Many parcels in Wallingford would change from Single-Family to Lowrise 1, Lowrise 2, or even Lowrise 3 zoning. Be heard and be seen to let the City Council know of your concerns!
The Mandatory Housing Affordability (MHA) program rewards developers and speculators, while Seattle residents pay the price. This “Grand Bargain”, devised by Seattle’s Mayor and City Council, promises to destroy established communities, displace thousands of low- and middle-income residents, and reduce family-scale housing options. Importantly, MHA doesn’t guarantee affordable housing concurrent with new development in affected neighborhoods.
The MHA program applies to all multifamily zones in Seattle. In Urban Villages, all single-family properties will be rezoned to multifamily. In exchange for providing a minuscule number of new affordable housing units, MHA allows developers to build larger and taller buildings. Currently affordable old housing units will be torn down to provide market rate housing that only high income earners can afford. Every new MHA building will increase the cost of housing in Seattle.
The City conceived MHA with negligible input from current residents. Economically and culturally diverse Urban Village communities will be disrupted and driven out by high-priced new development. All residents will face overcrowded schools and public transportation, trampled parks, clogged streets and parking, and more frequent pollution from sewer overflows. Yards, trees, and green spaces will disappear.
The City has neither plans nor funding to address MHA impacts. Since Seattle does not see fit to collect impact fees from developers, all Seattle residents will be stuck paying for the negative impacts of increased housing density. This is why everyone needs to get involved!
How Can You Get Involved?
- Read the WCC Position Paper on Affordable Housing, Increased Density, and Livability in Wallingford.
- See the Mandatory Housing Affordability (MHA) Myths & Facts page.
- Stay informed! Join the Wallingford Community Council (WCC), your neighborhood community council, and other groups concerned about the MHA program.
- Display a WCC “Keep Seattle Livable” yard sign to show your support.
- See the WCC Calls to Action page.
- Talk to your neighbors!
MHA Zoning and Development Examples
Illustrations of example buildings in various zones under new MHA development standards and affordable housing requirements were presented to the Housing Affordability and Livability Agenda (HALA) Focus Groups in September and October 2016:
- Residential Small Lot (RSL).
- Lowrise 1 (LR1).
- Lowrise 2 (LR2).
- Lowrise 3 (LR3).
- Midrise Residential (MR).
- Neighborhood Commercial 40 (NC-40).
- Neighborhood Commercial 55 (NC-55).
- Neighborhood Commercial 75 (NC-75).
- Neighborhood Commercial 95 (NC-95).
- Guide to Housing Options. Be aware of the “examples are for general illustration purposes only and are not intended as technical representations of proposed zoning standards” disclaimer.
Summary of MHA Zones
A summary of the MHA zoning changes is given in the table below. MHA Zone differences are shown in crimson.
| Existing Zone: MHA Zone: |
— RSL |
LR1 MHA LR1 |
LR2 MHA LR2 |
LR3 MHA LR3 |
MR MHA MR |
NC-30 MHA NC-40 |
NC-40 MHA NC-55 |
NC-65 MHA NC-75 |
NC-85 MHA NC-95 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MHA Zoning Allowed | UC & UV | citywide | citywide | citywide | citywide | citywide | citywide | citywide | citywide |
| Height Limit (feet) |
—
30 |
30
30 |
30
40 |
40
50 |
60 base 75 bonus 75 80 addition |
30
40 |
40
55 |
65
75 |
85
95 |
| Floor Area Ratio | —
0.75 |
1.2
1.2 |
1.3
1.4 |
2.0
2.2 |
3.2 base 4.25 bonus 4.5 |
2.5
3.0 |
3.25
3.75 |
4.75
5.5 |
4.5 single use 6.0 mixed use 5.0 single use 6.25 mixed use |
| Max Density (units/SF) |
— 1:2000 |
1:2000 N/A |
N/A N/A |
N/A N/A |
Notes:
MHA Zone differences are shown in crimson.
UC & UV = Urban Centers and Urban Villages.
Parking Required: 1 space per unit; none required in UC & UV.
MHA Performance and Payment Requirements
The MHA proposal creates three tiers of MHA requirements for multifamily residential and commercial development based on location in a Low, Medium or High Area and whether proposed zoning increases moves a zone from one category to another. The MHA performance requirement is a percent of units that must be set aside as affordable housing, or alternatively, a payment contributed to the Seattle Office of Housing.
Proposed Requirements for Residential and High-rise Commercial
| Scale of Upzone | Low (%) | Low ($) | Medium (%) | Medium ($) | High (%) | High ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard M suffix | 5% | $7.00 | 6% | $13.25 | 7% | $20.75 |
| Zones with M1 suffix | 8% | $11.25 | 9% | $20.00 | 10% | $29.75 |
| Zones with M2 suffix | 9% | $12.50 | 10% | $22.25 | 11% | $32.75 |
Proposed Requirements for non-high-rise Commercial (up to 95 feet)
| Scale of Upzone | Low (%) | Low ($) | Medium (%) | Medium ($) | High (%) | High ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard M suffix | 5% | $5.00 | 5% | $7.00 | 5% | $8.00 |
| Zones with M1 suffix | 8% | $8.00 | 8% | $11.25 | 8% | $12.75 |
| Zones with M2 suffix | 9% | $9.00 | 9% | $12.50 | 9% | $14.50 |
Notes:
Fractional housing units are rounded up to the next whole unit. The developer may pay for the fraction to round down instead.
Cost is dollars per square foot ($/SF) based on the Gross Floor Area, which is the product of the Lot Area multiplied by the maximum Floor Area Ratio (FAR).
MHA Upzoning Categories
| Category 1 | Single Family (SF), Residential Small Lot (RSL) |
| Category 2 | Lowrise 1 (LR1), Lowrise 2 (LR2) |
| Category 3 | Lowrise 3 (LR3), Neighborhood Commercial 55 (NC-55) |
| Category 4 | Midrise (MR), Neighborhood Commercial 75 (NC-75) |
| Category 5+ | Zones with heights greater than 85 feet. |
Notes:
The City is not clear on which category includes Neighborhood Commercial 40 (NC-40), and which category includes Neighborhood Commercial 95 (NC-95).
If a rezone results in no change in category, the zone would receive a standard M suffix.
If a rezone resulted in a zone changing to the next highest category, then the zone would receive a M1 suffix.
If the rezone resulted in a zone changing by two categories or more, the zone would receive a M2 suffix.
Map of MHA Performance Areas
The proposed map shows where the MHA High, Medium, and Low performance requirements apply.
Examples of MHA Development
A summary of the MHA development examples is given in the tables below. MHA Zone differences are shown in crimson.
| Existing Zone: MHA Zone: |
— RSL |
LR1 MHA LR1 |
LR2 MHA LR2 |
LR3 MHA LR3 |
MR MHA MR |
NC-30 MHA NC-40 |
NC-40 MHA NC-55 |
NC-65 MHA NC-75 |
NC-85 MHA NC-95 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Example: | Cottages | Small Site | Small Site | Small Site | Small+Depth | Small Site | Small Site | Small Site | 5 Over 3 |
| Lot Size (SF) | 10000 | 5000 | 10000 | 5000 | 10000 | 12000 | 15000 | 12000 | 28750 |
| Floor Area Ratio | — 0.75 |
1.2 1.2 |
1.3 1.4 |
2.0 2.2 |
4.25 4.5 |
2.5 3.0 |
3.25 3.75 |
4.75 5.5 |
6.0 6.25 |
| Total Floor Area (SF) |
— 7500 |
4800 4800 |
10400 11200 |
8000 8800 |
34000 36000 |
20800 25600 |
32200 38200 |
37600 44800 |
121324 127052 |
| Average unit size (SF) |
— 1500 |
2400 480 |
650 650 |
800 650 |
514 514 |
711 711 |
796 796 |
575 575 |
790 790 |
| Total units | — 5 |
2 10 |
16 17 |
10 14 |
72 76 |
29 36 |
40 48 |
65 78 |
153 161 |
| MHA units factor | 500% | 500% | 106% | 140% | 106% | 124% | 120% | 120% | 105% |
| Parking spaces | 3* | 0 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 0 | underground | underground | underground |
| Parking ratio (spaces/unit) |
— 0.60 |
0.00 0.00 |
0.50 0.47 |
0.50 0.36 |
0.00 0.00 |
0.00 0.00 |
unknown unknown |
unknown unknown |
unknown unknown |
| Existing Zone: MHA Zone: |
— RSL |
LR1 MHA LR1 |
LR2 MHA LR2 |
LR3 MHA LR3 |
MR MHA MR |
NC-30 MHA NC-40 |
NC-40 MHA NC-55 |
NC-65 MHA NC-75 |
NC-85 MHA NC-95 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Example: | Townhouses | Large Site | Large Site | Large Site | Small+Height | Large Site | Large Site | Large Site | 9 Story |
| Lot Size (SF) | 6000 | 10000 | 15000 | 15000 | 10000 | 16000 | 18000 | 46000 | 28750 |
| Floor Area Ratio | — 0.75 |
1.2 1.2 |
1.3 1.4 |
2.0 2.2 |
4.25 4.5 |
2.5 3.0 |
3.25 3.75 |
4.75 5.5 |
6.0 6.25 |
| Total Floor Area (SF) |
— 4500 |
9600 9600 |
15600 16800 |
24000 26400 |
34000 36000 |
27520 33920 |
38000 45200 |
142800 170400 |
124348 129996 |
| Average unit size (SF) |
— 1500 |
1900 700 |
650 650 |
650 650 |
563 563 |
827 827 |
707 707 |
710 710 |
774 774 |
| Total units | — 3 |
5 14 |
24 26 |
48 51 |
64 68 |
33 41 |
54 64 |
201 240 |
161 168 |
| MHA units factor | 300% | 280% | 108% | 106% | 106% | 124% | 119% | 119% | 104% |
| Parking spaces | 3* | 11* | 16 | 12 | 0 | underground | underground | underground | underground |
| Parking ratio (spaces/unit) |
— 1.00 |
2.20 0.79 |
0.67 0.62 |
0.25 0.24 |
0.00 0.00 |
unknown unknown |
unknown unknown |
unknown unknown |
unknown unknown |
| Existing Zone: MHA Zone: |
— RSL |
LR1 MHA LR1 |
LR2 MHA LR2 |
LR3 MHA LR3 |
MR MHA MR |
NC-30 MHA NC-40 |
NC-40 MHA NC-55 |
NC-65 MHA NC-75 |
NC-85 MHA NC-95 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Example: | Stacked | Rowhouses | Townhouses | Rowhouses | Large Site | NC-100 | |||
| Lot Size (SF) | 6000 | 5000 | 10000 | 5000 | 20000 | 28750 | |||
| Floor Area Ratio | — 0.75 |
1.2 1.3 |
1.2 1.3 |
2.0 2.2 |
4.25 4.5 |
6.0 6.25 |
|||
| Total Floor Area (SF) |
— 4500 |
6000 6000 |
8000 8800 |
68000 72000 |
123872 129647 |
||||
| Average unit size (SF) |
— 1500 |
1500 1300 |
1500 1625 |
800 650 |
605 605 |
759 759 |
|||
| Total units | — 3 |
4 5 |
8 8 |
10 14 |
112 119 |
163 171 |
|||
| MHA units factor | 300% | 125% | 100% | 140% | 106% | 105% | |||
| Parking spaces | 0 | 3 | 6 | 0 | underground | underground | |||
| Parking ratio (spaces/unit) |
— 0.00 |
0.75 0.60 |
0.75 0.75 |
0.00 0.00 |
unknown unknown |
unknown unknown |
Notes:
MHA Zone differences are shown in crimson.
MHA units factor = Number of units with MHA zoning / number of units with existing zoning.
* Parking greater than required.
