Sept. 20, 2007
Room to grow in King County's urban areas according to new report
An ample supply of buildable land will support commercial and residential development for King County's growing population over the next 15 years according to the 2007 Buildable Lands Report released today.
The report was prepared by King County's Office of Management and Budget in collaboration with the cities of Seattle and Bellevue and the Suburban Cities Association of King County. It specifically focused on planning, development and urban density outcomes from 2001 to 2005.
The state Growth Management Act requires the report every five years to ensure that the cities and towns in western Washington's most populous counties have enough buildable land to support their adopted comprehensive growth plans.
"The greater density we've seen in recent years and the strong growth in urban areas shows that as we face the challenges of climate change, we can meet the needs of growth through building communities that are healthier for people and the environment," said King County Executive Ron Sims. "We want to continue to grow where we have services and facilities available. And we will continue to focus on making communities walkable and transit oriented."
Major findings in the 2007 King County Buildable Lands Report indicate:
- King County's Urban Growth Area (UGA) can accommodate residential development forecasted by 2022. Cities and towns in King County have enough capacity for an additional 277,000 households through 2022, more than twice the remaining residential target of 106,000 households.
- Population and housing growth are now ahead of projected targets. Since 2000, King County's population grew slightly faster than the 2002 projections by the state Office of Financial Management. Residential construction is on pace to reach adopted growth targets within the planning period. During the 2001-2005 review period, King County cities and towns added more than 49,000 housing units, comprised equally of single family and multi-family dwellings.
- Residential densities have increased since 2002. There is an average of 6.2 single family homes per acre of land in recent plats, an increase of 34 percent from the data reported in the 2002 Buildable Lands Report. Multi-family homes now average 38 units per acre, an increase of 72 percent.
- Commercial-Industrial construction remains robust. Despite the recession between 2001-2004 in which King County lost 70,000 jobs, construction of new commercial-industrial facilities continued at a healthy pace, with 28 million square feet of new buildings across the UGA. The report also projects that commercial-industrial growth prospects remain strong, with capacity for another 527,000 jobs.
The 2007 Buildable Lands Report also contains information about rural areas and resource lands in the county's UGA, and includes detailed descriptions of the methodology to show the data supports King County's growth management policies.
Copies of the report are available at www.metrokc.gov/budget/buildland/bldlnd07.htm, or by calling Chandler Felt, Demographer, at 206-205-0712.