Every year, between January 1 and March 1, DPD accepts applications from residents to request the relocation of a billboard located within Seattle. If there is a specific billboard that you would like removed from your neighborhood or some other location within the city, now is the time to submit your request.

[More]

Last month’s snow, ice and wind gave us a timely reminder about the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning during winter power outages. Following our 2006 windstorm, 250 people were treated for carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning in the Puget Sound area and eight died, all from either burning charcoal briquettes inside their homes or from improper use of gasoline-powered generators.

[More]

Community Power Works (CPW), the City of Seattle’s home energy upgrade program, launched last April with the goals of simultaneously driving demand to weatherize 2,000 homes, and creating a sustainable industry for home energy upgrades. After a successful start in Seattle’s central area and southend, CPW expanded its services citywide in January. To date, over 900 homes have entered the program, and demand continues to grow as homeowners spread the word about the increased warmth and comfort of their newly upgraded homes.

[More]

DPD is committed to providing good customer service to its applicants. The permit turnaround data is updated monthly online and can be viewed at www.seattle.gov/dpd/resourcecenter (go to "Turnaround/Approval Times 2011").

[More]

DPD is creating a proposal for a mandatory unreinforced masonry (URM) retrofit program that will help reduce the earthquake risk to unreinforced masonry buildings. DPD has, with help from a technical committee, developed a proposed standard for retrofits. Next steps include formation of a policy committee this month to help develop recommendations for a retrofit requirement threshold, incentives and penalties, possible financing options, and a time line for implementation.

[More]

The Seattle Design Commission Chair Julie Bassuk announced the winners of the commission’s 2010-2011 Design Excellence Awards. The five winning projects were selected from the many public buildings, parks, open spaces, and vision plans completed in Seattle in the past two years. They were chosen because they promote the mission and exemplify the values of the Seattle Design Commission: inspired design, contextual integration, innovative sustainability, social inclusion, exemplary partnerships, effective investment, and impeccable execution. For the first time an "In the Works" award was given to a project that hasn’t been constructed, but has had an exemplary design process and holds outstanding potential.

[More]

The December 2011 and January 2012 issues of dpdINFO provided some insight on The International Green Construction Code (IGCC), the IGCC’s relationship to LEED, and how these tools can be used as building blocks from which Seattle may continue to develop higher performance codes.

[More]

DPD updated CAM 123, Seattle's Tenant Relocation Assistance Ordiance, to correct the assistance amount paid by the owner.

[More]