YIMBY News for 3/26

[Eric Budd]

Mercer Island’s Sluggish Housing Buildout Near Light Rail

The Urbanist

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KEYWORD SCORE: 61.47. affordable, affordable housing, apartment, comprehensive plan, construction, density, development, downtown, growth, height limit, homeowner, housing, income, parking, parking lot, project, rent, single family, transit-oriented, transportation, urban, walk, zone, zoning

[image: Mercer Island’s Sluggish Housing Buildout Near Light Rail] When light rail riders exit Mercer Island Station starting this Saturday, they'll encounter an urban facade with a smattering of five-story residential buildings. The facade gives way pretty quickly. The moment one passes by the first block or two of multifamily buildings near the station, which sits in the median of I-90, a familiar sight of low-slung suburban retail and sprawling parking lots emerges. Mercer Island has allowed for a glacially slow buildout of multifamily buildings, mostly lining I-90. This is an island that p

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Prompted by State Order, Mercer Island Inches Toward Housing Changes

The Urbanist

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KEYWORD SCORE: 56.11. affordable, affordable housing, comprehensive plan, construction, density, development, growth, height limit, house, housing, income, lower-density, project, rent, renter, single family, single-family, transit-oriented, urban, walk, zone, zoning

[image: Prompted by State Order, Mercer Island Inches Toward Housing Changes] Days before Sound Transit cuts the ribbon on the long-awaited light rail connection across Lake Washington, Mercer Island's leaders are officially advancing steps intended to bring the city's growth plan into compliance with state law. The affluent island of nearly 26,000 residents has been under scrutiny since early last year, when two Mercer Island residents joined with the land use advocacy nonprofit Futurewise to file an appeal against the City's growth plan at the state growth hearings board. Among other issues,

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As Enrollment Falls, Old Schools Find New Life as Apartments

Next City

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KEYWORD SCORE: 51.84. affordable, affordable housing, apartment, construction, development, downtown, gentrification, gentrifying, house, housing, housing authority, income, mixed-use, mobility, preservation, project, real estate, rent, supply, urban, walk

[image: Apartment building with sign in front that reads,

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How should Portland pay for streets?

City Observatory

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KEYWORD SCORE: 43.33. construction, downtown, house, housing, income, parking, parking lot, project, rent, transportation, urban, walk

*Let’s not tax houses to subsidize cars, OK?* *A gas tax, and better yet, a comprehensive system of charging for parking everywhere in the city is a much smarter way to pay for roads than a monthly household fee.* *A user fee ought to be based on use, and whether driving or standing still, cars are the most intensive, impactful and dangerous part of the transportation system, and they should pay for streets. A tax on houses or households isn’t fair to those who use the streets less intensely, and especially those who don’t own or drive cars.* *An important set of users of Portland streets is n

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Urbanist Coalition To Hold Housing Rally at Seattle City Hall on April 6th

The Urbanist

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KEYWORD SCORE: 40.64. affordable, affordable housing, bus route, comprehensive plan, construction, density, development, growth, height limit, house, housing, planning commission, public hearing, rent, transit-oriented, urban, walk, zone, zoning

[image: Urbanist Coalition To Hold Housing Rally at Seattle City Hall on April 6th] The Complete Communities Coalition (CCC) is *having a rally* in support of housing density and a bolder Seattle growth plan at noon on April 6. We would love to see you at the rally, which is to be held on the steps of Seattle City Hall just before a public hearing on the topic. More importantly than attending the rally, the coalition is urging people to sign up to give public comment to the council. *Online public comment sign-up* begins at 8:30 am, while in-person comments begin at 2 pm and sign-up closes at

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City Park residents want to save what’s special. Are bricks and porches the answer?

Denverite

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KEYWORD SCORE: 38.42. affordable, affordable housing, construction, density, development, house, housing, preservation, project, real estate, urban, walk, yimby, zoning

Neighbors in part of the City Park neighborhood want to create new rules for construction, saying they want to preserve the area’s unique architectural character while still allowing “gentle” density for new development. The proposal for a “conservation overlay district” would require new developers to follow design standards before construction is approved in South City Park, an area defined by old brick homes largely built from the late 1800s to World War II. “It is such a special place, and there’s a lot that makes it a special place,” said Ellen Roth, president of the South City Park Neigh

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Colorado governor signs bill letting schools, universities bypass some zoning rules to build housing

Colorado Sun

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KEYWORD SCORE: 34.67. affordable, affordable housing, construction, cost of housing, development, homeowner, house, housing, housing stock, land-use, project, real estate, transportation, zone, zoning

[image: The Unaffiliated — All politics, no agenda.] ------------------------------ Gov. Jared Polis signed a bill into law Wednesday that will make it easier for Colorado public schools, colleges, universities and other organizations to usurp local zoning rules to build housing on their land. The measure, *House Bill 1001*, also called the Housing Options Made Easier Act, or HOME Act, is the first major piece of housing legislation passed during the 2026 legislative session. It’s part of Polis and Democratic lawmakers’ years-long effort to boost the state’s affordable housing stock. [image: C

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