FEATURED STORIES
JUNE 2019
SEATTLE HOME & REAL ESTATE
AFRICATOWN PLAZA PAGE 2
www.citylivingseattle.com
SEATTLE ATTORNEY, NONPROFIT FOUNDER RUNNING FOR COUNT Y COUNCIL
STATE ROUTE 520 BRIDGE REPLACEMENT PAGE 5
STRESS-FREE REMODELING PAGE 10
Courtesy photo Girmay Zahilay is running for King County Council District 2, which covers the Central Area, Capitol Hill, Beacon Hill, the Rainier Valley, Seward Park, Skyway, UW, Fremont, Ravenna and Laurelhurst. BY BRANDON MACZ Girmay Zahilay was born in Sudan, the child of Ethiopian refugees. He grew up poor in South Seattle, his parents having no high school or college education. He’s experienced life in public housing and in a Union Gospel Mission homeless shelter. Despite those challenges, Zahilay went on to attend Stanford University, and then earned a law degree from the University of Pennsylva-
nia Law School. He interned at the White House during the Obama administration and started his law career in New York. Following a brief stint at a firm after returning to Seattle, Zahilay turned his focus back to the youth mentorship nonprofit he started in Harlem. Rising Leaders now operates in three states, including two schools in Seattle. ➧ ATTORNEY, Page 4
KICK YOUR PLASTIC HABIT PAGE 13
Committee gets to work Be water wise during on ADU legislation summer months Councilmembers talk about making accessory dwelling unit creation, rents more affordable
BY BRANDON MACZ With all legal challenges currently settled, the Seattle City Council is pushing forward with revised legislation meant to make it easier and more financially attractive to build accessory dwelling units in single-family neighborhoods. The Queen Anne Community Council lost its appeal of a final environmental impact statement addressing the proposed land use code changes on May 13, the FEIS being required by the Seattle Hearing Examiner after QACC challenged the Office of Planning and Community Development’s determination of non-significance in 2016. “Given the groundbreaking nature of some of the features of the proposed legislation, it is impossible to know whether none, some, or all of the ill effects claimed by Appellant will come to pass,” Deputy Hearing Examiner Barbara Dykes Ehrlichman wrote in her decision, adding that’s a policy debate the city council now faces. QACC Land Use Review Committee chair Martin Kaplan, who spearheaded the appeal, cited that line from the hearing examiner’s decision during public
comment before the council’s Sustainability and Transportation Committee on Wednesday, May 29. He said the environmental impact statement should have been able to inform the council and public of the potential impact of the land-use changes and how to mitigate them. Under the proposed changes, lots in single-family zones could have an attached accessory dwelling unit (AADU) and 1,000-square-foot detached accessory dwelling (DADU) unit in lots with a minimum of 3,200 square feet, or two AADUs. Providing off-street parking would not be required, and the property owner would not have to live in any of the dwelling units. One year of continuous ownership would be required to build a second accessory dwelling unit. Lots with two ADUs could house 12 unrelated people, which QACC argued would result in up to nine cars per single-family lot. The city anticipates one vehicle per ADU. If a property is already required to provide an off-street parking ➧ ADU, Page 13
“When most of America is singing ‘June den starting now and as the years progress. is bustin’ out all over,” we’re in our woolies Let what grass you have assume what I call and slickers and loving it. Summer doesn’t “The Tuscan Look” — brown in the hot arrive here until mid-July and we have the months. The rich, green color will come greenery to prove it. back in November. Those are the Water beds weekly words I’d use to deand well, getting up earfend our climate ly to irrigate. Steve Lorton when friends in other The water you apTree Talk parts of the country ply will soak into the would make cracks ground, where plants about rainy Seattle. can use it before the sun How suddenly times gets hot and you watch can change. steam rising from the Google’s weather forecast for the com- soil. You won’t be witnessing evaporation. ing month is warmer than normal tem- Thorough, deep soaking is preferable to peratures, with dry, sunny days. a daily spritz. You can also water in the It’s plain scary, and I fret this is the new evening, but that risks the development normal. Adding to the anxiety is the real- of mildew as moisture clings to plants ity that, with reduced precipitation, there through the dark, cool nights. Early mornare more people in the Pacific Northwest ing is best. using water. There are many commercial mulches OK, gardeners: start learning the tricks available with which to top beds. The of water wisdom now. Grow your knowl- “Chop and Drop” method is also good. As edge as you reduce your consumption. you groom and prune, cut up the clippings An ounce of conservation can stave off a and spread them around under vulnerable pound of suffering. plants. A 4-inch-deep layer is not excesSurely you’ve already mastered some of sive. the basics: shorter showers, fewer flushes, Or try this: soak the ground. Then cover no running faucet as you prepare for or beds with an overlapping patchwork of clean up after meals. Simple stuff. newspaper, 10 to 12 sheets thick. Soak the Reduce the amount of lawn in your gar➧ SUMMER, Page 15