I appreciate the ongoing interest and excitement around backyard cottages and basement units. My office continues to hear every day from folks eager to move forward with projects and be a part of addressing our current housing crisis. Please watch my video below to learn what’s happened and next steps as 2018 comes to an […]

As many of my constituents probably know, I have been working for over 3 years on legislation to make it easier for property owners to create accessory dwelling units (backyard cottages and mother-in-law apartments). On October 18, 2018, the Queen Anne Community Council, represented by Marty Kaplan, appealed the adequacy of the Final Environmental Impact […]

I am pleased to share we are one step closer to legislation to lower the barriers to building backyard cottages and basement units in Seattle. The Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) has been published.  The EIS evaluates the potential environmental impacts of proposed changes to the City’s Land Use Code intended to remove barriers to […]

Domestic Worker Anti-Discrimination, Retaliation, and Harassment Legislation On Tuesday August 14th in my Civil Rights, Utilities, Economic Development and Arts (CRUEDA) Committee we heard a briefing on a necessary legislative fix to Chapter 14.04, the Fair Employment Practices section of the Seattle Municipal Code.  This change would protect domestic workers who are independent contractors from […]

Amending the Open Housing Ordinance for Tenants with Disabilities On Monday July 30, 2018 the Seattle City Council passed CB 119309 amending the Open Housing Ordinance in Chapter 14.08 of the Seattle Municipal Code to increase the types of entities with an obligation to provide reasonable accommodations to tenants with disabilities. This issue was brought […]

Contents   PART 1 // D1 TRANSPORTATION UPDATES Sound Transit Light Rail Lander Street Overpass Funding Highland Park Roundabout Mudslides PART 2 // PUBLIC SAFETY IN D1 South Park Public Safety Task Force Alki Public Safety and Health Survey/Budget Action PART 3 // HOUSING HIGHLIGHTS Housing Bond Update Fair Chance Housing Short-Term Rental PART 4 // LAND USE LATEST […]

Last year, my visionary architect friend Rex Hohlbein and his architect daughter Jenn LaFreniere left their jobs and created the Block Project.  Thanks to their vision, Seattle homeowners are now saying, “YES in my backyard!” to solve homelessness. The BLOCK Project is more than your typical low income housing effort to move people out of […]

We all need a second chance at some point in our lives. Many of us have done something in our past we regret. That said, our mistakes should not define us, especially when we’ve paid the price for what we’ve done. Council Member Herbold has been championing in her Civil Rights, Utilities, Economic Development and […]

I frequently meet with neighborhoods to talk  about what we are doing to end homelessness.  This post — albeit lengthy — offers  updates you can share with your neighbors.  If you read this to the end and follow the hyperlinks, you may be surprised at how much is really happening and the scope of the efforts to […]

NCIS Update from the City Auditor I wrote a blog post about the New Customer Information System (NCIS) a little over a year ago. NCIS is a joint Seattle City Light (SCL) and Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) project to replace the Consolidated Customer Service System (CCSS) – the old SCL and SPU billing system. The old system supported billing […]