Considering the Washington State Constitution seemingly provides even greater property rights protection ("No private property shall be taken or damaged for public or private use without just compensation have been first made") than the federal Constitution ("nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation"), it is difficult to fathom how Washingtonians arrived here:

The Growth Management Act strongly encourages infilling in urban areas, rather than "urban sprawl" into traditionally rural areas, by creating an onerous approval process.

The recently-passed Evergreen Cities Act will inhibit that infilling with stringent controls on builders and developers within urban boundaries (oh, and don't be fooled by the "voluntary" pilot program language - it's only voluntary for participating cities/counties, not for their citizens).

If, by some regulatory miracle a Seattle property owner clears the first two hurdles, now the Seattle City Council is considering ordinances to restrict the size of homes built:

"After years of complaints about suburban-sized homes that devour lawns and encroach on neighbors, the Seattle City Council plans next month to consider limiting the size of some larger homes in single-family neighborhoods."

So, why doesn't everyone just live in tree houses?

Oh, wait, that won't work either.