Jess Bateman

These time consuming processes are a barrier to meeting our housing goals. The system must change.

The legislature needs to intervene. It’s ridiculous that these appeals can cause these delays.

Make it make sense.

Applying MHA to newly enacted middle housing before it even has a chance of success is self defeating at best.

Spokane is what happens when thoughtful city leadership meets effective grassroots activism (Sarah Rose and @spokanereimagined.org are doing awesome work). Racking up real wins on housing and safer streets. Turns out we can try bold things to fix our cities without first studying them for years.

100%. This makes no sense, unless you don’t want middle housing.

The only projects that’ll pencil out and get built (and there won’t be many) will be luxury housing Applying MHA citywide to the infill zone will be a colossal mistake @mayor.seattle.gov

Maddening. We are hiding a housing tax for our new citywide infill zone behind a pause in the same exact fee that’s causing us to lose housing This city will never get out of its own way. NIMBYs that don’t want infill in SFZ finally found their magic bullet www.theurbanist.org/foster-resur...

Washington's Housing Accountability Act looks to be working exactly as intended in Bainbridge Island. www.theurbanist.org/state-extens...

www.sightline.org/2024/05/01/b... How it started ⬇️

Bainbridge Island has received a response to its request for a state extension under the Housing Accountability Act, which would delay the Builder's Remedy taking effect this month. Per CM Ashley Matthews, the answer is no. At least adopt interim regulations or you're non-compliant, Commerce says.

In Bainbridge Island right now, the state Department of Commerce is telling city officials that if they don't adopt a compliant growth plan by August 21 (24 days from now) then the Builder's Remedy will go into effect. Bainbridge Island isn't on track for that deadline and asked for an extension.

We are three and a half weeks from a builders’ remedy going into effect in Bainbridge Island, WA. Developers will be able to entitle projects of unlimited size and density, even above and beyond local zoning, as long as they rent a portion of the units at the following rates:

A 5-4 Seattle City Council vote yesterday means city-level appeals that have delayed significant citywide zoning changes in the past will be extinguished. Conventional appeal options to Superior Court or the state growth hearings board will remain. Story: www.theurbanist.org/seattle-coun...

Rob Saka has a proposed amendment to the SEPA bill on deck for tomorrow that would completely gut the bill, retaining the right of administrative appeal but requiring the hearing examiner to "expedite review" of those appeals. It really just gives them less time to do the same work.

This is literally why we can’t have nice things. Our housing shortage is a policy choice. We should change it.

Seattle's critical comprehensive plan, a process that so far has taken 5 years, cost millions of dollars, hinges on whether every single person who has a spare $120 to file an appeal is satisfied that every potential, even marginal, impact is fully studied. The EIS was 3047 pages, but not adequate.

Please join tomorrow as City Council considers CB 121215 - legislation related to SEPA appeals. Public comment starts at 2 PM. There have been lots of questions, misunderstandings, and misinformation about this legislation. See FAQs here: council.seattle.gov/2026/07/24/f...

We can have livable, walkable communities and we must have the courage to make them a reality. This is what leadership looks like.

CM Eddie Lin responds to the attacks in the Seattle Times on the idea of SEPA reform in an op-ed this morning. "Dense housing, walkable neighborhoods, and safe, accessible transit is how we can finally address our affordability crisis and build a more resilient and equitable city."

Lin is a leader and understands the stakes. I wholly support his effort to focus SEPA on real issues, rather than being a capricious cudgel deployed cynically by individuals looking to penalize new housing.

The audacity of SEPA is that you can only study impacts, and some are not even environmental. Shadows? Views? SEPA can measure the increase in carbon or VMT from infill development, but not state the decrease per capita as a benefit Tighten SEPA: habitatforhumanityseattle.quorum.us/campaign/164...

The project on the left is completely through environmental review and is approved to move into construction and the project on the right needs more environmental analysis, everything is working great.

I am teaching a 2 credit graduate course on housing policy this fall. If anyone has recommendations on comparative approaches/case studies/data or reading recommendations let me know!

Perversely, SEPA, like CEQA in California, is responsible for untold damage to the environment. When NIMBYs use it to gum up the process -- and that's almost always how it's used -- the result is more cars, more driving, more sprawl, more pollution, more greenhouse gases, more environmental damage.

A bike lane and hundreds of affordable homes in Magnolia have both been delayed since 2008 thanks in significant part to SEPA. Getting people out of cars and building new affordable housing in the City are both good for the environment!

@jessdbateman.bsky.social says it all: "[These] seven outstanding designs, once permit-ready, can be built across our state. I’m proud to see WA leading the way & I congratulate the winning teams whose work will help open the door to homeownership...” starterhomeplan.org/news/winners...

Monday's Most Read # 3 - Yes, a Land Value Tax Is Possible in Washington State link.theoverheadwire.com/e4h96 Sightline Institute @sightline.org

Spokane Councilmember Klitzke is leading the charge for state legislation that would authorize the equivalent of a land value tax: “A property tax that exempts buildings and shifts the burden onto land would give us a new and powerful tool to fill in our gaps while keeping Spokane affordable.”

BREAKING: The Washington Court of Appeals has found in favor of the two groups challenging the environmental review of Seattle's Comprehensive Plan, finding that both King County Superior Court and the city's Hearing Examiner erred in dismissing the appeal at earlier stages.

I think a lot about the @jerusalem.bsky.social article from 2024 describing the schism in environmentalism between "crisis greens" and "cautious greens." That struggle continues, and the consequences of rulings like this will be more sprawl, more pollution, and cities that are less affordable.

I am a liberal and a Democrat and I 100% favor the legalization of much more housing construction in all neighborhoods. To limit urban sprawl and VMT, you have to allow urban housing infill in job-rich places. Don't take it from me, take it from Bill McKibben. moreneighborswnc.org/uncategorize...

Weaponizing environmental concerns to prevent people from living in our urban environments isn’t new. It’s deployed by people with resources to restrict access to high opportunity areas. It’s nimbyism. In order to reach our housing goals, our land use processes must stop enabling this behavior.

Happy Birthday to the Parking Reform & Modernization Act! 🎂 @jessdbateman.bsky.social www.sightline.org/2026/05/07/w...

This is why we can’t have nice things. Weaponizing environmental law to prevent a grocery store in an already existing building is the epitome of NIMBYism & demonstrates the flaws in our legal system.

If you want to call in, you've gotta sign up for the morning session, starting at 8:30am. The 3pm session is reserved for in-person comment. www.seattle.gov/council/meet...

King County housing levy could be on deck...

Happy to see the Mayor of Washington’s largest city embracing pro-housing strategies! It’s about time.👏👏👏

We are on the last day of our Spring Member Drive, and we just want to say thank you to everyone who’s already stepped up to support The Urbanist—your support is what allows us to grow our team and expand our reporting. If you’ve been meaning to give, now’s the time to become a member:

Hooray for housing! @governorferguson.bsky.social signed HB 2266, HB 6026, and HB 1345 (among others!) into law today 🎉🏠 Let's hear it for more critical housing types everywhere!! #waleg

Not much attention this year on HB 2418, but @davina425.bsky.social seems to have a quiet yet powerful housing bill every session and this one was sent to the Governor's desk tonight. app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary/...

Yesterday, Oregon's legislature voted to ban underfunded inclusionary zoning from the Portland metro area. It's a big turnaround, and I hope a path forward for other states too. www.sightline.org/2026/03/05/o...

We need to start blowing up council inboxes & public comment, to fix the @seattleopcd.bsky.social plan that only allows social & affordable housing on loud, polluted, & dangerous roads. Mark your calendars, put in your PTO 😭, & bring your friends. ALL HANDS ON DECK for Alternative 5 Corridors.

By a 41-7 vote, the Washington Senate just directed the state's building code council to adopt updated regulations for elevators in buildings with up to six stories or 24 units, "minimally sized to meet federal accessibility requirements." The final version: lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/biennium/202...

Housing research friends, are you excited to study how state pro-housing policies are working? The Infrastructure team @arnoldventures.bsky.social just launched an RFP for Measurement & Evaluation of State & Local Housing Supply Reforms. Details: www.arnoldventures.org/infrastructu...

Bothell ascendant www.theurbanist.org/2026/02/07/b...

Update: Today is the Policy Committee cutoff date. So bills that do not advance out of their policy committee by the time those committees end today are dead for the year. Also any hearings on bills today are really just "courtesy" hearings, meaning those bills will be heard but not moved #waleg

Bellevue is planning an “omnibus” series of zoning code amendments all in one package, including eight changes that move the city into compliance with state law. Turns out, you don’t need to do a ton of process to enact state-required zoning changes!