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Land Use and Sustainability Committee

SEA-LUS-2026-03-18 March 18, 2026 Committee Meeting City of Seattle 15 min
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The Seattle Land Use and Sustainability Committee held a brief 12-minute meeting Wednesday morning, taking final action on floodplain regulations that have been six years in development. Chair Eddie Lin led the committee through the approval of permanent floodplain development regulations required by FEMA, adopting new flood maps that became effective in 2020. The committee unanimously voted to recommend passage of Council Bill 121152 with a technical amendment, sending the legislation to the full City Council for final consideration on March 24th. The bill establishes permanent regulations to replace interim measures the city has used since FEMA updated Seattle's flood maps. Committee members praised the thorough stakeholder engagement process, particularly after pier owners raised concerns at the previous meeting. SDCI staff met with concerned property owners to address questions about how the new regulations would affect future development projects on waterfront piers. The committee also briefly discussed CB 121171, which would repeal a law allowing residential use in the Stadium Transition Area Overlay District, scheduling a public hearing for April 1st.

**CB 121152 - Floodplain Regulations:** - **Action:** Voted 3-0 to recommend passage with Amendment 1 - **Staff Recommendation:** Support passage (implied) - **Amendment:** Technical correction to definition of "substantial improvement" to mirror federal regulations - **Next Step:** Full City Council vote on March 24, 2026 - **Practical Impact:…

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**Floodplain Development Regulations** The primary policy issue addressed FEMA's requirement for cities to adopt permanent regulations consistent with updated National Flood Insurance Rate Maps. Seattle has operated under interim regulations since FEMA finalized new maps in 2023, with the regulations becoming effective August 19, 2020. Chair Lin emphasized the importance of stakeholder engagement after pier owners raised concerns at the previous meeting. SDCI staff Maggie Glowacki reported they met with pier owners and property owner representative Mr. McCollough to address questions about how future projects would be reviewed under the proposed permanent regulations. Council staff noted that some pier owner complaints relate to how their propert…
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**Steve (Public Commenter):** Criticized the committee's agenda focus, calling it repetitive over recent meetings. Argued the city has failed to review Mandatory Housing Affordability (MHA) fees despite promises to do so when they were initially set "low, low, low." Claimed the city prioritizes developer preferences over housing needs and called for reinstating design rev…
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**Chair Eddie Lin, opening the meeting:** "Good morning, everyone. Thank you for coming to the meeting to discuss land use." **Steve, public commenter on MHA fees:** "The city seems to be for housing as long as the developers say it's okay." **Steve, on Seattle values:** "Raising those fees will provide housing, and hopefully it will provide putting people of different incomes around the city in many neighborhoods. These things used to be Seattle values. It appears they are not." **Steve, …
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- **March 24, 2026:** City Council final vote on CB 121152 (floodplain regulations) - **April 1, 2026:** Land Use and Sustainability Committee public hearing on CB 121171 (Stadium Transition Area r…

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After this meeting, Seattle moves closer to adopting permanent floodplain development regulations to replace interim measures in place since 2020. The committee resolved pier owner concerns through stakeholder engagement and te…
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