Seattle City Councilmember Dan Strauss(District 6), Chair of the Select Budget Committee, issued the following statement after Mayor Bruce Harrell released his proposal for the City of Seattle’s 2025-2026 budget: “I want to thank Mayor Bruce Harrell and his team for their work. Now, it’s time for City Council to roll up our sleeves to review, examine, amend, and pass...
Dan Strauss
Blog Posts from Councilmember Strauss
New Seattle City Councilmembers sworn-in during inauguration ceremony at City Hall
The seven winning candidates from November’s General Election were just sworn-in as Seattle City Councilmembers. Five of the seven individuals are new councilmembers, the most in more than a century. Two others are returning for their second term in office. More information about each of them, including quotes can be found below. Rob Saka (District 1) “We have a once-in-a-generation...
Councilmember Dan Strauss Celebrates Passage of Legislation Streamlining Development Project Review in Downtown Seattle
SEATTLE – Councilmember Dan Strauss (District 6 – Northwest Seattle) Chair of the Land Use Committee, is happy to announce that Council Bill 120587 passed unanimously today in Full Council. This legislation modifies the thresholds for environmental review of development projects in Downtown Seattle under the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA). The passage of this legislation marks a significant step towards streamlining the environmental review...
Seattle City Council Passes Stronger Tree Protection Ordinance That Protects Ten Times as Many Trees While Increasing Housing Stock
SEATTLE – Councilmember Dan Strauss (District 6- Northwest Seattle) Chair of the Land Use Committee, in collaboration with Mayor Bruce Harrell, has passed a new, stronger Tree Protection Ordinance to safeguard our urban canopy, combat climate change, and create a more sustainable future for the Emerald City. This ordinance is a comprehensive approach to preserving, protecting, and expanding Seattle’s urban canopy so...
Completing the ‘Missing Link’ of the Burke-Gilman Trail
Today I am sharing an update in real-time about the next steps to complete the Burke-Gilman Trail ‘Missing Link’. Today I wrote Mayor Bruce Harrell and SDOT Director Greg Spotts requesting outreach and design of the ‘Missing Link’ to be completed along Market Street, Leary Avenue, and 17th Avenue. The most basic way to see what I am proposing is...
Councilmember Strauss Celebrates Legislation to Exempt Design Review for Affordable Housing Projects
SEATTLE – Councilmember Dan Strauss (District 6 – Northwest Seattle), Chair of the Land Use Committee, celebrated the unanimous City Council 9-0 vote today that extended COVID-19 era policies to support faster development of affordable rental housing production. Developed in partnership with Mayor Harrell and Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda, this legislation called upon the SEPA Emergency to reduce cost and time for affordable housing...
Ballard Commons Grand Reopening!
Join us for the welcome back celebration of Ballard Commons on March 11th and 12th from noon to 6:00 pm both days. We will have games for kids and adults, food, music, and performances from local organizations. We’ll send out a full schedule of events in the coming weeks and we’re excited to see you at the park. If you...
Woodland Park Encampment Drawdown
In the spring of 2022, four months of work at Woodland Park culminated in the highest number of homeless residents moving out of an encampment and into shelter in the City’s history. Throughout the process, my office gave updates on the homeless encampment draw down at Woodland Park. It’s important to note that at Woodland Park, we applied the same...
Councilmember Strauss Introduces Permanent Street Café Legislation
In September, Councilmember Dan Strauss held the 2nd Ballard Avenue Design Charrette with local businesses and residents to gather feedback on interim changes SEATTLE– Councilmember Dan Strauss (District 6- Northwest Seattle), Chair of the Land Use Committee, introduced legislation to make outdoor dining permanent in Seattle. This begins the final step in the pathway to permanence for street cafes and...
City Council Unanimously Passes Crown Hill Neighborhood Design Guidelines
SEATTLE – Councilmember Dan Strauss (District 6 – Northwest Seattle), Chair of the Land Use and Neighborhoods Committee, celebrated the passage of the Crown Hill Neighborhood Design Guidelines which was passed unanimously by the full City Council today. This bill establishes neighborhood-specific guidelines for the Crown Hill Urban Village Neighborhood for the first time. These guidelines were created to enhance the character of...
City Council Unanimously Passes Crown Hill Neighborhood Design Guidelines
SEATTLE – Councilmember Dan Strauss (District 6 – Northwest Seattle), Chair of the Land Use and Neighborhoods Committee, celebrated the passage of the Crown Hill Neighborhood Design Guidelines which was passed unanimously by the full City Council today. This bill establishes neighborhood-specific guidelines for the Crown Hill Urban Village Neighborhood for the first time. These guidelines were created to enhance the character of...
Councilmembers Strauss, Pedersen Celebrate Hearing Examiner’s Tree Protection Ordinance Decision
SEATTLE – Councilmembers Dan Strauss (District 6, Northwest Seattle,) and Alex Pedersen (District 4, Northeast Seattle,) issued the following statements after the Hearing Examiner for the City of Seattle affirmed the Seattle Department of Construction & Inspections (SDCI)’s decision to issue a Determination of Nonsignificance for the proposed tree protection ordinance. The Hearing Examiner’s decision removes a major obstacle to the long-held goal of adopting stronger tree protections. In...