Seattle proposes changing development rules to spur job growth

Seattle leaders are about to start eliminating some development rules to try to spur job growth, Mayor Mike McGinn and Council President Richard Conlin announced Friday.

The council will consider a list of proposals from the Mayor's Office. A panel of environmental, business and neighborhood leaders has been working since February on the list of ideas.

Among them:

• easing parking requirements for developments near transit lines;

• allowing more employees in home-based businesses;

• lifting restrictions on retail in empty lots;

• softening regulations on mother-in-law apartments;

• allowing corner stores in more residential neighborhoods;

The city requires new apartment and condominium developments to include retail space, but many of those spaces sit empty. The mayor said the city should ease up on that rule.

"We can't as government create jobs, but we can create a regulatory environment that encourages jobs," Conlin said.

The council hasn't seen the proposed legislation. Panel members said they tried to focus on regulations that seemed obviously outdated and easy to change.

It's a little like cleaning out the refrigerator, said Eric de Place, a senior researcher for the Sightline Institute who participated in the panel. Things on Seattle's books were put there with good intentions but no longer make sense.

"It's good occasionally to reach back there, pull it out, and see if it still meets our needs," he said.

McGinn pointed to U.S. Labor Department figures released Friday that showed virtually no job growth nationally during June.

Local job growth is also slow, McGinn said, and the local economy is particularly weak in the construction trades.

King County Labor Council Executive Secretary Dave Freiboth said he hopes the proposals will "bypass the talk and actually produce some results."

McGinn acknowledged the proposals have a way to go before they are a reality. There will be several chances for the public to weigh in before any votes are taken.

"It will go on a long time," he said.

Emily Heffter: 206-464-8246 or eheffter@seattletimes.com