The fight to save our neighborhood character is reaching a critical tipping point. The City’s One Seattle Plan is moving rapidly through the review process, and if we don’t speak up right now, the quiet, block-by-block community we have spent decades building could be permanently altered.
Select Committee on the Comprehensive Plan
Thursday, May 28, 2026, 2pm (Meeting Link)
Council Chambers, 600 4th Ave., Floor 2, Seattle, WA 98104
Sign-ups begin 1 hour before the meeting (sign up form here)
Commenting is strictly limited to 2 minutes (more information)
The next important city meeting is coming up on May 28. We need a massive turnout from our block to provide public testimony. Whether you speak in person or speak remotely, City Hall needs to look out at a unified front from our block. Too much of the commenting is general in nature, not focusing on direct impacts, and we need to change that.
When you testify, the most powerful thing you can do is clearly state that you live on 39th Ave SW in the Morgan Junction of West Seattle, and how this zoning shift will impact you personally.
Core Talking Points for Your Testimony
To make it as easy as possible for everyone to participate, I have broken down the main arguments against this short-sighted proposal. Feel free to use these points to shape your personal statement:
- Our Unique Street Character & Geography: We must explicitly describe what makes our home special. We live on 39th Ave SW, a beautiful, quiet, tree-lined street with stunning views of Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains. Because of our western-facing, sloping grade, our homes rely on a unique distribution of natural light. Zoning the west side of our street to allow 5-story LR2 apartments could completely block out that light, create a canyon of shadows, and destroy everything people love about living on this street.
- Decades of Deep Roots: We are not a transient neighborhood. Most of us have lived here for more than 25 years. We have raised our children here, painstakingly improved and maintained our homes, and fostered a deeply bonded community. This sweeping zoning proposal has injected real fear and anxiety into our lives. It is incredibly telling that, rather than feeling excited about Seattle’s growth, many of us are regrettably considering leaving the neighborhood entirely and aren’t looking at Seattle as our next destination.
- A Complete Failure of Communication: The Office of Planning and Community Development (OPCD) and City Hall have fundamentally failed to engage with us. They didn’t send a single piece of direct mail to any of us to warn us about these multi-story changes, and it doesn’t sound like they plan to do so in the future. Instead, they rely on online postings and community partners. While the city might feel satisfied with its digital outreach, it has been an absolute failure for the tax-paying homeowners on the ground. OPCD says they “commit to doing better,” but making zero effort to physically mail the directly impacted residents makes that commitment ring entirely hollow.
- Lowering Affordability Requirements Alienates Everyone: There is a lot of vague talk in the Council chambers about finding ways to speed up development by making conditions “more attractive” to developers. This has even raised dangerous suggestions to reduce Mandatory Housing Affordability (MHA) requirements. If the City compromises on MHA, they are alienating both sides of the issue. They will actively destroy established neighborhoods and upend residents’ lives, while doing absolutely nothing to provide the affordable housing Seattle actually needs.
How to Prepare for the May 28 Meeting
City Hall staffers and councilmembers listen when numbers show up. To make your voice count on May 28, please keep the following tips in mind:
Keep it Personal: Start your comment with: “My name is [Name], and I live on 39th Ave SW in West Seattle.” Briefly explain what your home and your neighbors mean to you.
Focus on Impact: Explain exactly what a 5-story apartment complex on the west side of the street would do to your property, your natural light, your view, and your desire to stay in Seattle.
Be Direct on Policy: Tell the Council to protect stable residential blocks like ours by issuing a boundary adjustment, keeping the scale of the street intact, and refusing to water down MHA requirements for developers.
Let’s ensure the story of 39th Ave SW is heard loud and clear. See you on May 28!