Seattle, Bellevue and Kent, for example, have seen a sharp rise in new residential units authorized. Between 1996 and 1999, the three cities doubled the number of authorized new housing units per year. Growth in unincorporated areas, which accounted for 40 percent of new units countywide in 1995, now accounts for 24 percent of new units. Even so, the mood is hardly sanguine in county offices. Earlier this month, the County Council, sitting as the growth management committee, ended a meeting ahead of schedule because members felt their bickering over proposed amendments to the plan was impeding progress on the issue.
Some council members take a dim view of the notion.
School and church officals have thus far stymied Sims' proposal. And the Catholic Archdiocese of Seattle is attempting to go one better, lobbying to get private schools allowed in rural zones where public schools are permitted. Sims also is being criticized for attempting to ease development in urban centers by eliminating a key step in the approval process. Few seem thrilled with the proposed changes. Then again, few loved the old plan.