One Seattle Comprehensive Plan - Where Are the Animals?
- seattleanimalwatch
- Mar 17, 2023
- 1 min read
The One Seattle Comprehensive Plan is undergoing an update and Seattle’s animals need our help. They are, once again, invisible in the City’s eyes. According to the current Environmental Scoping Report, there is no plan for how to accommodate the increased population of animals that will surely accompany the projected increase in Seattle’s population.
Here is a link to our action alert so you can make your voice heard.
Let’s start with a few questions and answers.
Q. What is the One Seattle Comprehensive Plan?
It is a plan for the future growth of Seattle over the next 20 years. It is a requirement of the Washington State Growth Management Act and the last update occurred in 2016. The plan is designed to address expected population and job growth and meet City goals. Projections are that our 730,000 plus population (2020) could grow to one million. The plan describes the desired location of new development and how city regulations and investments can support and align with it. Planning began in Q1 2022 and the first round of community engagement meetings ended on January 30th. General comments are still being accepted through May 31, 2023.
Q .What do we want?
We want animal services to be included in the One Seattle Comprehensive Plan’s Environmental Impact Statement. We want animal services planning and staffing standards to be developed to support the upcoming population growth for both the public and animals. The current Environmental Scoping Report does not address animal services at all, which is a problem because the subjects that the EIS will address are defined by this scoping report.
Q. Why does this matter to animals?
Population growth is not just limited to humans. Humans bring their animals with them.
Based on US Census data, the City of Seattle has added an additional 112,022 persons to our population from 2011 to 2021. This translates into 51,322 additional households. If we apply the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) estimate that there are 0.58 companion animals in each household, we see that there have been an additional 29,168 animals that entered Seattle during this time period. An additional 270,000 persons or an estimated 107,000 households could result in an additional 61,099 animals reaching a total of 226,000 animals in the City of Seattle. That’s a lot of animals!!
Q. Is Seattle prepared for this increase in the animal population?
We don’t know. We don’t see any planning for it in the Environmental Scoping Report. The topic did not make it into the top issues raised by the public in the initial comment period from June 23rd to August 22nd. According to the Environmental Scoping Report, “comments suggested a wide range of topics that should be covered in the environmental analysis. The most common comments on this subject were to consider the impact of potential changes on housing cost, residential and commercial displacement, tree canopy, and greenhouse gas emissions.” In fact, the only animal issues identified were the following:
Q. Have animal groups been participating in this process?
No. That is why Seattle Animal Watch is engaging.
Below are the groups that submitted comments during the initial comment period over the summer. Note there are NO ANIMAL GROUPS listed.
Q. How many animal services staff does Seattle need?
We don’t know. There are no national or international standards that we are aware of for how many animal services officers should be employed per capita. That is even more reason for the City of Seattle to delve into this issue and discuss it.
Q. What do animal services staff do?
A lot more than you may think! There are two broad groups: field officers and care officers.
Field officers patrol the streets for loose animals, respond to complaints, and investigate cruelty cases. In 2019, there were 890 cruelty complaints alone and only 13 field officers. This averaged out to 68 cruelty calls per year per officer. This is not even mentioning the other calls involving loose, dangerous, or dead animals. Field officers also patrol Seattle’s almost five hundred public parks. This work resulted in an additional 2 officers in the 2023-2024 budget, bringing the total up to fifteen, but they will have a safety focus to meet increasing community demand for security services and Park Code compliance support. Care or shelter officers complement the field officers. With more animals in the city, there will be more surrenders and possibly more cruelty case victims. Care officers provide veterinary care, food and water, and enrichment. They interact with volunteers and the public. The officers oversee surrenders and adoptions for a wide variety of dog breeds, cats, small animals, birds and reptiles. They often work directly with customers in need or crisis. To the best of our knowledge, there are only eleven of these care officers.
Q. Including animal services sounds important. How can I help?
Check out our Action Alert and submit a comment to the city to let them know you care about animal services.
Q. What is the timeline for the One Seattle Plan?
Comments are due by May 31, 2023. For the remainder of 2023, the city will review and refine based on public comments. In Q1 2024, Mayor Harrell will finalize his plan by selecting one of the six growth alternatives and related zoning changes. While these alternatives are heavily focused on housing strategies, each needs to consider that animals will be accompanying the increase in both housing and humans. From Q2-Q4 2024, the plan will be adopted, the city council will review and approve, and implementation will begin.
Sources:
https://www.biggestuscities.com/city/seattle-washington
U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, March and Annual Social and Economic Supplements, 1960 to 2021
https://www.seattle.gov/documents/Departments/OPCD/SeattlePlan/OneSeattlePlanEISScopingReport.pdf