Seattle scraps ‘single-family zoning’ label over racism fears

After a vote in the city council on Monday, there is no longer “single-family zoning” in Seattle.

The bill, sponsored by Councilors Teresa Mosqueda and Dan Strauss, will replace the city’s single-family zoning name with “neighborhood residential zones,” according to MyNorthwest. While it won’t change the actual makeup of Seattle’s density, it does away with a term that critics see as rooted in discriminatory red-lineing politics.

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“The bill passed today brings us one step closer to a more inclusive Seattle,” Mosqueda said in a press release after the bill was passed. “Today we recognize that neighborhoods across our city are home to a variety of apartments that were built prior to increasingly restrictive zoning.”

The legislation is in response to repeated requests by the Seattle Planning Commission to change the name of single-family homes only to “Neighborhood Residential” every year since 2018, as outlined in its “Neighborhoods for All” report.

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Despite extensive public relations work, opponents have expressed concerns that this will be a harbinger of more substantial zoning legislation in the future.

A sign reading “For Sale” is posted in front of a residential building in the Queen Anne neighborhood near the Space Needle in Seattle, Washington, USA on May 14, 2021. REUTERS / Karen Ducey
(REUTERS / Karen Ducey)

The measure comes into force on November 13th.

Experts in a Zillow survey on property price expectations previously said that relaxing zone rules would be the most effective way to increase supply in a property market that is currently near historic inventory lows.

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When asked what could be done to increase the supply of housing, easing the zoning rules was the first choice. Previous Zillow research found that even a modest increase in major metropolitan areas could add 3.3 million homes to the U.S. housing stock, which could make room for more than half of the households missing since the Great Recession – a major reason for today frantic demand for housing.

A majority (57%) of homeowners previously surveyed by Zillow believe they and others should be able to add additional homes on their property, and 30% said they would be willing to invest money to buy housing on their own property to create if this is permissible.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

https://www.foxnews.com/us/seattle-city-council-scraps-single-family-zoning-label