Transit Oriented Communities Workshop is Tomorrow In Shoreline!

Be there or be left out!

\Transit-oriented communities are all the rage right now in North King County and South Snohomish County. Sound Transit is expanding the Link Light Rail, the City of Shoreline just adopted a “Town Center Plan,” and the City of Bothell has developed a Downtown Revitalization Plan.

So what does this all mean?

To help set the vision for transit-oriented communities and discuss tools for implementation, the organizations Futurewise and Transportation Choices Coalition and the architecture firm GGLO will present an informative workshop and visual exhibit at the Shoreline Public Library on Friday, September 9 from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

“There is a real desire to improve the quality of life in our neighborhoods by providing better access to walking, biking and transit, and more affordable housing options,” said Brock Howell, King County Program Director for Futurewise. “We hope our workshop on transit-oriented communities can help inform these policy discussions.”

The workshop will feature a presentation by representatives from Futurewise and GGLO. Participants will explore a vision for compact urban areas and the protection of our farms, forestlands, and green space, and how to make it happen.

Futurewise launched its Transit-Oriented Communities (TOC) Blueprint program to encourage more housing and transportation choices for Washingtonians. The program advances vibrant and healthy neighborhoods through a comprehensive report and action plan, a traveling gallery exhibit, and community meetings across the state to promote growth near transit. 

The Blueprint program is anchored by a comprehensive publication Blueprint for Transit Oriented Communities (pdf). It’s an action plan for promoting neighborhoods that give people greater access to housing, jobs, shopping, and recreation without relying on a personal vehicle. Created by GGLO, Futurewise, and Transportation Choices Coalition, the purpose of the Blueprint is to provide guidance and inspiration for the community at large, and also to serve as an advocacy manual for new legislation that will promote exemplary transit oriented communities in cities throughout Washington State.

The publication presents an image-rich vision of TOC, provides research linking TOC patterns to numerous social and environmental benefits, and lays out policy actions from the local to federal level to encourage more TOC patterns.

Alan Grainger, founding principal of GGLO, said, "For this to happen, visionary planning and design must go hand-in-hand with smart policies and attention to the unique qualities of each community."

The workshop is free and open to the public and oriented toward public officials, planners, and informed citizens.

Details:

What: Presentation & Discussion on transit-oriented communities.

Date: Friday, September 9, 2011

Time: 10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

Location: Shoreline Library

Address: 345 NE 175^th, Shoreline WA 98155

RSVP to info@futurewise.org.

More information about transit-oriented communities available at http://futurewise.org/priorities/toc.

Seattle Transit Communities: Seattle Planning Commission March 10th Meeting Report

On March 10 at City Hall, the Seattle Planning Commission presented and discussed its Seattle Transit Communities report, released last November. The commission outlined their vision for walkable, livable, transit-accessible communities and the steps they suggest to achieve this. They emphasized that their report details how to create transit communities rather than the best way to implement transit across the region. The report identifies 41 different transit destinations, categorizes them by four different typologies, and prioritizes 14 communities that have the highest need and readiness for transformation.

A discussion followed the presentation, offering a chance for the audience, which was fairly large, to ask questions. The commission mentioned the decline of the hub-and-spoke model of transit, with households needing access to more destinations, especially dual-income households. They noted that Seattle is one of the fastest growing cities outside the sunbelt and that this growth would be best managed with increased density. They also emphasized that residential density in mixed-use neighborhoods is crucial for businesses to flourish. The commission expressed the need to plan ahead for upcoming transit development. They pointed out that Roosevelt is already trying to sell some land to potential retailers in preparation for the opening of their light rail stop in the 2020.

However, a few Roosevelt residents attended the meeting and expressed dissatisfaction with not being consulted during the planning process thus far. Residents were concerned that they had spent lots of money on their high school, intending it to be a historic anchor to their community, and they feel they have been ignored. Specifically, Roosevelt High School was intended to be the tallest building in the neighborhood, but the Roosevelt Design Group has proposed building a 12-story unit near the future station, which would conflict with Roosevelt’s neighborhood plan. One resident insisted, “We are a community, not a quarter-mile circle.”

The commission responded first by emphasizing that they do not have authority over development, but they have been encouraging the city to change its approach to development. They also said they have strived to build their plan around existing plans and buildings and are eager to listen to Roosevelt residents and to work with them on this plan. They encouraged everyone to read the entire report and reminded residents that they have years to discuss their concerns before development actually begins. Finally, the commission emphasized that community development is very complicated, but they are confident they can reach an acceptable solution for everyone.

Just in: El Centro proposed building Parking Lot Adjacet to Beacon Hill Light Rail

The Beacon Hill Blog is reporting that El Centro De La Raza is proposing to build a parking lot right next to the Beacon Hill light rail station.

The idea of building a new private parking lot sitting next to the best transit system in the state is a bit shocking. Surface level parking lots are not the innovative TOC ideas we identified in our Transit Oriented Communities Report (co-authored with futurewise and GGLO).

From the post:

A January 31 letter from El Centro’s Estela Ortega (read the full letter here) to the Beacon Hill community requests support for a temporary parking lot in El Centro’s south lot, adjacent to Beacon Hill Station. The proposal is for 80 public parking spaces, to “help generate much needed revenue to support (El Centro’s) programs and mission during these difficult economic times.” The letter goes on to describe potential benefits to the neighborhood including security improvements, access to Link Light Rail and neighborhood businesses, hosting of mobile food vendors, and parking for Festival Street events.

Wow; we'll keep a close watch on this development and keep you posted.

If you want to attend the hearing on this issue and listen or make your voice heard here is the info:

You can give your opinion on the proposed parking lot at a hearing of the City Council’s Committee on the Built Environment on Wednesday, February 23 at 9:30 am in the City Council Chambers on the 2nd floor of Seattle City Hall, 600 Fourth Avenue.

 Update:
We got word from our friend's at city hall that current permitting would only El Centro to build parking as an intern use and would only be a valid permit until 2012. 

Here are the details on the legislation: http://clerk.ci.seattle.wa.us/~scripts/nph-brs.exe?s1=&s2=&s3=311118&s4=&Sect4=AND&l=20&Sect2=THESON&Sect3=PLURON&Sect5=CFCF1&Sect6=HITOFF&d=CFCF&p=1&u=%2F~public%2Fcfcf1.htm&r=1&f=G

Losing Weight the Fast and Easy Way: the Transportation Choices Weight Loss Plan

Throw away the diet pills, cancel your membership to Jenny Craig and stop feeling guilty about that extra serving of July 4th Cherry Pie because we here at Transportation Choices have in hand the magic elixir for losing weight - Public Transportation. Not only will you lose weight, but you'll save money and enjoy a better quality of life with the Transportation Choices Weight Loss Plan.^TM

According to an NPR report of an upcoming study to be published in the August issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, a typical commuter on the LYNX Blue Line light rail system in Charlotte, NC (not exactly a smart growth paradise) could count on losing 6 1/2 - 7 lbs. or more in an 8 month period. That's the kind of weight loss that's real and lasting.

....Before and after the line was built, they surveyed people who lived for some time near the lines being constructed.

They asked them how often they exercised, whether they felt comfortable going for a walk in the neighborhood, lived near a park, and of course, their height and weight, income and employment status.

Then the researchers waited until 2008, six to eight months after the Lynx South Corridor Light Rail Line had been completed, figuring that would give people the opportunity to regularly using the system.

"We actually see," MacDonald says, "what happens to people who on their own (volition) decide to use the system and reap some reward in weight maintenance and weight reduction."

People who used the system more than once a week for 8 months after the rail line was in place had a 1.18kg reduction in body mass index (BMI). That’s a loss of between 6.4 and 7 pounds for a person who's around 5'5''.

"That's a significant drop in weight," says MacDonald. "People who used the system also were less likely to become obese over time." These were people who reported no significant changes in recommended physical activity rates in the initial surveys.

This, of course, is not the first study showing a link between a transit-oriented lifestyle and good health. Many public health experts, in fact, think that building communities around cars instead of people is a major factor in our nation's obesity problem. The CDC recommends better bicycle facilities, more walkable communities and better access to transit as part of its suite of recommended community strategies to reduce childhood obesity (see, pp 45-60). As Link Light Rail approaches one year of service, without really trying I've found myself about 10 pounds lighter. And, with a 7-year old son who'd rather play video games than play soccer, I'm finding that leaving the car at home at forcing everyone onto light rail or bus for that Saturday trip to the Science Center or Zoo is an effective way to make sure my son and the rest of the family gets a healthy amount of exercise.

So, if you're trying to lose some weight so you'll look good in your bathing suit on the beach vacation or you're just looking to get your heart pumping and increase your cardio-vascular capacity, join my and family me in adopting the Transportation Choices Weight Loss Plan. Taking the bus or train to work on a regular basis, making some more of those short trips to the store or school by bike or walking and you'll likely find yourself dropping a pound a month or more without even passing up on the summer barbecue. And, if you don't have good transit service in your neighborhood, or are worried about losing transit service through budget cuts, join Team Transit to make sure we can preserve and grow our transit network.

Blueprint for Transit-Oriented Communities Launch is TONIGHT!

Please join Futurewise and TCC for the official launch of the Transit Oriented Communities Blueprint.

We will be at Pike Place Brewing from 4-6pm tonight for the official launch of this exciting document followed by a gallery of photos transit oriented communities that is being hosted at GGLO.

Please join us!

For more information see Futurewise's website.

Some more coverage from Huge Ass City.

Vibrant mixed-use centers key to growing smart in Tacoma

Transportation Choices Coalition and Futurewise Co-wrote an Op-Ed on Tacoma's Mixed Use Centers update that was printed in the News Tribune Today. It was printed straight across from the TNT's positive editorial on light rail opening from Seattle to Tukwilla.

The second reading and discussion on the Tacoma Mixed Use Centers plan will be at tonight's city council meeting at Tacoma City Hall at 5:00pm. The final reading and proposed passage of the package will be next week (the 21st) at 5:00pm at Tacoma City Hall. Stay tuned!

Here is today's editorial:

Vibrant mixed-use centers key to growing smart in the city

The Puget Sound Regional Council predicts that 1.7 million additional people will move into Pierce, Kitsap, King and Snohomish counties in the next 30 years. They expect Tacoma to grow by 32 percent – 127,000 people – by the year 2040, an increase larger than the current population of Bellevue.

Regional growth provides tremendous opportunities, but also real challenges. Are we going to grow in a way that concentrates new jobs and residents in urban centers, or are we going to pave our way to Mount Rainier? Will future growth spur economic development and revitalize our historic business districts or build new communities without sufficient infrastructure?

Will future residents of Pierce County have the choice to catch a streetcar to work or walk to the grocery store? Or will working families continue to live in auto-oriented communities and have to choose between putting food on the table or filling up the gas tank?

These are the tough questions we must ask as we envision what we want our region and communities to look like during our lifetimes and for future generations.

Elected officials and community leaders asked many of these questions as they developed the growth plan in “Vision 2040” at the Puget Sound Regional Council. They found that growth and quality of life can co-exist if we are smart about where we direct new homes and jobs.

Protecting our natural lands makes concentrating growth in cities a must. While growth within cities provides immense economic development opportunities, it will also create pressure on cities’ aging infrastructure. If the City of Tacoma grows by 127,000 people, we will need to fix sidewalks, paint crosswalks and bike lanes, and fill potholes. Sewer and utility systems will need upgrades, open space and parks will need improvements, and there will be more traffic and demand for more transit service.

Economic opportunities for cities absorbing new growth are immense. Such cities as Tacoma, Lakewood and Puyallup can attract new jobs; promote prospering business districts; and create vibrant, walkable communities as the region grows.

But capitalizing on this opportunity will not be easy. Cities must engage neighborhoods early so that new growth plans can respond to the needs of current as well as future residents.

The Tacoma City Council has a unique opportunity to do just that: plan for growth in a way that involves neighborhood input to create compact mixed-use neighborhoods well-connected by sidewalks, bike lanes, high-frequency bus service and streetcars. This month, the council will hear testimony and vote on the mixed-use centers plan as proposed by the Tacoma Planning Commission.

The proposed plan will change transportation requirements, raise height limits, and focus infrastructure resources in areas of the city such as 56th and South Tacoma Way, lower Portland Avenue, Martin Luther King Way and the Stadium District.

The current plan is an important step toward creating vibrant, livable neighborhoods, but the city should be bolder. The council should amend the proposal to:

• Remove parking minimums, and let the market decide how much parking is needed, not mandate excessive parking lots.

• Attract local businesses and provide housing for families – while protecting single-family neighborhoods – by allowing the height bonus to apply to the entire mixed-use zones surrounding core pedestrian streets.

• Make walking and cycling more convenient by implementing complete streets standards and shorter maximum block lengths for new streets.

Over the next 30 years, Tacoma and our region will grow. The question is whether we plan for growth and invest in infrastructure in a way that builds vibrant, connected, and livable communities. Tacoma has the opportunity to continue to lead the region in meeting its sustainability and economic development goals.

The City Council should step up to the plate, reaffirm its leadership and pass a strong mixed-use center update.

Andrew Austin of Tacoma is the policy associate for Transportation Choices Coalition, a statewide organization working to bring Washington residents more opportunities to ride a bus, catch a train, bike or walk. Sara Nikolic is co-director of Futurewise, a statewide nonprofit smart-growth advocacy organization.

Update: The Tacoma BIA blog covered the Mixed-Use Centers update today here.

Your Input Needed: Opportunity to Shape the Future of Tacoma and Our Region

TCC has been working closely with the Cascade Land Conservancy on the Tacoma Mixed Use Centers update. This is a very rare opportunity where a major city in our region is updating their land use plans to accommodate more growth and create healthy, more transit connected, compact communities. Please see the CLC alert below and weigh in on this important topic.

Please email the Tacoma City Council by 4 PM on Tuesday, June 30th; and attend the Public Hearing on June 30th, 5:00 pm at City Hall, and let them know that you want growth in Tacoma to improve our environment, our economy and our quality of life.

Over the past year Tacoma has been updating its regulations for sixteen Mixed-Use Centers around the City. The Cascade Land Conservancy has been following these regulatory updates and working to ensure that the updates help the Mixed-Use Centers (MUC) attract well-planned growth and development that meets the City’s goals and vision to improve the quality of life in Tacoma.

We need your help to ensure that as the Tacoma City Council considers the recommendations of the Planning Commission they adopt a MUC package that positively affects Tacoma and the region.

Thanks to the 114 of you who have already learned about the MUC and wrote letters to the Planning Commission; your work had a tremendously positive impact on the shape of the package being reviewed by Council!

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How You Can Make A Difference:
Email the Tacoma City Council by 4 PM on Tuesday, June 30th, and tell them that you want our neighborhoods and our region grow in a way that is responsible, puts feet on the street and provides more choices for future generations.
Attend the Public Hearing on June 30th, 5:00 PM at City Hall, to show your support for a MUC package that will result in livable, walkable Centers with well designed buildings that enhance neighborhood character, supply homes that we can all afford, and provide space for local retail shops, restaurants, and family-wage jobs.

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Why Do Tacoma’s Mixed-Use Centers Matter?
From Tacoma to Everett and Seattle to Ellensburg, our region is growing. In the next 20 years, the population of the Puget Sound region will increase by more than one million people, many our own children and grandchildren. That’s like having the entire population of Portland move into the area, twice.

As residents of a fast-growing region, we can’t take our high quality of life for granted. The splendor of our natural landscapes distinguishes this region, drawing businesses and talented employees who want to live and work here. We must create vibrant cities and towns to attract and retain jobs and families, and conserve the surrounding natural lands, working forests and farms we love. If we don’t work to shape this growth in a way that enhances our quality of life, we can expect more poorly planned growth consuming the landscapes that define our region. But if we seize this moment, we can shape the future for generations to come.

Tacoma’s Mixed-Use Centers can help achieve these goals and help accommodate the 100,000 additional residents expected to live in our City by 2040. Well planned Mixed-Use Centers will promote business and residential growth in existing community centers and help Tacoma use infrastructure wisely, promote economic development and preserve the character of Tacoma’s unique neighborhoods.

6-23 News Round-up: Ferries, Transportation 2040, and Healthy Communities

It is rare that I do simple news roundups on the blog, but today there was a lot of news published that had to do with issues that TCC covers.

1- The Kitsap Sun has a story about PSRC's Transportation 2040 plan and what it means for ferries. The story summarizes the five alternatives and notes that all 5 PSRC 2040 alternatives call for an increase in foot ferries between Kitsap and King County. Kitsap Transit and PSRC are holding a public hearing on the alternatives on Thursday from 6-8 at the Eagles Nest, 1200 Fairgrounds Road in Bremerton. If you live in Kitsap I encourage you to go and let us know how it went!

2-The Tacoma News Tribune published an Op-Ed today from Dr. Jane Moore. Jane is a friend of mine and TCC, a former family doctor and now executive director of the Washington Coalition to Promote Physical Activity. It is great to see the health care community getting more involved with Transit Oriented Communities and compact growth issues. Also the editorial covers a lot of what is going on with the mixed use centers update, which is a great opportunity to plan for transit oriented growth in Tacoma. For more info on the mixed-use centers update see the City of Tacoma's website here.

3-The PI reports that construction on I-90, which will close a bunch of lanes, will be a week shorter than expected and temporary pedestrian and bike mitigation construction will be begin shortly. I suggest if you are commute across the lake to get those bike legs back in shape over the next few weeks!

4-From the AP, gas prices are not as high as they were last summer but they keep going up, up, up.

Could American Cities and Suburbs be Car-Free?

The NYT Room For Debate Blog has a very interesting post as a follow-up to the NYT story on the car free Suburbs in Germany.

It basically asks the question to a bunch of transportation policy experts, could American cities and suburbs be car free in the same way that Vauban, Germany is? What would it take in terms of transportation, land use, and policy in order to create connected, walkable, car-free (or at least not car-oriented) cities and neighborhoods? It is well worth a read!

One of my favorite responses comes form Brookings Institution fellow and author of "The Next Slum" (which is a great read) Christopher B. Leinberger:

There are a number of steps that need to occur to give the market what it wants, including:

• More rail transit and bike and walking infrastructure
• Legal permission to build higher-density, multiuse projects (generally, walkable urban development is illegal in the U.S.)
• Management of these places to insure cleanliness and safety, and promote festivals and infrastructure
• Affordable housing programs to insure inclusiveness since these places tend to be the most expensive places to live and work on a price-per-square-foot basis.

There are many reasons to encourage this market trend: social cohesion, environmental sustainability, public health, lower public sector costs for infrastructure per square foot.

But the bottom line is household economics. American families who are car-dependent spend 25 percent of their household income on their fleet of cars, compared with just 9 percent for transportation for those who live in walkable urban places. That potential 16 percent savings could go into improved housing (building household wealth), educating children or that most un-American of all activities, saving.

The Transit Oriented Communities bill we pushed in the legislature, interestingly did many of the things that Leinberger mentions. The goal of HB 1490, the TOC bill, also was in line with the goals of environmental sustainability, healthier communities, and affordable housing. That is why the environmental community, the anti-children's obesity alliance, and the low income housing alliance were all supportive of the effort.

Car-Free Suburbs?

Last night I ran into Derek and Whitney of Tacoma's Exit 133. They mentioned a New York Times article that I needed to read about car-free suburbs in Germany.

I highly suggest that all of the transit and urban nerds out there take a full ready of this two page article.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/12/science/earth/12suburb.html?_r=1&emc=eta1

It paints a picture of how we can rethink suburban planning around biking, transit, and walking. This community clearly promotes active living, vibrant street life and human interaction, and a greener future. Just imagine DuPont could have been.


Photo from NYT

Onward and Upward: Transit Oriented Communities Moves forward in the Legislature

We are pleased to announce that our legislative priority is moving forward with strong support in both the Washington State Senate and House. Last week House Bill 1490 passed out of House General Government Appropriations with a strong 9-5 vote. Thanks to the leadership of House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Representative Darneille and House Speaker Frank Chopp who garnered strong support for the bill, it passed the House fiscal committee with resounding support.

Last night the Senate version of the bill (SB5687) passed out of Senate Ways and Means with little fanfare or controversy. We would like to sincerely thank Senators Prentice, Fraser, Tom, Fairley, Keiser, Kline, Kohl-Welles, McDermott, Murray, Oemig, Pridemore, Regala, and Rockefeller for supporting this important environmental priority in Senate Ways and Means. If you are a constituent of one of these Senators please send them a big thank you.

Both the Senate and House versions are in the rules committee, which is the last stop before a floor vote! We will be making some friendly tweaks to the bill on the floor as a result of the stakeholder meetings that Rep. Nelson has been holding over the last couple of weeks. The floor cutoff is next week. We are working hard to ensure that the Transit Oriented Communities Bill gets out of the House in the upcoming days and moves forward on its way to becoming a law. Thank you for your support and for tuning in!

Transit Oriented Communities moves into House Rules!

Breaking news:
House Bill 1490 has passed out of General Government Appropriations with a 9-5 vote.

Thanks to the leadership of Chair Darneille Transit Oriented Communities moved past the fiscal committee in the House quickly and with strong support. The bill now moves to House Rules on its last step before the floor. As always, we'll keep you posted.

Update on 1490

It has been a while since we talked about HB1490, Transit Oriented Communities.

The good news is this bill is still alive and well and moving through the legislative process. There have been some changes to the bill as it came out of committee. The companion bill passed out of the Senate Government Operations Committee last week. The House bill passed out of House Local Government and now is in General Appropriations. There are a large number of people who have signed in on the bill in general appropriations so it has pushed out until later in the day. We are waiting in the committee now until the bill comes up for public hearing, we'll keep you posted as 1490 goes through its last step before entering house rules.

Live blogging from the Transit Oriented Communities Hearing

House Bill 1490, Transit Oriented Communities, is being heard in the House Local Government and Housing Committee. The bill’s prime sponsor, Sharon Nelson, sits on the committee as do bill co-sponsors Reps. Geoff Simpson, Dave Upthegrove, Mark Miloscia. The meeting just started at 8am and HB 1490 is the second item on the agenda. The room is packed so stay tuned as I report on the testimony and the surely heated debate.

8:22am
Right now the committee is getting a report from Community Trade and Economic Development (CTED) on the findings that came out of the Land Use and Climate Change Advisory Committee. One of the Climate Change Committee’s primary suggestions was encouraging growth in Transit Oriented Communities. The proposed Transit Oriented Communities legislation grew out of the climate change committees work.

So far Rep. Miloscia asked CTED staff about how affordable housing was included in the CTED report.

Rep. Angel asked a pointed question about unfunded mandates on local government.

Just moments ago Rep. Ericksen (R-42nd LD) asked a pointed question essentially questioning climate change in general and expressed his ‘interest in the cooling and heating on earth.’

Also note that if you go to TWV right here you can watch the hearing live on the internet, just click on the House Local Government and Housing Committee.

8:35am
Our friends at the Quality Growth Alliance are giving a presentation to the committee. In short; currently in Washington there is more demand than housing stock available in transit oriented areas and a shift to "compact, complete, and connected neighborhoods" will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and is the smart way to accommodate future growth.

8:44am
Rep. Miloscia brought up another question about affordability in housing plans that were presented. One of the presenters from the Quality Growth Alliance brought up the point that total household expenses include rent/mortgage and transportation costs combined. By creating compact transit oriented communities household transportation costs will be greatly reduced helping lower income families.

Rep. Ericksen then asked if we need these strategies if we have nuclear power and clean cars in play, thus solving all of our emissions problems. The quality growth folks essentially responded that smart-growth land use strategies are things we can implement to reduce emissions today.

9:00am
The hearing on HB 1490 is starting. House staff is giving an overview on the bill. There is one hour left in the hearing and 36 people to testify so people are going to have to race through their comments.

9:12am
The environmental panel is taking center stage. Bill LaBorde from Transportation Choices, Cliff Traisman from Washington Environmental Council, and Sara Nikolic from Futurewise. They are using a very spiffy and informative power point, which I will try to get up here shortly.

9:20am
The low income housing alliance testified in favor of the legislation. Their spokesperson, Nick Fredici, claimed that currently affordable housing planning around station areas is disjointed as best. He want on to stay HB 1490 will provide a good framework for ensuring affordable housing around high capacity station. Also the cascade bicycle club voiced their support.

9:30am
John Fox, director of the Seattle Displacement Coalition and anti-rail advocate, testified against the legislation. He claimed that HB 1490 would cause be a "blueprint for gentrification".

9:40am
The association of Washington Cities voiced some some concerns aroud manditory zoning rules and also stated that they are excited to work with the committee on the bill. The City of Bellevue stated that in many areas they are meeting the 50 units per acre but they are concerned about a "one size fits all" zoning approach. The city of Auburn voiced many of the same things as Bellevue. The Mayor of Tacoma, Bill Barsma, spoke in support of the goals of HB 1490. He notedthat we need compact communities around our high capacity systems in order to make them as efficent as possible.

9:50am
Sound Transit testified that they would want to continue to work with the committee on the bill. They also provided some background on their surplus properties and brought up some issues around the resale of surplus properties.

9:55am
A Seattle citizen said the bill would mandate densities higher that Mumbai, India, which simply is not true. We are talking about average buildings heights around three stories around the station area. Not quite the image I think of for Mumbai, India. Here is an example of new construction in Mumbai.



10:00am
The committee is going long so many of the Olympia lobbyists will have to testify at a later date. Chair Simpson is trying to ensure that out of town citizens have an opportunity to speak.

A Priest from Federal Way testified that he thinks Transit Oriented Communities would be great for the common human good and livable communities. Then the President of the WA Realtors claimed that Vehicles Miles Traveled (VMT) is a obsolete measurement of emissions. His logic was that cars no longer produce emissions thanks to the development of the electric car. As we heard earlier in the hearing transportation emissions are responsible for 50% of our state's greenhouse gas emissions.

The last two speakers were two Seattle citizens. Martin Duke from the South Seattle area where light rail will be travelling. He said he wants a more walkable liveable community. Another resident of Northgate testifed about the benefits of recently moving into a transit oriented development, where his family reduced their vehicles miles traveled by 50%.

I am signing off for now but stay tuned as I keep you posted on HB 1490 and its progress through the legislative process.

Welcome House Bill 1490-Transit Oriented Communities

I am proud to announce that the transit oriented communities bill has been officially filed! It is House Bill 1490! Click here to see all the important information related to the legislation. A full PDF version of the bill is also online here. There is a lot of excitement about TOC right now in Olympia and we are optimistic about moving it forward. It looks like next week we will have a hearing in the House Local Government Committee.

We would like to send a huge THANK YOU to our bill sponsor Representative Sharon Nelson from the 34th district. Her hard work on this legislation has been nothing short of amazing. Also, thank you to Reps. Pedersen, Goodman, Simpson, Upthegrove, Appleton, Dickerson, Liias, Morris, Roberts, White, Ormsby, McCoy, and Miloscia for co-sponsoring HB 1490. Stay Tuned!