Effective April 18, 2011, applicants for building permits that trigger a review by the Public Health – Seattle and King County will have the option of applying directly to the Health Department prior to or concurrent with review by DPD. For those applicants who have not applied directly to Public Health for approval, DPD will continue to route projects for Public Health review until May 16, 2011.  As of that date, all applications for Food Service Plan Review must be submitted separately and directly to Public Health Seattle & King County at 401 5th Avenue, 11th Floor, Seattle, WA 98104. Approval of the Food Service Plan Review will still be required prior to the issuance of the building permit from DPD. Applicants must provide a copy of the Public Health approved plan set and their plan approval letter, issued by Public Health, to DPD for inclusion in the record before the building permit will be issued.

This change is intended by Public Health – Seattle & King County to align processes and resources across the many jurisdictions they serve. Seattle is currently the only municipality in the County that accepts and routes plans for Food Service Plan Review. This has created inefficiencies in review and confusion among applicants, which we hope this change will eliminate or minimize.

For more information regarding this change, please contact Carlee Casey, DPD, at (206) 386-9732. You may also contact Public Health – Seattle & King County for more information on the plan submittal process at (206) 296-4632.