“Downtown for All” Campaign Wins Responsible Development

In 2005 and 2006 Sage led a coalition with Real Change and 16 other organizations to win affordable housing and good jobs concessions from the Seattle’s massive downtown upzone.   The Downtown for All campaign set out to ensure that prosperity resulting from new development in downtown would be benefit all workers.

In 2005, Seattle embarked on a massive rezoning of downtown to increase density and allow construction of buildings as high as 500 feet.  Sage and coalition allies rallied to put responsible development on the front burner of the community involvement process.   (See the campaign’s Principles of Responsible Development)  Over the course of the campaign, we organized hundreds of residents and workers to attend public hearings and actions, including a televised community forum on Feb. 23, 2006.  

As a result of the campaign, the Seattle City Council voted unanimously to set an affordable housing incentive fee for new residential buildings at $19 per square foot in exchange for developers’ ability to build taller buildings.  This represented a significant increase over the originally proposed $10 per square foot.  Over the next 20 years, this incentive fee is expected to generate millions of dollars for affordable housing.

In addition, the Council adopted a Center City Livability Resolution.  It includes provisions for livable wage job creation and a requirement that the City study job growth and wages in the area affected by the rezone.  This represented the first acknowledgment in downtown planning of the connection between livable wages and housing.