SEATTLE — Today, Mayor Wilson announced the release of the Centers and Corridors proposal, the second of four zoning packages setting Seattle’s newly updated Comprehensive Plan into motion. This phase of changes to Seattle’s zoning was transmitted to Council on January 28.
The Centers and Corridors legislation updates zoning in new growth areas identified in the Comprehensive plan, including: 30 new Neighborhood Centers, new and expanded Urban Centers, and transit corridors. These changes will create new opportunities to add apartments and condos near transit, retail, services, and public amenities, helping meet citywide housing needs and improve housing choice and affordability across all neighborhoods.
“This legislation builds on important zoning reform, updating the rules on what can be built and where, so we can create abundant and affordable housing,” said Mayor Katie B. Wilson. “Seattle is a great city, and more and more people want to make it their home. We’ll keep advancing zoning changes and developing social housing, as we expand our housing and affordability options. And we are just getting started.”
The adoption of the Comprehensive Plan was the first major update to Seattle’s Comprehensive Plan in 10 years. This achievement sets a transformative course for housing abundance, equity, and sustainability, ensuring Seattle remains a vibrant, inclusive city for generations to come. This plan was the outcome of several years of collaboration between many City departments, the public, and City Council.
“With this legislation, we will unlock the capacity in neighborhoods to build a diversity of housing options and address the housing and affordability crisis impacting our communities,” said Rico Quirindongo, Director of Seattle’s Office of Planning & Community Development. “By moving this package forward, we will take our next bold step to create new opportunities for expanded housing supply across the city.”
In December 2025, the Council adopted the first phase of zoning legislation that updated Seattle’s Neighborhood Residential zoning to allow middle housing, including townhomes, duplexes, cottage housing, and stacked flats, in all neighborhoods. The Centers and Corridors legislation was developed by the Office of Planning and Community Development in coordination with Mayor Harrell’s office, with input from public engagement.
Seattle’s current housing shortage, propelled with demands from new population and job growth, has had profound impacts on our region including increased homelessness, reduced economic mobility, regional sprawl, and higher prices. Creating more opportunities for housing in Seattle is a key component of addressing these challenges.
The Centers and Corridors legislation represents an important step in addressing our housing shortage and implementing the vision outlined in Seattle’s Comprehensive Plan, where every person and household has access to affordable housing that meets their needs in vibrant and livable neighborhoods.
For more information about the Comprehensive Plan, visit Seattle.gov/opcd/one-seattle-plan.
For more information about zoning legislation and to view zoning maps, visit Zoning.OneSeattlePlan.com.
What People Are Saying
Jeff Paul, Co-Executive Director, House our Neighbors
“House our Neighbors is looking forward to expanding beyond this phase of zoning legislation with the Wilson administration. We aim to develop the most ambitious housing plan we can, one that includes social housing throughout all of Seattle, and especially near our expanding public transit network.”
Logan Schmidt, Seattle Government Affairs Manager, Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties (MBAKS)
“Everyone deserves a place to call home, and Phase 2 of the Comprehensive Plan represents an important step toward making that vision a reality in Seattle. By making it easier to produce a greater variety of housing types in the Neighborhood Centers, this legislation creates meaningful opportunity to begin addressing housing demand. Our members, who are local homebuilders, are ready and eager to partner with the city to advance the next phase of reforms and deliver more equitable, sustainable, and attainable housing in transit-served, walkable neighborhoods.”
Jazmine Smith, Director of Local Advocacy, Futurewise
“As we look towards the next steps of visioning and mapping out a future that includes all of us, the Centers and Corridors legislation is a critical opportunity for us to weave together dense cities with robust transit connectivity, while protecting our forests and farmlands from sprawl. As we open more light rail stations across Seattle and bolster our bus networks, it’s more important than ever before that we meet this moment with the housing options and affordability we have desperately needed while supporting vibrant, livable communities in every single neighborhood. Futurewise looks forward to close collaboration every step and phase of the way with Mayor Wilson and City Council to map out a place for everyone in our city with a bold vision for sustainable and inclusive housing for all.”
Jesse Simpson, Director of Government Relations and Policy, Housing Development Consortium
The Centers and Corridors legislation is a critical step in turning Seattle’s new Comprehensive Plan into real homes. By legalizing more multifamily housing in Neighborhood Centers, Urban Centers, and along frequent transit, this legislation empowers nonprofit and mission-driven housing developers to build affordable homes where people from all walks of life want to live. HDC looks forward to working closely with Mayor Wilson and the City Council on this legislation and future phases of the Comprehensive Plan, to ensure Seattle delivers the abundant housing needed to address our affordability crisis.
Joe Nguyen, President & CEO, Seattle Metro Chamber of Commerce
“Seattle needs to build more housing if we want to remain a place where people can actually live, work, and raise a family. Right now, we don’t have enough homes, which means land is scarce, competition is intense, and costs keep climbing. This next phase of the Comprehensive Plan matters because it starts removing unnecessary barriers and makes it easier to build more types of housing in more parts of the city. Tools like the stacked flat bonus and continued condo reforms help unlock that housing diversity, work I’ve been pushing for years at the state level, and over time help take pressure off rents.”
Brett D’Antonio, CEO, Habitat for Humanity Seattle-King & Kittitas Counties
“Habitat for Humanity Seattle–King County is eager to build on the momentum of recent years through this comprehensive plan update. As Seattle’s supply of viable development sites continues to shrink, these changes are essential to unlocking new housing capacity and making previously marginal sites more feasible for affordable homebuilders like us. This is truly an all-hands-on-deck moment that we are proud to be a part of.”
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