If You Care About Affordable Housing in Seattle, Show Up at This Meeting Tuesday

Wow, what a pristine natural wonder. It sure would be a shame if people could live here. HG

Remember the proposal to build affordable housing at Fort Lawton? A big chunk of land sits unused at this former military base near Discovery Park. City officials want to turn the area into affordable housing and a park and, if they do, could get most of the land for free from the federal government. But neighborhood opposition threatens to delay the project for the second time in a decade.

On Tuesday night, the City of Seattle will hold a public hearing on the proposal, starting at 6 pm at the Magnolia United Church of Christ (3555 West McGraw Street).

The hearing is a chance for the public to comment on the city's draft environmental impact statement (EIS), which identifies housing as the city's "preferred alternative" for the site. Other alternatives include building market-rate instead of affordable housing at the site, turning the entire space into a park, and doing nothing. In coming months, the city's Office of Housing will finalize its EIS, then the city council will vote on the proposal.

Judging by the public comments the city has received so far, it could be a long night of anti-housing vitriol. "It was a snake pit" is the way Bob Kaminski, who supports the project, described an earlier public meeting about this project. But pro-housing groups like Real Change are organizing supporters to show up, too.

The meeting could run as late as 10 pm. (It's a church, so I'm not sure flasks are allowed, but I won't tell if you don't.)

If you can't make the meeting, you can email your comments on the proposal to OH_Comments@seattle.gov through 5 pm on January 29.