Dear friends,

On May 5 Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a bold and comprehensive plan to increase affordable housing in New York City. His plan includes massive investment, infill development, the use of public owned land, regulatory relief and incentive zoning. This should be the template for a plan in Seattle.

When I moved here with my family in 2007, Seattle's population was under 600,000. Today, just seven years later, we are the fastest growing city in America - with 652,403 people and counting. 3,000 new apartments have been built on Capitol Hill, with rents far out of reach of most workers. The only affordable apartments are the 88 we're building at 12th Avenue Arts. Mayor De Blasio said of NYC, "We have a crisis of affordability on our hands." We can say the same thing about Seattle.

Over the next few months, the debate about incentive zoning will be raging again in Seattle as City Council takes up this issue. I agree with those who say we need a comprehensive affordability plan in Seattle, but incentive zoning is on the table now and must be resolved in a way that puts Seattle in the lead nationally, not years behind as we are today. Our current incentive zoning policies do not facilitate Seattle's affordability growth goals. We need more affordable housing now.

Best regards,