Panelists:
Rico Quirindongo, Director of the Office of Planning and Community Development which developed the plan
Eugenia Woo, Director of Preservation Services at Historic Seattle
Maureen Elenga, a former president of the Queen Anne Historical Society's board and the staff of Washington State's Department of Archeology and Historic Preservation.
Michael Herschensohn, Ph.D., M.A. (Historic Preservation Planning), also of the Queen Anne Historical Society board will moderate the conversation.
Panelists will respond to questions submitted to them prior to the meeting and from the floor.
Review the proposed One Seattle Plan and proposed zoning maps: https://one-seattle-plan-zoning-implementation-seattlecitygis.hub.arcgis.com/
The One Seattle Plan in brief and concerns:
The plan calls for a near total rezoning of Queen Anne and every other residential neighborhood in the city. In upper Queen Anne, the plan expands the Urban Village of 1993 significantly south of Galer St. and renames it a Residential Urban Village. The Urban Village zoning area of 1993 allowed all the multi-family apartment buildings on Queen Anne Avenue, including the recently completed Gables or Safeway building. The new Residential Urban Village encourages six unit buildings four blocks east and west of Queen Anne Avenue from McGraw to Prospect streets. It does not provide for parking.
Most dramatically, even outside the Residential Urban Village, the One Seattle Plan allows much larger buildings in our largely single-family neighborhood. The new zoning allows a 6,000 square foot single-family lot to have a six unit structure covering up to 60% of the lot if it includes low income housing. This is an increase from 35%. Created partially in response to changes in state law (House Bill 1110 which was sponsored by our two state representatives) requiring more dense use of urban spaces, especially those in proximity to public transit, the plan calls for major changes to the fabric of our neighborhoods without consideration of historic character. Designated city landmarks are not specifically threatened by the plan.
The Queen Anne Historical Society understands the need for and supports increased housing and density in all Seattle neighborhoods, including Queen Anne. We believe in finding a critical balance that increases housing, particularly middle housing, while preserving the historic fabric and feel of our community.
We hope the Queen Anne Community Council (and any others) lets people know about this important issue and event. As advocates for historic preservation planning, we are concerned about the impact of these zoning changes on the historic character of our community.