Downtown rezoning passes, opening 12 blocks to mixed-use towers

The chamber erupted when the count hit nine. Two years of hearings, three drafts, a recall threat, and one resignation later, the rezoning was law.

The council approved the package 9–4 after a final round of amendments that softened the height limits on two blocks closest to the river and tightened the affordable-housing requirement across the rest.

Developers were already on the phone before the gavel came down. Sites that had sat empty since the last cycle suddenly had buyers, and lease holders on neighboring lots began comparing notes.

The affordable-housing requirement is set at 18% of new units, with options to pay into a city fund instead — a compromise that opponents called a loophole and supporters called pragmatism.

First permits are expected to file within 90 days. City staff have warned the planning department to expect a wave large enough to require temporary hires to keep review times under the legal cap.

Critics warn the skyline will change faster than transit can absorb. The light-rail extension that the rezoning quietly assumes is still six years from a ribbon cutting, and the bus network is already over capacity at peak.

Supporters point to the housing math. The city is short tens of thousands of units, rents have outpaced wages for a decade, and incremental rezonings have produced incremental results.

The skyline of a city is a slow-motion vote on its future. Last night, downtown cast one.