will shift about six percent of single-family zones to low-rise residential in and around urban villages and near major arterial roads.