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Hate Townhouses? Love Meetings?

By Erica C. Barnett June 30, 2009

If the phrase "multifamily land use code amendments" gets you as hot and bothered as it does us, then you need to hightail it RIGHT NOW to West Seattle, where council member Sally Clark's land use committee will be talking about how to revise zoning requirements in low-rise zones.

Among the issues on the table: Whether the city should increase maximum building heights in low-rise zones from 25 to 30 feet; whether to ditch minimum parking and private open-space requirements (something council candidate Jordan Royer mentioned in our interview, below); and whether to get rid of rules that mandat a certain number of units per acre in favor of a less restrictive standard that would allow a wider range of densities in neighborhoods. Clark says some neighborhood activists worry that the change will "turn the neighborhoods into Tokyo," with "a bazillion 200-square-foot apartments but adds that she doesn't think that's likely. "I think the market takes you to a mix of uses," she says.

Tonight's meeting is at the Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, 4408 Delridge Way SW, at 6pm. If you can't make it out to West Seattle tonight, the land use committee will have another evening meeting at the University Heights Community Center, 5031 University Way NE, Room 209 at 6pm on July 14.

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