Building Connections Seattle Department of Construction & Inspections

Building Connections

Seattle Department of Construction & Inspections news and events

SDCI Announces New Principal Engineer and New Building Official

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The Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections (SDCI) is pleased to announce that we have hired Kai Ki Mow to take on the Principal Engineer role for the department. SDCI is also pleased to announce that we have promoted Ardel Jala to take on the Building Official role for the department. Both Ms. Jala and Mr. Mow are well-regarded in the industry, having demonstrated their technical skills, collaboration skills, and leadership qualities in their service on local and statewide professional association committees.

SDCI’s New Boiler & Conveyance Bulletin

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The SDCI Boiler and Conveyance periodic inspection programs invite you to sign up for our Boiler & Conveyance Bulletin, our quarterly newsletter. You can sign up on our Boiler & Pressure Vessel Inspections or our Elevator & Escalator Inspections websites.

Seattle Floodplain Development Regulations

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New interim Floodplain Development Regulations and floodplain maps will take effect on August 23, 2020.  The City of Seattle is required by FEMA to update our floodplain maps based on their new maps dated August 19, 2020. As part of this update, Seattle is also required to update SMC 25.06, which is Seattle’s Floodplain Development Regulations. These interim regulations will be effective for approximately six months while SDCI works on permanent regulations.

New Floating On-Water Residences Director’s Rule

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SDCI published a new Director’s Rule (DR 9-2020) entitled Verification of floating on-water residences on July 30, 2020. The purpose of the Director’s Rule is to clarify the application material required for verification of floating on-water residences and to establish an end date of September 30, 2020 for verifying any new floating on-water residences.

New Shaping Seattle Map for Finding Land Use and Construction Permits

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SDCI is pleased to announce the release of its new Shaping Seattle: Property & Building Activity map. This new map allows users to find active construction and land use permits and proposals subject to Design Review in their neighborhood. The map will make it easier for the public to research active permits, find related documents and permit records, view upcoming Design Review meeting dates, and comment on land use permits under review. SDCI optimized the map to work best on mobile devices so you can quickly find permit information about projects you see when walking in your community.

Rolling Out Virtual Design Review Board Meetings

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Under the Washington State Governor’s Proclamation No. 20-28.5, Design Review Board in-person meetings are currently prohibited while physical distancing measures remain in place. Therefore, SDCI will continue to restrict in-person meetings for the Design Review program until King County is approved to move to Phase 4 of the “Safe Start” reopening plan. Until then, we are pleased to announce that we will begin the gradual rollout of virtual Design Review Board meetings beginning in August. We are launching this effort for Early Design Guidance meetings only. After one month we will assess our ability to expand virtual meetings to accommodate projects in the Recommendation phase as well (ie. all projects).

2018 Seattle Construction Code Adoption Delayed Until 2021

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SDCI is in the process of updating Seattle’s construction codes to the 2018 versions of the building, residential, existing buildings, fire, electrical, mechanical, energy, fuel gas, elevator, boiler, and plumbing codes. Due to many factors, including the impacts of the COVID-19, the 2018 Washington State Construction Codes effective date has been delayed. SDCI will be aligning the effective date of our 2018 code versions with the State’s current effective date of February 1, 2021. 

Seattle Floodplain Development Regulations

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In February 2020, FEMA published a Flood Hazard Determination adopting a new Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) and Flood Insurance Study (FIS) for all jurisdictions in King County, including Seattle. FEMA’s adoption of the new FIRM and FIS requires that each jurisdiction update their regulations with this new information in order to comply with the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).