So under your regime, Dom, would Qwest and Safeco field officials be barred from public land use meetings as well? Shouldn't landowners be able to argue for their interests? Clearly the city can hold it's own against these guys if they've turned down all of Qwest and Safeco's appeals thus far. I appreciate your involvement in local property/zoning/land rights issues, but this proposal doesn't make any sense to me...Their voice should at least be considered, even if it's then summarily trashed as overreaching.

erm, WHEN do they think they'll be a need for 600 more housing units in Pioneer square? 2025?

Someone please pressure wash the roof of Qwest field. It's an eye sore.

when it comes to the idea of a "view" it becomes more difficult to argue, if that view makes up the "character of the neighborhood". for once, i almost (almost) agree with the stadiums issue here. like us, they love their neighborhood as is, and want new development to not create a wall around the stadium. they built it the way they did because the law at the time guaranteed views. but views are one of the character traits - like specific shop, i suppose - that can, and often must, change for density.

that said, i must get this off my chest, i do not like that these stadiums exist at all when they are funded so much by taxpayers (the current manifestations).

@2, you're so right -- we MUST preserve that historic surface parking lot for all eternity. That asphalt is the soul of the city! Bzzt.

Seeing as how both the Mariners and the Seahawks were GIVEN those stadiums, at a cost to the taxpayers of something like a BILLION DOLLARS, I think they should have the decency to say "thank you, we will shut up now". Lorriane Hine needs to be dropped from the top of the Hawk's Nest to the pavement below. What they SHOULD do is build on the other half of the lot, too, and make the teams pay for 5,000 or so underground parking spots there.

Auxiliary advantage: these buildings will also block the view of the ugliest public art in the downtown area for a lot of people.

@1 you beat me to it. We're through the looking glass when the Stranger staff are supporting private property rights.

Dang, I hate when Fnarf is right @7.

Look, there's a light rail station just a a few blocks away - and from the games I don't recall that side being particularly viewlike - sure it's nice to see some blue sky, but there's a bunch of tall buildings already there.

Kill the parking lots and build. I recommend 40 stories to start. And add a mini-park - we'll call it Nimby Park.

What a weak argument. As a sports fan, I'm actually a little offended by their implication that the views matter to me in some way when I come out to see a game. They don't. I'm there to watch the teams. And when I walk out to the food booths at Qwest, I could give a good god damn what I stare at when I look out toward the city.

Maximum density near transit hubs is the right idea. I'm glad that the council approved these changes.

The stadiums are probably worried about the views in the other direction. They won't be able to charge people watching the games from their own apartments. There will also be 600 more people to possibly call in noise complaints and clog the streets with traffic preventing the fans easy access to the game.

They're just concerned Seahawks fans won't have anything to look at when their team is getting dragged across the field like losers.

Gee go figure... more pleading for cheap housing in the downtown core, near the transit station, and stadiums, and directly adjacent to newly built retail establishments...

Hmmm... exactly why do you think those should be "cheap"... err I mean "affordable"? Wouldn't that area be considered a prime downtown spot for very expensive units? View? Sports Stadiums? New construction?

Why should we taxpayers subsidize low income wannabe's to have the best most choice locations to live and play in?

The City has failed time and time again to provide aesthetic livable green open space near housing. That area screams for an open style area adjacent to the front of the Stadium. Hopefully the developers would incorporate an open feel to their buildings, and scale back the usual norm of buildings built to the edge of the street/sidewalk, and instead try a different architectural approach, with a green open park with a water fountain and pleasant small bars/shops commiserate with the feel of the surrounding neighborhood. Thankfully they will be mandated to continue providing much needed parking for those of us coming from the Eastside, who will never have a viable public transit option like rail for decades.

Not everyone comes up from the "hoods" of Rainier Valley, Sodo, Tukwilla and SeaTac to go to the Games. I'm pretty sure most of the affluent fanbase of fans come from other areas...

Besides... like was said above... EXACTLY HOW MUCH need is there for ANOTHER 600+ housing units in Pioneer Square?

Aren't we currently experiencing a HUGE GLUT of empty units across Seattle? Aren't there fire sales going on right now? Didn't I hear about a auction recently as desperate developers were freaking out about lack of sales? Isn't there empty lots sitting barren and neglected in Seattle?

Simply put... why can't we have a 5 year moratorium on new building in Seattle until the current glut gets below a certain threshold?

Why the need to start another eyesore project? Are they going to start tearing up the parking lot and then let it sit empty for 5 years, when their financing (financers) back out or the market goes into a further recession?

Then what?

If the view is of the city skyline (buildings ) why does another building hurt the view?

Agreed, provided that there is also an ordinance passed to muzzle the Stranger from lobbying against redevelopment on Pike / Pine.

@16 - yeah, like that's ever going to happen.

#19 is winner today.

This project does not begin the condo-azation of Pioneer Square. Height restrictions will remain in effect for the rest of the square. This development is on a parking lot that is on the outside boundry of the square. It offers the best opportunity to get rent paying residents into the area as its size will allow the cost-per-unit to be much lower than shorter, in-fill projects would allow.
FINALLY, the City Council has done something that most Pioneer Square workers, landowners, businesses, and residences want.

What, Dominic? You couldn't find a way to call the Seahawks a "worthless embarrassment" for something that has nothing to do with the coaches or players, and site as proof their poor performance in a previous year?