Seattle continues to chisel away at streamlining State Environmental Policy Act review

Seattle’s ongoing efforts to rein in costly and time consuming environmental review to help ease the creation of new housing in the city is continuing Wednesday morning as a city council committee considers legislation that would change how transportation planning impacts the review process.

The Land Use and Sustainability Committee chaired by South Seattle representative Eddie Lin is considering two ordinances (PDF) that would revise environmental review thresholds and relax requirements for transportation impact analyses, transportation management plans, and construction management plans.

“The City’s proposal is authorized by state law. A more efficient permit process will support faster housing production to better meet housing demand, while continuing to protect environmental quality,” the Seattle Department of Construction & Inspections analysis supporting the changes reads. “This will encourage new investments in housing and other development, which will in turn support new economic and job growth, and a wider variety of affordable housing options.”

CHS reported last fall on continued efforts to limit delays caused by the State Environmental Policy Act as Washington law has shifted to streamline environmental review requirements.

Expensive, timely, and sometimes unpredictable review processes have been consistently eroded in the city over recent years as economic factors have bogged down the development of new housing. One example, Seattle’s “design review” program is on hold as officials look to streamline the system.

CHS reported here in October 2019 on growing calls to pare back SEPA review. Washington’s SEPA, passed in 1971, has come under fire from reform supporters who see it as an outdated form of environmental protection. “It’s rooted in the 1970s-era conception of environmentalism,” one advocate told us six years ago.

‘The changes regarding the transportation components of the review process will align with the next phases of Seattle’s 20-year growth plan update now underway at City Hall.

$5 A MONTH TO HELP KEEP CHS PAYWALL-FREE

Subscribe to CHS to help us hire writers and photographers to cover the neighborhood. CHS is a pay what you can community news site with no required sign-in or paywall. To stay that way, we need you. Become a subscriber to help us cover the neighborhood for $5 a month — or choose your level of support