Leading the Fight to Protect Seattle's Industrial Lands
Seattle's Manufacturing Industrial Center (MIC) Subarea Plans will shape the future of the city's industrial economy for decades.
Recognizing the significance of these plans, SIA organized and led a coalition of maritime, manufacturing, freight, labor, business, and industrial organizations to advocate for policies that preserve Seattle's industrial employment lands and protect the industries that depend on them.
SIA's advocacy reinforced that Seattle's industrial lands comprise just 12% of the city's land base, yet support more than 70,000 family-wage jobs and generate nearly 30% of the city's tax base.
The coalition urged City leaders to maintain the clear prohibition on residential uses within industrial employment zones, emphasizing that introducing incompatible land uses would erode industrial capacity, create long-term land use conflicts, and undermine both Washington's Growth Management Act and decades of investment in the region's maritime and freight infrastructure.
Beyond advocating for a single policy outcome, SIA positioned itself as the convener of Seattle's industrial community—aligning diverse organizations around a unified vision for protecting employment lands, strengthening economic competitiveness, and ensuring industrial businesses continue to provide accessible career pathways for future generations.
