On August 21, Mayor Durkan signed Ordinance 126131, which updates the Land Use Code for greater flexibility in locating child care facilities in all zones. The City Council estimates that as many as 33,000 children in Seattle under the age of six are in need of child care. They identified a shortage in child care and sought to remove code barriers to more affordable and conveniently located child care.
The ordinance, which takes effect on September 20, includes code changes that allow child care centers to be located with fewer restrictions:
- Home-based child care can occur in accessory dwellings
- Child care centers are a use permitted outright in single-family zones, which will reduce permitting time
- Removal of a 600-foot dispersion requirement between child care centers and other institutions in single-family and multifamily zones
- Removal of size limits of 10,000 and 25,000 square feet in Neighborhood Commercial 1 and 2 zones, respectively
- Greater flexibility and floor area exemptions for child care centers in Seattle mixed, midrise, highrise, and commercial zones
- A broader definition of child care center that allows a wider variety of types, such as cooperative child care exchanges
If you have comments or questions, please contact:
Gordon Clowers, SDCI
(206) 679-8030
gordon.clowers@seattle.gov
Lish Whitson, City Council Central Staff
lish.whitson@seattle.gov