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Seattle Nice
It’s getting harder and harder to talk about politics, especially if you disagree. Well, screw that. Seattle Nice aims to be the most opinionated and smartest analysis of what’s really happening in Seattle politics available in any medium. Each episode dives into contentious and sometimes ridiculous topics, exploring perspectives from across Seattle's political spectrum, from city council brawls to the ways the national political conversation filters through our unique political process. Even if you’re not from Seattle, you need to listen to Seattle Nice. Because it’s coming for you. Unlike the sun, politics rises in the West and sets in the East.
Seattle Nice
MHA Holiday 2.0: Starring Seattle Councilmember Dionne Foster
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Seattle still needs a lot more housing. But construction has fallen off for some types of housing, and developers say one reason projects aren't getting built is Seattle's Mandatory Housing Affordability program, or MHA.
Seattle City Councilmember Dionne Foster joins co-hosts David Hyde, Erica C. Barnett and Sandeep Kaushik to talk about the fight over MHA and splits on the left over how to build more affordable housing.
Foster's proposal would temporarily slash the fees developers pay under MHA to get stalled projects moving again, without ditching the program. It's pretty similar to an idea Mayor Katie Wilson was considering earlier this year before backing away after pushback from some affordable-housing advocates. Foster also wants the city to study applying some version of MHA in neighborhood residential zones, the former single-family areas, which some pro-housing advocates have opposed.
So how did Foster manage to bring the fee cut back? Will it work? And why has it taken Seattle so long to rethink a program some urbanists say has been holding the city back for years?
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