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It was really exciting to mobilize people through Habitat for Humanity’s advocacy platforms for the SEPA bill in Seattle. And it was wonderful to see so many of you sharing our action alert letter. We ended up with like 1750 letters being sent from Habitat-aligned advocates! Thank you.

Well done @cmeddielin.bsky.social and the coalition of advocates that spoke today, sent in letters, and called your council members! More housing wins to come 🔜

Thank god five Seattle City Councilmembers voted to take away one NIMBY tool to endlessly delay housing and climate action.

The Seattle Process took one small step towards being consigned to the history books today! Thank you everyone who helped get this passed so that we can get back to solving real problems for Seattleites.

Fascinating coalition politics at play for this bill to make it easier to build housing in Seattle: The four most progressive members of the council + the most conservative one (Kettle) teamed up with the leftist mayor to pass the bill, while all the centrist democrats opposed it

So much work went in to making this moment possible. Blood, sweat, and tears (seriously). Huge props to Team @cmeddielin.bsky.social 💖 This is a tremendous victory for Seattle as we continue to do everything we can to prevent efforts to stall housing production!

The “lefty cheat sheet” is a dynamic aggregator that can change from one day to the next as new endorsements are added and is customizable by You to the voter to share with your networks. Learn more - Seattle Voters @electioncheatsheet.org

Today at 2pm the Seattle Council is taking a big vote on SEPA reform, deciding whether to keep letting every major zoning change into the city get hung up by administrative appeals. I went on @citycastseattle.bsky.social to debunk misinformation around this proposal. megaphone.link/CC7532316216

Statement from Mayor Wilson on the passage of the SEPA bill this evening: "Building more housing is essential to a future in Seattle where all of us can afford to live, work, and raise a family in healthy, sustainable neighborhoods.'

SEPA reform will become law in Seattle!

The final vote: YES: Strauss, Foster, Kettle, Lin, Rinck NO: Saka, Juarez, Rivera, Hollingsworth The bill passes 5-4.

CM Rinck says she's reviewed the SEPA process, and is going through all of the consultants who assembled the Comp Plan EIS and all of the public comments received at that time. She's noting that House our Neighors and the Chamber are on the same side where, which doesn't happen much.

Speaking to the underlying bill, CM Rivera says she learned from the hearing examiner that he has no problem hearing land use appeals. "I too support housing," but "taking away something from constituents" weighed more heavily. The issue is malignant delay, not the hearing examiner's CAPACITY.

Juarez says appeals don't hold up housing production. Currently, an appeal that began as a hearing examiner appeal is, quite literally, preventing the approval of a comprehensive plan that would allow modest density increases. But "I just don't believe that that's true." Uh, OK.

Saka says the bill "goes too far and I cannot support it." Noting that some people pointed out it's easy to pay a small fee and delay housing, he says that if the bill was about "fee reform," he'd support it. i don't even know what that would mean—"reform" as in making fees more expensive?

"Democracy doesn't mean that you're always going to win every time," Lin says, noting that he doesn't know how the vote will go—and, tacitly, that the wealthy people who say they'll lose their civil rights if they lose this path to delay housing still have plenty of ways to appeal.

CM Eddie Lin, the bill's sponsor, is talking about democracy—many of the house owners who spoke in favor of keeping hearing examiner appeals, used to delay housing, said their civil rights would be taken away from them if this appeal avenue (not available in the surrounding county) goes away.

The Seattle City Council is finally taking up CM Eddie Lin's bill to eliminate one of three pathways to appeal land-use decisions. An appeal that started as a hearing examiner appeal is currently seeking to overturn the comprehensive plan, which proposed allowing modest increases in housing.

The SEPA reform bill is up now. Sponsor Eddie Lin is making introductory remarks, including the rare admission that he doesn't know how the vote today will go.

Please join tomorrow as City Council considers CB 121215 - legislation related to SEPA appeals. Public comment starts at 2 PM. There have been lots of questions, misunderstandings, and misinformation about this legislation. See FAQs here: council.seattle.gov/2026/07/24/f...