The official results for primary elections are still being finalized but most of the decisions are pretty clear.
None more clear that Seattle voter’s sound rejection of Initiative 123, which would have overturned the current Seattle waterfront plan in order to build an elevated park that ran from Downtown to the Stadium District. More than 80 percent of voters said no, which isn’t a surprise given the lack of support the project received, but is still a stern rebuke from the city over a plan few preferred to begin with.
With that, the Alaskan Way Viaduct will disappear entirely once demolition begins on the long-standing roadway. A small portion of the viaduct would have been maintained as part of the elevated park.
What Seattle voters were in favor of was the city’s new seven-year, $290 million property-tax housing levy that will go towards renovating or preserving roughly 2,150 rent- and income-restricted affordable housing units. While it’s a slight increase in property tax for Seattle homeowners, it improves the chances for people earning 60 percent or less of the area’s median income ($54,180 for a family of four) to find housing within the city. Seattle voters seem to have approved the measure at roughly 68 percent to 32 percent.