11/18/08
Ask Council for Development with Justice!
Help Build the Movement for Tenants Rights: Join the Tenants Union!
Washington State tenants have won important legal protections, but these rights don't go far enough. Help build the movement to protect and expand tenants rights and make the promise of safe, healthy, affordable housing a reality: 
Dear Tenants Union Members and Allies,
Do you think that development in Seattle should benefit the people who need it the most? Then write to City Council members today and tell them that you think the proposed Incentive Zoning policy should be stronger.
Click here to send a message to all nine City Council members ask them to improve Incentive Zoning policy and make it work for racial and economic justice! (link via Puget Sound Sage’s website)
Incentive Zoning (IZ) determines what benefits developers are expected to give the community in return for being allowed to build higher or bigger. As development and increased density come to Seattle, we can direct some benefits to our communities. If we don’t act, we could hasten the displacement of families, people of color, low-income tenants, and low-wage workers. This policy will shape our city for years to come.
The Incentive Zoning policy currently before Council would require developers to build some affordable housing in exchange for being allowed to build higher or bigger (upzone). But it isn’t enough, doesn’t include strong enough safeguards against gentrification and displacement, and it doesn’t include anything about pathways to living-wage jobs for the people who need them. Without a supply of affordable housing and access to living-wage jobs, current residents will not be able to continue to afford the high cost of living in Seattle.
Write to City Council today and tell them that this matters to you. Let them know that you expect a policy that benefits the community, not just developers!
We need a policy that will ensure people from all incomes who live or work in Seattle can stay in Seattle. The Incentive Zoning policy should:
- Require more affordable units from developers than in the current proposal,
- Be affordable to households making an average of 65% of Area Median Income,
- Favor the building of affordable units on site over payment of fees,
- Offer low-income residents pathways into family-wage construction careers,
- Require State certified apprenticeships that ensure job and construction quality,
- Require one-for-one replacement of demolished affordable units.
Write to City Council today and tell them you support these priorities. Follow the link to take action now.