Earlier this year, I received a solicitation from a developer that laid bare what the Legislature and the Seattle City Council had done to residential neighborhoods.

HB 1110, the so-called Middle Housing measure passed in 2023, allowed lots to be subdivided to create greater density. The goal was to encourage more types of housing, which would bring costs down. Or so it was hoped.

At the time, sponsor Rep. Jessica Bateman, D-Olympia, said: “HB 1110 will legalize more housing, in more neighborhoods, that’s affordable to working people.”

My letter from the developer described the impacts a little differently: “We now have a very generous zoning code, thanks to the state’s desire for density and their landmark legislation — HB 1110. Where once you could only build one, you can build four or more separate homes that can now be sold individually …. As you can imagine, this has changed the math for us dramatically.”

Yes, I can imagine.…