What's happening with Seattle's housing density plan?

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Few topics in Seattle politics are more heated than housing — and attempts by politicians to allow more of it.

Seattle is in the midst of a once-a-decade update to its comprehensive plan, a zoning document that outlines where, what type and how much housing can be built around the city.

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How housing became one of the city’s most crucial and controversial subjects is now familiar territory for most Seattleites. Over the past 15 years, the city’s population grew from 608,000 to 755,000 residents, many of whom came for high-paying tech jobs that have driven up the city’s median income. Seattle added about 60,000 new units of housing between 2010-2020, the majority of which were studio and one-bedroom apartments.

That gap between population growth and housing growth was a central factor in the skyrocketing cost of housing. According to Zillow’s Home Value Index, the average cost of a detached single-family home in Seattle rose from $415,000 in 2012 to $945,000 in 2022. The city’s planning department reports that the median monthly cost of rent and basic utilities increased by 75% from $1,024 in 2011 to $1,787 in 2021.

https://www.cascadepbs.org/news/2025/03/whats-happening-seattles-housing-density-plan