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Seattle City Council approves plan for affordable housing at Fort Lawton

The Seattle City Council voted 9-0 to pass legislation to build affordable housing at Fort Lawton in Magnolia.

The decommissioned Army base was offered to the city by the federal government for free, if it is used for affordable housing or park space.

It's been 15 years since the city first started planning the re-development. The plan is to build  238 units, a combination of apartments and townhomes for low-income residents.

The original plan was halted by lawsuits from Magnolia neighbors. They filed a lawsuit claiming the city didn't do a complete environmental impact study. They won the lawsuit and their appeal in 2010.

After working with stake holders the city is moving forward and took a vote today.  The plan would leave about 60 percent of the property as greenspace. 
 
People spoke on both sides of the project before the council voted Monday afternoon.

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