Seattle Land Use Committee Meeting on SEPA Appeals and Design Review – July 1, 2026
Seattle Land Use and Sustainability Committee Meeting – July 1, 2026
The Land Use and Sustainability Committee of the Seattle City Council met on Wednesday, July 1, 2026, from 9:40 a.m. to 12:03 p.m. in Council Chamber. Chair Eddie Lin presided. The meeting included confirmation of six Planning Commission appointments, a public hearing on Council Bill 121215 (which would eliminate administrative SEPA appeals for legislative land use decisions), and a briefing on temporary design review regulations (CB 121243). No votes were taken on the council bills; only the appointments were voted upon.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Public Comment on Agenda Items (Design Review): Seven speakers (two in-person, five remote) addressed the design review extension. Julie Holland (District 7, Design Review Reboot Coalition) urged inclusive process; Steve (We Need a Better Seattle) opposed eliminating public input; Megan Cruz (District 7) supported updated review with public participation. Others expressed concern about losing community voice.
- Public Hearing on CB 121215 (SEPA Appeals): Approximately 61 in-person and 38 remote speakers registered. The hearing lasted over two hours. Key themes:
- Supporters (e.g., Alicia Ruiz, Habitat for Humanity; Sean Newton, volunteer; Jason Weil, homeowner; Riley, West Seattle; Andrew Crocker, District 2; Josh Friedman; Jeff Paul, House Our Neighbors; Alex Lofton; Amanda Lynn; Greg Smith; Jesse Simpson, Housing Development Consortium; James Wu, PhD scientist) argued the bill closes a loophole that delays housing, that SEPA review remains intact, that other jurisdictions (Bellevue, Tacoma, Everett) already lack this appeal, and that delays harm affordability and the environment by pushing development into sprawl.
- Opponents (e.g., Woody Wheeler, Conservation Catalyst; Sandy Shetler, Tree Action Seattle; Sarah, mini‑forest project; Martha Bashir; Suzanne Grant; Steve; Kathy Kirkhoff; Frida Burlett; Orla Kinkanen; Hans (age 17); Augustine DiPietro (age 16); Caroline Villanova, Seattle Parks Foundation; Ann Sims; Jessica Dixon; Steve Zemke, Tree Pack; Laura Livingston; Pamela Adams; Jean Bateman; Judy Acolytis; Nikki Yonko; Nathaniel Howard; Gene Trent; Jennifer Godfrey; Dave Gloger; Kathy Minch; Susan Fedor; Jonathan Warren; Ruth Williams; and many remote speakers) argued appeals are rare (average 2.7 per year, only 8 housing‑related in a decade), provide a critical check on flawed environmental review, that the city should reform rather than eliminate the process, and that the bill would disenfranchise vulnerable communities and worsen urban heat islands and tree loss. Several cited the recent Court of Appeals ruling in the ORCA appeal and the loss of over 7,000 trees since 2023.
Discussion Items
- Appointments to the Seattle Planning Commission: Executive Director Vanessa Murdock introduced four new appointees (T.J. Stutman, Amir Ehsaei, Hailey P. Karcher, Patrick W. Taylor) and two reappointees (P Xiomara Alvarez, Andrew L. Dannenberg). Each briefly introduced themselves. The committee voted unanimously (5‑0) to recommend confirmation to the full council.
- Council Bill 121215 – SEPA Appeals on Council Land Use Decisions: After the public hearing, Chair Lin noted the bill is procedural and does not weaken environmental protections. No further discussion or vote was taken; the item remains in committee.
- Council Bill 121243 – Temporary Design Review Regulations: Ketil Freeman (Council Central Staff) and Crystal Torres (SDCI) presented an interim six‑month extension of expired design review rules to comply with state law (HB 1293) while permanent reforms are developed. The interim would suspend mandatory design review, allow voluntary opt‑in for departures, and continue exemptions for affordable housing projects. Councilmember Rinck requested timeline details. A public hearing is scheduled for July 30, 2026.
Key Outcomes
- Planning Commission Appointments: The committee voted 5‑0 to recommend confirmation of Appointments 035361, 035372, 035383, 035394, 035405, and 035416. The recommendation will be sent to the full City Council on July 7, 2026.
- CB 121215: No action taken; public hearing closed; further discussion expected.
- CB 121243: Briefing held; public hearing set for July 30, 2026; no vote.
- Meeting adjourned at 12:03 p.m.
Meeting Transcript
Oh yeah, we're ready. Good morning, everyone. Good morning. The July 1st, 2026 land use and sustainability committee meeting will come to order. It's 9 40 a.m. I'm Eddie Lynn, chair of the land use and sustainability committee. Will the committee clerk please call the roll? Councilmember Foster. Here. Council President Algunsworth. Present. Councilmember Rink. Present. Present. Okay. If there's no objection, the agenda will be adopted. Hearing no objection, the agenda is adopted. Good morning, everyone. Thank you all for coming to this Wednesday morning meeting to discuss land use as always. Thank you to our city clerks, council central staff, mayor's office, and SDCI for helping us prepare for this meeting. Just to give everybody sort of a quick run of show, we are going to start with public comment on an agenda on the agenda items, which include uh temporary design review. There will not be any votes on the temporary design review for uh legislation today. Uh we also have um some appointments that we're gonna do, and then we will do the public hearing on the SEPA bill. Um, so uh just want to give that run of show. So we'll start with a public comment on um the agenda, we'll do the public hearing later. Um colleagues, um, I'm gonna ask that we suspend the rules to limit public comment during on the design review and the agenda to one minute so that we have sufficient time uh later in the agenda during the public hearing to hear all of the speakers, which we have quite a few in person and uh quite a few online. Um we do have some uh uh hard stop at some point, and so we're hoping to get through all the uh public comments or or the public hearing. If not, uh it sounds like we might need to uh continue to a future date. There will be no uh votes today on the CEPA bill, so just want to let people know about that. Uh okay, so let's get going. We will now open the hybrid public comment period. Public comments should relate to items on the agenda or items with the in the purview of the committee. Any comments relating to item seven council bill one-two one two one five, which is a CEPA bill should be held until the public hearing. Clerk, how many speakers are signed up today for public comment? Currently, we have two in-person speakers signed up and five remote. Two and five remote. Okay. Um again, colleagues. Um, without objection, I'd like to suspend the rules to limit uh the public comment to one minute each for each speaker. Hearing no objection, um we will limit it to uh one minute per person. Um, can you please read the public comment instructions? Speakers will be called in order in which the registered in person speakers will be called first after which we'll move to remote speakers until the public comment period is ended. Speakers will hear a time when 10 seconds are left of their time. Speakers mics will be muted if they do not, and their comments within the line time to allow us to call the next speaker. The public comment period is now open. With the first speaker on the list, that is Julie Holland. Any any mic, yes, and just please speak directly into the mic. Thank you so much. Can you hear me? Yes.
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