Mayor Nickels Vetoes Hedreen Legislation

Mayor says special treatment for developer is "bad public policy"

June 27, 2002 - In the first veto of his administration, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels today struck down two bills passed earlier this week by the Seattle City Council that would have provided a windfall to one downtown developer for years to come.

On Monday the council voted 5-3 to alter the housing bonus program in order to benefit a single developer, Richard Hedreen. The legislation would have given Hedreen 20 years to use housing credits that he received in 1995 when building the Elliott Grand Hyatt and also allowed him to use them at additional locations where he is considering other developments. The law that has been on the Seattle books for years, however, states that credits must be used within three years, within close proximity to the original project and are not transferable to other developments.

"The underlying facts may be complex, but the issue is clear," said Nickels. "We should not weaken tools to promote affordable housing for the benefit of a single developer."

The City's long-standing policy has been to promote affordable housing by giving developers bonus credits (credits that allow developers to exceed height and density restrictions in exchange for contributing to affordable housing near the development).

The bonus credits that Hedreen acquired in connection with developing the Elliot Grand Hyatt Hotel at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center expired in 1998.

The Council's legislation would have set a precedent by allowing Hedreen 20 years, instead of the required three years, to use his bonus credits. The legislation would also make these credits transferable, for the first time, to other sites Hedreen wants to develop, creating a financial windfall for his sole benefit.

"Our land use rules should be clear, predictable and credible," Nickels said in his veto message to the council. "Those rules and their underlying values should not be cast aside when a single party disagrees with the result."