Mayor’s recommendations to the city’s comprehensive plan announced.

The DPD yesterday published the mayor’s recommendations to the city’s comprehensive plan.  I don’t see any recommendations that focus on neighborhood issues and am very interested to see how the mayor plans to support, “Sustainability goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, increasing green canopy, reducing solid waste, managing transportation demand, supporting affordability in all respects, and measuring the number of healthy years lived.”

To date, financial support for these environmental issues hasn’t been available to support these lofty goals.

The Comprehensive Plan is the City’s primary policy document that governs how the City will accommodate and respond to the challenges of growth and change over time. The Comprehensive Plan annual amendments cycle provides everyone an opportunity to propose amendments to the City’s Comprehensive Plan to address changing conditions or to address emerging issues.

In addition to amendments proposed by citizens and City departments, Councilmembers proposed additional amendments related to measures of sustainability, public safety, complete streets design principles and economic development.

Based on staff evaluation, the Mayor is recommending 21 amendments to the City’s Comprehensive Plan, including:

• Revisions to policies on multifamily residential areas in association with the Multifamily Zoning Update;
• Establishing affordable housing as a priority among public benefits when zoning changes enable more density;
• Sustainability goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, increasing green canopy, reducing solid waste, managing transportation demand, supporting affordability in all respects, and measuring the number of healthy years lived;
• Focused amendments to preserve industrial lands for industrial uses by setting conditions on existing office uses seeking to grow in place;
• Policies that recognize the “complete streets” principle of street design;
• New housing goals recognizing that affordable housing challenges exist for households earning between 80 percent and 120 percent of the area’s median income;
• Industrial lands policies incorporating Seattle Planning Commission and DPD recommendations for protecting the bulk of Seattle’s industrial lands from conversion to other uses.

The Mayor recommends that the following proposed amendments be deferred for further study:

• South Lake Union Future Land Use Map Amendment. The map change will enable rezones to Seattle Mixed zoning that will meet the neighborhood’s goal of allowing housing throughout the neighborhood. It is deferred until completion of a related rezone analysis.
• South Downtown Policies and Future Land Use Map Amendments. In 2005, DPD initiated a planning effort for the neighborhoods of South Downtown, focused on encouraging economic growth, transportation and new housing. Amendments are deferred pending results of an Environmental Impact Study in early 2008.
• Harbor Avenue Future Land Use Map Amendment. The Mayor’s recommendations about the city’s industrial land call for studying selected areas, including this site, immediately inside the boundaries of the Duwamish Manufacturing/Industrial Center.

The Mayor recommends not adopting the following amendments:

• Future Land Use Map amendment for Nordic Heritage Museum. A Land Use Code amendment allowing cultural facilities that complement nearby industrial uses without diminishing their viability is the preferred strategy over a map amendment that could allow a range of incompatible uses.
• Future Land Use Map amendment for Goodwill site. The proposed amendment would reverse a 2006 Comp Plan amendment, and could affect a rezone proposal currently before the Council. The site is located inside the Downtown Urban Center where density objectives are generally not compatible with industrial uses.
• Remove North Highline as a Potential Annexation Area (PAA). The proposed amendment would reverse the 2006 decision to designate North Highline as a PAA. Seattle is currently engaged in working with King County, special districts, the state legislature and the community in North Highline to address how to serve the area if the City were to annex it. The PAA designation is not a decision on annexation, but repealing the designation could undermine efforts to reach a decision.

Public review copies of proposed Comprehensive Plan Amendments will be available at the DPD Public Resource Center, Seattle Municipal Tower, Suite 2000, 700 Fifth Avenue. The City Council will schedule a public hearing on these proposed amendments before the Urban Development and Planning Committee in late September.