Earlier this month, Sightline Senior Researcher Dan Bertolet weighed in on Seattle’s release of its Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) on loosening regulations on mother-in-law apartments and backyard cottages—accessory dwelling units (ADUs) in wonkspeak. In the piece, Dan unpacked what the set of recommended rule changes got right, and where they came up short.

Dan was a guest on “Seattle’s Morning News With Dave Ross” last week to further discuss this issue and what it means for housing in Seattle, as well as why it’s taken so long to move forward (the changes had been stalled for over two years). Among Dan’s comments:

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  • “The culprit in delaying these rules changes is the state’s environmental policy act. People who want to oppose new housing projects or rules changes like these can sort of hijack the state environmental rules to create all kinds of delays. The city council has no control over these state laws.”

    You can listen to the entire segment in the embedded audio below: