Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn is recommending a package of land use changes for the Roosevelt urban village, a dynamic neighborhood and future location of the Roosevelt light rail station. The proposal would change zoning within the Roosevelt residential urban village, establish a station area overlay district, and enact incentive zoning provisions for affordable workforce housing. The proposal supports the planned Sound Transit North Link light rail station that will be located in the heart of the Roosevelt neighborhood.
The Mayor, DPD and members of City Council believe it is critical for the City to encourage compact, transit-oriented communities around investments in transit. The proposed land use changes will encourage well-designed development around the new light rail station, expanding opportunities for housing and jobs close to transit while keeping in character with the Roosevelt neighborhood.
The proposal builds on recommendations generated by the Roosevelt Neighborhood Association (RNA), which spent many volunteer hours developing the Roosevelt Neighborhood Plan. The proposal balances a need for adding capacity for housing and jobs around transit with the principle of protecting neighborhood character.
The recommendation is for a package of 25 rezones that meet the Roosevelt neighborhood’s goals for integrating a light rail station into the heart of the neighborhood. The rezones are centered on the neighborhood business district around Roosevelt Way NE and NE 65th St. In total, the proposed rezones comprise 17.5 acres of land.
The Seattle City Council is expected to begin review of the legislative rezone proposal in the summer of 2011. For detailed information on the proposal, including maps and the Mayor’s Recommendation Report, please refer to the documents below:
- Director’s Analysis and Mayor’s Recommendation
- Figure 1: Roosevelt Zoning Proposal Summary
- Figure 2: Roosevelt Zoning Proposal
- Figure 3: Station Area Overlay
- Transit-Supportive Density Report
- Draft Ordinance
For more information, please visit Mayor McGinn’s blog.