Building Connections Seattle Department of Construction & Inspections

Building Connections

Seattle Department of Construction & Inspections news and events

Monthly Seattle Services Portal Training 2019

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We are pleased to announce our new Monthly Training Sessions for the Seattle Services Portal. Our goal is to help Portal users understand more about the permits process via our online portal. We will meet the third Tuesday of each month from 9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. Please join us in person or via Skype to have all your questions answered live.

New Appointment Times Report

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We have a new report, SDCI Next Available Appointment Times, to help customers more easily find available application appointments by permit type. The report gets updated every evening with the most recent availability. The report includes the next five available appointment slots for intake, coaching, and pre-submittal appointments.

Multiple Meter Flow Test Improvement

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Beginning Oct. 1, 2019, Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) will be making changes to the multiple meter flow test process to ensure that meters are connected to the correct private water lines in order to improve billing accuracy.

Streamlined Water Service Application

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The Street Use division of the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) has been working with Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) to make the water service application process easier! Beginning December 2, 2019, SDOT is eliminating the requirement to get a street restoration (51M) permit before submitting the water service application to SPU. Instead, SPU will apply for the restoration permit and name the property owners as the Financially Responsible Party as agreed upon in the Water Service Application and Agreement.

Demolition Permit Processing Now Streamlined

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Have you been frustrated because your demolition application was tied to your construction application and you had to wait for the construction permit before the demolition permit?  Maybe you thought you needed to postpone your demolition project because you couldn’t get the permit, possibly incurring additional costs related to Vacant Building Monitoring.

We’ve got good news for you! We now have a standalone demolition permit, a streamlined path to a much simpler start to your demolition project!  Applying for a standalone demolition permit is now required. As of 8/8/2019, SDCI will no longer accept combined construction/demo applications.

New Delegate Feature Now Available in the Seattle Services Portal

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The City of Seattle has launched a new delegate feature in the Seattle Services Portal. SDCI’s customers use the Seattle Services Portal to apply for building and land use permits and trade and equipment licenses, submit complaints about potential code violations, and register their rental housing units.

The new delegate feature lets you give a contractor, coworker, or co-applicant access to your account and/or records. You can add multiple delegates and manage specific permissions. This feature gives you detailed control over who can access your records and how they can conduct business on your behalf.

Street Use Citation Penalty Update

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In August 2019, the Street Use division of the Seattle Department of Transportation is sending the Seattle City Council a legislative proposal to update their citation penalties. Since the citation section was first adopted in 2002, Street Use has made minor updates, but they have not carried out a holistic review of penalties.

Considering a New Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) – Don’t Forget to Plan for Broadband

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Recent legislation (Council Bill 119544) made it easier for property owners to build accessory dwelling units (i.e., backyard cottages) to give more housing options for people living in Seattle. In our digital age, having more people living on one parcel will likely also mean increased internet usage – and an increased need for broadband capacity.  A home may already have an internet service connection, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that connection can easily be extended or shared with a new residence on the parcel.