Mayor Katie Wilson announced she will compress the remaining phases of Seattle’s comprehensive plan implementation and pursue broader upzones than the plan originally envisioned, with final land use legislation targeted for June 2027 — one year ahead of the previous schedule.

What’s Changing

The city had planned separate Phase 3 and Phase 4 rezones under the One Seattle Comprehensive Plan adopted in 2025. Wilson’s administration will combine them into a single phase, backed by a new supplemental Environmental Impact Statement, with the Office of Community Planning and Development launching that environmental review process now.

The current plan requires apartment zoning within half a block of rail and frequent-bus stops — a distance Wilson called “pretty darn stingy.” Her accelerated plan would extend that housing zone to a reasonable walking distance, estimated at several blocks to half a mile from transit. That shift would bring Seattle into compliance with state law (HB 1491), which mandates apartment zoning within a quarter-mile of rapid transit by 2029, and potentially exceed it.

Neighborhood Centers

Wilson also committed to restoring nine neighborhood centers that her predecessor removed from the plan and said she is open to adding new ones beyond the thirty originally under consideration. “My bias is to go big,” she said.

The expanded centers matter because neighborhood center designation determines which parts of the city are zoned for mid-rise housing and neighborhood-scale retail. More centers means more locations citywide where taller, mixed-use buildings are permitted by right.

The Office of Community Planning and Development will complete the environmental review next year, with the combined Phase 3 and 4 rezone legislation scheduled for a Council vote in June 2027.