Report: New Zoning Rules Could Increase Puget Sound Housing by 70% in the Coming Decade
A recent report from The Urban Institute found 70% of Seattle and Bellevue residential land is zoned for single-family use, and close to 90% of land in cities like Mercer Island and Lake Forest Park is zoned single-family.
The paper outlines four recommendations for zoning changes near transit that would dramatically increase housing stock in the Puget Sound region:
- “Plexify”: Allow duplexes and fourplexes on parcels zoned only for single-family homes.
- “Missing Middle”: Allow up to 12-unit apartments on all moderate-density parcels.
- “Multiply”: Double the allowed density on parcels located close to stations.
- “Legalize”: Allow residential uses on commercial and public parcels.
“We project that if the government implemented all
reforms together, the number of transit-adjacent housing units produced could increase by about 70% over the next decade, adding more than 60,000 units compared with the status quo.” the report’s authors predict.
Download the full report at www.urban.org.
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