Vancouver city planners hired by the Seattle City Council to review Mayor Nickels’ proposed zoning changes released a report yesterday with their recommendations for how Seattle can ensure healthy urban growth of the downtown area. The recommendations included “developing design guidelines to make downtown housing more family-friendly and crafting plans to ensure that local shopping, services and green open space are within a five-minute walk of housing.” Questions arose regarding potential fees developers would pay to help fund the amenities in a more family-friendly downtown. Although still in it’s beginning stages, the Vancouver consultants and City Council support the crux of the Mayor’s zoning plan.
Here’s the P-I’s coverage of the report, and a link to the planners’ report (580K PDF).
ACTION ALERT: Note that there is a public forum with city officials and the Vancouver planners next Monday, August 18, from 5:30 - 7:30pm at City Hall (600 Fourth Avenue).
We’d love to hear how you’d like downtown to develop. Please post your comments or email us.
Technorati Tags: Downtown Seattle, Seattle, Urban Planning
