Building Connections Seattle Department of Construction & Inspections

Building Connections

Seattle Department of Construction & Inspections news and events

Join Us at the Seattle Home Fairs

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Once again, the Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections (SDCI) will be hosting our popular Seattle Home Fairs in January and February. These free events will be jam-packed with useful information about rental housing rules, our permitting and inspection process, emergency preparedness, and much more. We’ll have breakout sessions on landslide prevention, accessory dwelling units (ADU), and earthquake retrofits. With something for everyone, you won’t want to miss these events!

2020 Fee Changes

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The Seattle City Council recently adopted the 2020 budget, including legislation that implements SDCI fee changes in 2020 to cover wage increases that reflect our current cost of doing business.

On January 1, 2020, these service fees went into effect. As in past years, we are making inflationary adjustments to most fees. This year’s inflationary adjustment is 4.0 percent.

Upcoming Seattle Services Portal Trainings

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We are pleased to continue our monthly training sessions for the Seattle Services Portal. Our goal is to help Portal users understand more about the permits and licensing process via our online portal. We meet the third Tuesday of each month from 9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. at 700 5th Avenue, Room 1928. Please join us in person or via Skype to have all your questions answered live.

City Seeks Designs for Backyard Cottages to be Pre-Approved for Permits

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To help more residents own and rent detached accessory dwelling units (DADUs), the City is seeking submissions from architects, designers, and builders for plans that will be pre-approved for construction permits.

Mayor Jenny A. Durkan directed City staff to select plans for pre-approval to make the process to design and permit DADUs — often called backyard cottages — faster, easier, cheaper, and more predictable. Homeowners choosing a pre-approved plan will pay reduced permit fees and get their permit faster — in 2-6 weeks rather than several months for sites that do not involve protected trees or environmentally critical areas.

Join Us at the Seattle Home Fairs

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Once again, SDCI will be hosting our popular Seattle Home Fairs in January and February. These free events will be jam-packed with useful information about rental housing rules, our permitting and inspection process, emergency preparedness, and much more. We’ll have breakout sessions on landslide prevention, backyard cottages, and earthquake retrofits. With something for everyone, you won’t want to miss these events!

Don’t Miss the Seattle Home Fairs

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The Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections will be hosting our popular Seattle Home Fairs in early 2020. Jam-packed with useful information about your planned remodel, our permitting process, renting in Seattle, and so much more, this is an event not to be missed! Our North Seattle Home Fair will take place at the Meadowbrook […]

Tenant Services Grants Request for Proposals

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The Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections is seeking proposals for Tenant Services Grants for the City of Seattle. These grants are meant to fund organizations to help tenants learn and enforce their rights and learn about the resources available to them. With all the tenant legislation this year at both the state and City levels, it is more important than ever that tenants understand what these new laws mean for them.

Storm Drain Insert Reminder

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With the onset of the rainy season, SDCI is reminding builders working in Seattle to inspect and maintain any temporary storm drain inserts they have installed as part of construction projects. The inserts, also known as storm drain socks, are used on many construction projects to catch sediment not captured by other required construction-related erosion control measures.