Seattle Industrial Lands Victory

In December, the Seattle City Council approved major changes in the Seattle zoning map, preserving large areas near the Port of Seattle for industrial uses.  This will help save family-wage jobs at industrial employers who are facing higher rents from real estate speculators trying to sell off industrial properties for office and retail uses.  

Sage is part of a coalition led by the M.L. King County Labor Council and the Manufacturing Industrial Council, which successfully persuaded the City Council to support a plan to protect industrial lands proposed by Mayor Greg Nickels.

The plan was bitterly opposed by a group of real estate developers and professionals.  Prominent among them was Henry Liebman, an attorney who has amassed 40 acres in the Sodo area, next to the Port, on speculation that the land will increase in value with retail and commercial encroachment.  While the final plan approved by the Council allowed continued development of some fringe areas, it significantly down-zoned over 5,000 acres of industrial land closest to the Port to prevent further spread of big box retail stores and office buildings.  The ordinance represents one of the most significant industrial land preservation policies in the U.S.

Reports documenting the importance and viability of Seattle’s industrial sectors include the Planning Commission’s The Future of Seattle’s Industrial Lands and an industrial land survey by the Department of Planning and Development.