Upzoning benefits you
If you live or work here, upzoning benefits you: Two parts to upzoning: increased residential density and mixed-use. There are many reasons why you should support upzoning regardless of whether you’re a property owner in Frelard, a renter, or a prospective resident. Greater density means more affordable housing and greater economic viability for new small businesses. Mixed-use zoning means flexibly for mixing residential, commercial, or industrial uses. As of January 2026, Seattle allows mixed-use in residential neighborhoods (Your Seattle neighborhood might be getting a corner store or cafe, Secret Seattle). Zoning laws restricts what you can and can’t do, but it wasn’t always this way, nor is it the norm around the world (Mixed use by default: How the Europeans (don’t) zone, Journal of Planning Literature).
For property owners: Your property value will increase. Research suggest that single-family home values increase 3-5% more if they’re upzoned (Upzoning and single-family housing prices, Journal of the American Planning Association). The boost comes from the increased development potential and flexibility that upzoning provides for your property. Upzoning gives you the right to:
- Develop apartments for sale
- Build rental units for passive rental income
- Lease space for commercial-use (a mixed-use property)
Side-hustlers: Mixed-use lowers the cost of starting a small business (Loosen Up: How mixed-Use zoning laws make communities strong, Strong Towns). Mixed-use zoning means freedom to legally operate on the same land as your residence a…
- Café
- Artisan shop
- Maker space
- Live/work startup space
NW 41st St & Leary Way NW. This development fits two more families instead of just one because of its zoning. The lot behind, however, couldn’t build like this. And yet one step away it’s possible again—plus a cafe or shop since it’s zoned for mixed-use. Zoning in Frelard is currently haphazard.
Renters and everyone!
- Upzoning slows rent inflation (Supply skepticism revisited, Housing Policy Debate).
- Zoning is the most powerful tool we have for generating affordable housing (The impact of zoning on housing affordability, NBER).
- It creates a more stable tax base by dividing the cost of maintaining infrastructure across more people (How cities taxed their way into the housing crisis, About Here). Maintaining roads and public services (e.g., libraries, schools, parks) are cheaper for each household when more people live closer together.
- Densification is better for the environment (The carbon footprint of household energy use in the United States, PNAS). Sharing walls (i.e., apartments, townhomes) means its cheaper to heat and cool due to their higher energy efficiency.
- Living in a mixed-use and walkable neighborhood decreases your likelihood for developing dementia (Effects of neighborhood built environment on cognitive function in older adults: A systematic review, BMC Geriatrics).
Upzone Frelard 