As we watch Seattle's growth and its neighborhoods struggle with changes that will affect the way people have lived in a city that once discouraged population increases (remember Lesser Seattle?), we are beginning to be concerned for those who are making less than the current $50,000 individual median income.

For those making a lot more, Seattle is developing into a marvelous metropolitan area. Certainly, there are problems of types of people and types of neighborhoods getting used to different environments. Many will remember when Belltown was little more than an industrialized slum, when taking a walk in the area could lead to dangers from the denizens of the place.

Now Belltown is finding that its success is leading to new problems with different classes meeting on the same sidewalk. Not too long ago, a new high income condo dweller told the downtown news media about a bullet hole in their upper floor condo living room window. It is just about assured that a combination of downtown establishments and the very politically sensitive mayor will get that problem under control.

Our concern is not for these people, but for those we need to keep our economy strong. As blue collar jobs disappear from Seattle and move to suburbs and beyond, more and more restaurants, bars, coffee houses and retail shops are coming to the city - not to mention some of the "big box" stores that are slowly creeping in.

It seems we have asked this question many times in this space, but no one responds. Where will these sub-median income people live? Once it was Seattle that provided such workers to Bellevue and Issaquah. Not any longer - even police officers, fire fighters and teachers cannot afford to live here.

It is getting worse.

Elderly are being pushed out of their homes, a problem for a city in which the population is growing older and where incomes for older people are fixed or shrinking.

One the front page of this week's paper is a story about a revised housing ordinance proposed by Councilmember Tom Rasmussen. Like the mayor's earlier proposal, it gives developers tax breaks for including "affordable" housing.

We are not certain this is the answer to the problem, but Rasmussen deserves praise for making an attempt to provide some housing for the people who will be needed for those service jobs our city is providing.

Still, we do worry that those younger and older workers who do not meet median income levels will be forced to move out of the city to Auburn, Arlington or, even worse, to Zillah.

It is not just an inconvenience for a city, but a real threat to the future of every resident, below, at or above the statistical "median."

- Jack Mayne