FAQs on Councilmember Lin’s legislation related to SEPA appeals

Council Bill 121215, my legislation related to SEPA appeals, will expedite Seattle’s ability to address our most pressing issues, from mitigating climate change to building more homes.

If we work together and plan strategically, we can have abundant and affordable housing, alongside a robust urban tree canopy with clean air and water. But this is a confusing topic, and there is some misinformation about our bill, which is why we are working hard to provide accurate information. Below is an FAQ on CB 121215.

Does CB 121215 affect environmental protections

No. This legislation would reduce bureaucracy but does not change any of our environmental protections.

The State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) simply requires local government and state agencies to identify, analyze, and produce reports on the possible environmental impacts of their planned actions.  In Seattle, most appeals of these reports are dismissed or denied, and even when successful, typically only result in…additional reports. What was once an innovative approach to environmental procedures (50 years ago) is now holding up new actions to combat climate change, build housing and plan for a more resilient city.

The best thing the city can do to protect the environment is help reduce Seattle’s top sources of greenhouse gas emissions: cars/trucks and older buildings that rely on fossil fuels. Our Comprehensive Plan helps address both, providing a path to dense, walkable, affordable, and accessible neighborhoods with more people taking transit and living in more energy-efficient homes built to current stricter environmental standards. 

A recent study from King County shows that Lake Washington water quality has improved over the past two decades while population in the watershed increased 34%, showing that newer environmental protections and investments are working and that growth and new development can be good for the environment.

How have you engaged with the public on CB 121215?

We held four public meetings over two months in the Land Use and Sustainability Committee. My staff and I met extensively with a diverse subset of community members, including environmental, labor, and housing advocates. There has been extensive public discussion of this legislation, including in KUOW, Urbanist, Seattle Times, South Seattle Emerald, Publicola, and Seattle News, Views and Brews. 

This is a confusing topic, and there is some misinformation about our bill, which is why we are working hard to provide accurate information, including this FAQ. We have also worked with colleagues on City Council, the Mayor’s Office, and City departments to address community feedback, including on proposed amendments that would improve the bill.

What avenue do Seattleites have to challenge the City processes and decisions?

CB 121215 maintains all avenues for project-based SEPA appeals. For example, community members would still be able to challenge a proposed data center project with the Seattle Hearing Examiner.

My legislation maintains the State-required legal avenues for appeals to the King County Superior Court or Growth Management Hearings Board, aligning Seattle with Tacoma, Bellevue, and King County.

Are you just trying to stop existing appeals to the Comprehensive Plan?

No. As a former real estate and land use attorney, I saw firsthand the negative impacts of SEPA appeals.  Now, as a City Councilmember responsible for chairing the Land Use and Sustainability Committee, it is even more clear how SEPA appeals are causing uncertainty, hurting our democratic processes, and preventing the City from taking urgent action to address housing affordability and climate crises.

CB 121215 directs SEPA Appeals to the most accessible and best venue for land use appeals: the Growth Management Hearings Board (GMHB). Appeals to the GMHB are free – no filing fee, no requirement for a lawyer, and no travel requirements as hearings are available via Zoom.

How does CB 121215 impact local democracy and public engagement?

CB 121215 will improve our democratic processes for land use legislation. Democracy and good public policy require robust public engagement, interactive dialogue, creative solutions, and compromise. None of that occurs in Hearing Examiner appeals which are bureaucratic and adversarial legal processes. Hearing Examiner appeals related to legislation are used by an extremely limited number of businesses and people and have not demonstrably improved Council’s decision-making.

Council should not be delegating our responsibility to the Hearing Examiner. We must continue to do the hard work of engaging with the public on legislation that can help protect the environment.

CB 121215 maintains every Seattleite’s ability to engage with the City’s planning processes and environmental review. Legislation will continue to be thoroughly analyzed and shaped by the input residents bring to the environmental review process, whether directly on environmental reports, comments at public hearings, or through residents’ passionate advocacy via calls, emails, or stopping me in the grocery store.

Deep engagement works, and some of the most inspiring ideas for addressing our housing and climate crises have come from intentional engagement with community advocates, not as a result of appeals. (To read about some of the ideas my office is excited about, go to Question 7!) The opportunities are endless when we engage productively and collaboratively instead of making legal attacks – I would know as a lawyer who used to bring SEPA challenges on behalf of my high-paying clients.

How do you respond to commenters saying that City Council is selling Seattle’s future down the river?

Families in Central and South Seattle have faced an ugly history of redlining and other racist practices resulting in many decades of economic and health disparities, primarily for Black and Brown residents. Fast forward to today, climate change is disproportionately impacting working families and communities of color: Health outcomes are worse for South Seattle residents due to urban heat islands, limited tree canopy, and air pollution.

Dense housing, walkable neighborhoods, and safe, accessible transit is how we can finally address our affordability crisis and build a more resilient and equitable city for all Seattleites. SEPA appeals and additional delays to the Comprehensive Plan put affordable housing and climate justice further out of reach.

Seattle is an incredibly segregated city, and previous zoning laws have made it worse. We need to increase housing density and transit access, especially in historically Whiter, wealthier neighborhoods. Central and South Seattle have faced significant displacement and carried far more development than the rest of Seattle. Let’s right this inequity, integrate our neighborhoods and schools, and provide the housing we need for new residents, seniors on fixed incomes, and young families just trying to make rent.

If SEPA isn’t protecting the environment, what can we do instead?

We have 1.6 million parking spaces in Seattle but only about 800,000 residents. Endless parking lots and pavement exacerbate heat islands and stormwater runoff, and toxic tire dust is killing our salmon.  Let’s convert some of that asphalt to green space! Earlier this year, a coalition of advocates proposed a pilot program that could incentivize the creation of “pocket forests” in the public right-of-way. This proposal would swap out pavement for trees and greenery that could help manage stormwater and mitigate urban heat islands.

Speaking of conversion, one of the greatest threats to Washington’s forests, salmon, and orcas is urban sprawl. One of the most impactful things we can do to preserve our dense, beautiful forests is to increase housing density in cities and improve transit access to get people out of their cars. Community advocates recently brought forward a proposal for Service Core Conversions (SCCs), an approach that divides larger multi-story houses into stacked flats with a new centralized plumbing and electrical “service core.” This innovative approach would create more homes in existing neighborhoods, maintain critical green space, and help combat displacement.

I am committed to improving the city’s approach to trees – we should be making it easier, not more complex, to protect trees as the city grows. I want to provide more bonuses to developers willing to protect trees, from large corporations to a family trying to build a backyard cottage. Further, we should be prioritizing tree plantings in areas with the least coverage, including southeast and southwest Seattle.

South Seattle has many vacant lots with environmental hazards like heavy metals. Our Comprehensive Plan helps provide avenues to develop these lots, removing hazardous waste, and build homes using modern, sustainable materials and methods.