DPD is proposing amendments to the Housing and Building Maintenance Code (Seattle Municipal Code Section 22.206) and the Land Use Code (Seattle Municipal Code Section 23.91), concerning standards for habitable and vacant buildings.
The proposed regulations would consolidate code provisions concerning all aspects of maintenance of vacant building sites into the Housing and Building Maintenance Code, so that enforcement of maintenance requirements would be addressed by a single enforcement document. Sites with poorly maintained vacant buildings tend to have issues with junk and vehicle storage and vegetation overgrowth as well. Under the current code scheme these other violations are addressed in separate enforcement processes, so that a vacant building site may generate several different enforcement documents, each with different deadlines, penalties, and appeal mechanisms. The code changes will streamline and simplify the process, aiding both enforcement staff and property owners responsible for vacant buildings.
In addition, the proposed code changes would change certain Housing and Building Maintenance Code minimum standards for light and ventilation, heating, minimum fire and safety standards, duties for owners, and standards for vacant buildings, so that these standards match minimum requirements in the Seattle Residential Code.
The City Council’s Committee on the Built Environment will hold a public hearing to take comments on the proposal on February 23, 2011 at 9:30 a.m. The hearing will be held in Council Chambers, 2nd floor, Seattle City Hall, 600 Fourth Avenue. Questions concerning the public hearing may be directed to Michael Jenkins, Council Central Staff, (206) 615-1674 or michael.jenkins@seattle.gov or to David Yeaworth, (206) 684-8802 or david.yeaworth@seattle.gov. Questions regarding the proposal or requests for electronic copies may be directed to Diane Davis at (206) 233-7873, dianec.davis@seattle.gov. Additional information, including the Director’s Report and the Ordinance, is available on DPD’s website at http://buildingconnections.seattle.gov/2011/01/19/dpd-proposes-amendments-to-vacant-building-enforcement/.