Why read the code?

I think the last thing the world needs right now is another blog, right?

But here I go.

The good news is that this is pretty quirky enterprise, but not an introspective foray into recipes I like, my travels, or my thoughts on local music. All those things are great, but I think they’re covered.

For a long time I’ve believed what my friend and former boss Peter Steinbrueck said about Seattle’s land use code: it’s an accretion of fears, worries, and anxieties about bad things that might happen, not a road map to help us find what we want.

Some of us, including Chuck Wolfe of Myurbanist.com fame, have been urging an audit of the code. The root word of audit, I think, has something to do with listening.

So I’m going to listen to the code. What is it saying about our official attitude about coming growth?

Now I am no expert on land use. Far from it. But it would be nice if people who do know the code would also weigh in on the comments and offer thoughts, ideas, and corrections. If I’m going to advocate for making big changes to the code I figured I’d better listen to it first. So let’s get started.