Hindsight recall
Seattle Comprehensive Plan Phase 2 Public Hearing on CB 121173: Contentious Testimony on Neighborhood Upzoning, Arterial Health, and Tree Canopy
CB 121173, amending Seattle Municipal Code Chapter 23.32 for Comprehensive Plan Phase 2 — Neighborhood Centers and Corridors, had its first public hearing on April 6, 2026. The hearing was opened but no vote was taken. Testimony revealed six major fault lines: upzoning economics and affordability, density placement on arterials vs. side streets, site-specific zoning disputes concentrated in NE Seattle and West Seattle, tree canopy and environmental concerns, abrupt zoning transitions and legal risk, and engagement process legitimacy. The Seattle Planning Commission formally supports adoption, while organized neighborhood blocs oppose specific upzoning proposals.
Generated Apr 9, 2026, 9:53 PM from cc-seattle-city-council
Raw source data
Primary artifacts for downstream parsing
Meeting metadata file x185515.json.
Transcript file 2026-04-06_select-committee-on-the-comprehensive-plan_x185515.srt.
Normalized hash 3ed693f160145b1168eecdd4e63a8f14dcd67d556f53abc8a87269302c4b5e44 · raw hash 63b32ab45fa5142c332707afa6e3afc75e8db5f4910f55b5eb1e415fc579a25a
PLAN, PHASE 2, FOCUSING ON CORE
DOORS. TODAY WILL BE BROKEN INTO
TWO SESSIONS. SESSION 1 JUST
BEGAN, AND [ INAUDIBLE ] WILL BE
RESERVED FOR REMOTE PUBLIC
COMMENT. REGISTRATION STARTED AT
8:30 A.M. AND WILL REMAIN OPEN
UNTIL 10:30 A.M. OUR GOAL IS TO
GET THROUGH ALL SPEAKERS AND
RECESS AROUND 12:30 P.M., OR
EARLIER, DEPENDING ON THE NUMBER
OF REGISTERED SPEAKERS. WE
DON'T GET THROUGH ALL REMOTE
SPEAKERS BY 12:30 P.M., THE
REMAINING SPEAKERS WILL BE
RECOGNIZED AT OUR SECOND
SESSION. SESSION 2 WILL BEGIN AT
3:00 P.M. AND IS RESERVED FOR
ANY REMOTE SPEAKERS , SHOULD
THERE BE ANY. CITY HALL WILL
REMAIN OPEN UNTIL 6:30 P.M.
MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC WHO WOULD
LIKE TO PROVIDE COMMENTS DURING
A SESSION 1 OR 2 MUST REGISTER
DURING THE DEADLINE. DURING OUR
IN PERSON COMMENT PERIOD, IF YOU
ARE PART OF A GROUP WITH TWO OR
MORE PEOPLE WHO SIGNED UP, YOU
CAN COMBINE YOUR TIME. BUT THE
PEOPLE IN THAT GROUP WILL THEN
NOT BE ABLE TO GIVE SEPARATE
INDIVIDUAL PUBLIC COMMENT BUT IF
YOU WANT TO REVIEW OUR PUBLIC
COMMENT RULES, THEY'RE LISTED
ON THE AGENDA FOR THIS MEETING,
WHICH CAN BE FOUND ON OUR
WEBSITE OR AT THE PODIUM. AGAIN,
I WANT TO EMPHASIZE THAT THIS
HEARING DOES HAVE A REGISTRATION
DEADLINE. IF YOU WANT TO SPEAK
AT TODAY'S HEARING, HE MUST
REGISTER BEFORE THE HEARING.
DEADLINES ARE AS FOLLOWS, REMOTE
REGISTRATION OPENS THIS MORNING
AT 8:30 A.M. AND WILL CLOSE AT
10:30 A.M. IN PERSON
REGISTRATION AT CITY HALL WILL
START AT 2:30 P.M. AND END AT
6:30 P.M. FOR THOSE OF YOU
ATTENDING THE IN PERSON PORTION,
YOU CAN [ INAUDIBLE ] AT THE
GARAGE ACROSS THE STREET
STARTING AT 4:30 P.M. WILL THE
CLERK PLEASE READ ITEM 1 INTO
THE AGENDA?
AN ORDINANCE RELATING TO LAND: AN ORDINANCE RELATING TO LAND
USE AND ZONING, AMENDING CHAPTER
23.32 OF THE SEATTLE MUNICIPAL
CODE.
THE PUBLIC HEARING IS NOW: THE PUBLIC HEARING IS NOW
OPEN. CLERK, HOW MANY SPEAKERS
ARE CURRENTLY REGISTERED?
CURRENTLY, WE HAVE AN
ESTIMATED 50 SPEAKERS.
THANK YOU. SO, EACH SPEAKER
WILL BE PROVIDED ONE MINUTE WITH
APPROXIMATELY 50 SPEAKERS, YOU
SHOULD HAVE A NUMBER WHEN YOU
REGISTERED. WE WILL BE STARTING
WITH NUMBER 2 ON OUR LIST. AND
WE WILL GO IN BATCHES, SEEMS
LIKE MOST OF THE EARLY NUMBERS
ARE PRESENT AND LOGGED IN. SO,
WE WILL BE STARTING -- I WILL
NAME A FEW NAMES HERE, JUST TO
GIVE PEOPLE A HEADS UP. WE WILL
START WITH RYAN TALLON AND
WILLIAM SCOTT, THEN EMILY PUNKY,
AND THEN SHEILA ALVAREZ. AND SO,
WE WILL START HERE WITH RYAN
TALLON.
THANK YOU, COUNCIL, MY NAME
IS RYAN TALLON, I AM A
REGISTERED NURSE AT HARBORVIEW.
I SEE THE SUFFERING CAUSED BY
OUR HOUSING CRISIS. [ INAUDIBLE
] HOMELESSNESS AND UNSTABLE
HOUSING AND THEIR SUFFERING IS
GRADUAL. I AM URGING THE COUNCIL
TO MAKE SOME CHANGES TO THE
COMPREHENSIVE PLAN TO STOP
PUSHING HOUSING ONTO ARTERIALS,
THAT IS TERRIBLE FOR HUMAN
HEALING, FOR HUMAN HEALTH. I
URGE YOU TO EXPAND HOUSING
DENSITY BEYOND ARTERIAL. [
INAUDIBLE ] THAT CAN INCREASE
FLOOR AREA RATIOS. [ INAUDIBLE ]
AND A HIGHER FLOOR AREA RATIO
AND MORE HOMES WITHOUT [
INAUDIBLE ]. AFFORDABLE UNITS
GET CREATED WITHOUT [ INAUDIBLE
] OR JUST INCREASE HOUSING
VARIETY, ALLOW SMALLER SETBACKS
[ INAUDIBLE ] . AND LASTLY,
GREEN BUILDING STANDARDS. GIVE
HIGH BONUSES [ INAUDIBLE ]
COUNCILMEMBERS, MY PATIENTS
CAN'T WAIT FOR ANY LONGER FOR
OUR HOUSING [ INAUDIBLE ] TO BE
FIXED. [ INAUDIBLE ]
THANK YOU, RYAN. WE WILL NOW
MOVE ON TO WILLIAM SCOTT.
HELLO, CAN YOU HEAR ME?
YES. GOOD MORNING.
OKAY, YEAH, I'M BILL SCOTT,
I AM ONE OF THE NEIGHBORS WHO
ARE PETITIONING TO SWITCH THE LR
3 ZONING ALONG NORTHEAST FIFTH
STREET TO A BETTER LOCATION
WITHIN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD. THE
PROBLEM WITH THE STRIP THAT IS
CURRENTLY IDENTIFIED BETWEEN
40th AVENUE NORTHEAST AND 45th
AVENUE NORTHEAST ON 42 STREET ,
FIRST OF ALL, [ INAUDIBLE ].
12% GRADE AND IT IS NOT CLOSE TO
ANY NEIGHBORHOODS , TRANSIT HUB,
AND HAS NO COMMERCIAL SERVICES.
THERE ARE MUCH BETTER LOCATIONS
THAT HAVE TRANSPORT HUBS, HAVE
COMMERCIAL SERVICES, ET CETERA.
[ INAUDIBLE ] THERE ARE MULTIPLE
TRANSIT OPTIONS, THERE ARE
HIGHER [ INAUDIBLE ], AND ALL
THESE THINGS MAKE THEM MUCH MORE
SUITABLE. AND ECONOMICALLY
VIABLE FOR DEVELOPERS [
INAUDIBLE ] AND THAT'S IT.
THANK YOU.
THANK YOU, BILL. NEXT UP,
EMILY PUNKY.
EMILY, PLEASE PRESS STAR SIX.
OKAY, CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?
HI. GOOD MORNING, MY NAME IS
EMILY PINKY, I'M A PARENT, AND
[ INAUDIBLE ] THE STREETS OUR
CHILDREN WALK TO SCHOOL EVERY
DAY ARE ALREADY UNSAFE. EVERY
MORNING ON 40th AVENUE, I SEE
DRIVERS SPEEDING THROUGH THE
FLASHING CROSSWALKS [ INAUDIBLE
] THESE STREETS ENCOUNTER ON OUR
SUNNY DAYS. STREETS ALONG THAT
CORRIDOR [ INAUDIBLE ] MAKE AN
ALREADY RISKY SITUATION WORSE. [
INAUDIBLE ] BLINDING SON THAT
DRIVERS CAN'T SEE PEDESTRIANS
THROUGH. I HAVE A SIMPLE
QUESTION, HOW MUCH MORE CAN
THESE STREETS ACTUALLY TAKE
CUSTOMER THERE ARE NO PASSING
LANES ON EITHER AND THERE IS
NOWHERE TO ADD THEM. [ INAUDIBLE
] WITHOUT A CLEAR PLAN FOR
SAFETY. [ INAUDIBLE ] NOT
MAXIMUM BUILDING HEIGHT
EVERYWHERE. I WOULD LIKE TO
EXTEND AN INVITATION FOR EACH
MEMBER OF THE COUNCIL TO COME
WALK TO
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