Seattle to Limit Mansion Size

Following in the footsteps of LA and Boulder, Seattle is considering zoning reform to limit the size of single family homes, which comprise 65% of the city. The changes in zoning laws are modest, and to some degree driven by the aesthetic taste, but will help to prevent powerhouses from taking over old Seattle neighborhoods.

The rules include reductions in the proportion of square footage of the home relative to lot size, enforcing height limits, and to some degree require a yard (such that lot footprints cannot be devoted entirely to buildings). They aren’t groundbreaking, but they will work to stabilize home size in Seattle. 

I think that these zoning laws all represent a cultural reaction to a lifestyle of out-of-contol excess that has been in promoted in the last few years. Paris Hilton, SUVs, giant mansions, war, hedge funds, corporate scandals, cronies, reality television. It seems like people are striking out, at least via building code, to assert a place for the preexisting, the old fashioned, and the modest, the quiet. People are in planning commissions fighting for the right to live simply and sustainably.