On November 20th there was a full house at the Greenwood Library to share information about Seattle’s proposed up-zoning for Greenwood and throughout the city. The rezone will change zoning in former single-family blocks within 5 blocks of 85th and Greenwood to allow five story apartment buildings, and allow at least four units on any residential lot.
This Thursday December 12th there will be a second meeting hosted by the Greenwood Community Council for community discussion about Seattle’s proposed zoning change. The meeting will begin at 6:30pm and be located in the lower brick building on the PNA campus – the address is officially 6532 Phinney Ave N, but attendees can park in the lower lot and enter the building from there or from Dayton Ave.
If you need to learn more about what’s proposed, check out resources listed below. While the November meeting was for information sharing, this meeting format will be in small groups so everyone gets a chance to say what’s on their minds, and people with different perspectives can learn from one another. Groups will explore how the proposal will affect the community, how it will affect you and your neighbors personally, and how it could be improved or made less impactful.
Below are some FAQs provided by the Greenwood Community Council.
How will the Zoning Decision be Made?
Seattle will take formal comments on the plan to the city’s Office of Planning and Community Development until December 20th (see resources, below). In February the mayor will submit a revised proposal to the City Council for amendments and adoption. By state law, some amendments must be completed by the end of June 2025. The community council will try to ensure Greenwood voices are heard both now and throughout the council deliberation.
Will the Community Council Weigh In?
There are strong proponents and opponents of zoning changes and opinions are polarized. We do not expect to reach consensus on unified and nuanced responses in time to meet the city’s comment deadline, but we will continue to look for areas of agreement and hope to weigh in as the legislation moves through the City Council’s decision process next spring.
We encourage everyone to make comments to the city, and work together with others to make your opinions known. There will be time during the meeting to make announcements so that people who want to be active on this issue can be in touch with one another. You might want to reach out to your neighbors to see how they feel about what’s proposed.
Where to Find More Information
- Go to a citywide open house at 5:30-7:30 on Tuesday December 10 at Seattle Center Exhibition Hall
- Seattle’s proposed zoning map
- Seattle’s presentation on proposed zoning changes
- Greenwood Community Council’s zoning page on how the proposal will affect Greenwood, including the presentation from the November 20 GCC meeting
How to Make Comments to the City
- You can leave comments about specific locations on the zoning map.
The zoning page has an overview of how to comment, including videos - For non-location-specific zoning comments use this form
Help Get The Word Out
A lot of neighbors don’t yet know that a significant change in zoning is planned. Please forward this email to others who you think would be interested, and reach out to your neighbors to make sure they know what’s planned.
