Building Connections Seattle Department of Construction & Inspections

Building Connections

Seattle Department of Construction & Inspections news and events

Our Seattle Home Fair is Back in-person in February 2023

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Once again, SDCI will be hosting a hybrid version of our popular Seattle Home Fair 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 be back in-person at the Filipino Community Center on February 25, 2023 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Additionally, there will be 5 virtual lectures on 3 Saturdays leading up to the event at the Filipino Community Center.

2023 Fee Changes

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On January 1, 2023, SDCI will be implementing a compounded inflationary increase of 9.16% to most fees. This increase follows two consecutive years in which SDCI did not implement fee increases, and is designed to re-align SDCI fee levels with the current cost of business. These fee increases will result in an SDCI base hourly rate of $252/hr, and Land Use hourly rate of $430/hr.

2021 Seattle Construction Codes Adoption Process

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We are now accepting code change proposals as part of the update of the Seattle Construction Codes from the 2018 to the 2021 code editions. Anyone proposing a code change for the building, residential, mechanical, fuel gas, existing building, and plumbing codes is encouraged to do so by January 1, 2023. SDCI and the Construction Codes Advisory Board will review these proposals and any staff-proposed code changes for potential inclusion in the new codes beginning in January 2023. 

Members Sought for Seattle’s Design Review Boards

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Passionate about design or architecture? Mayor Bruce Harrell is looking for qualified candidates to fill 22 upcoming openings on the City of Seattle’s Design Review Boards. Board members evaluate the design of new buildings based on citywide and neighborhood-specific design guidelines. The boards review large mixed-use developments, multifamily housing, and commercial projects. The volunteer positions will start on April 4, 2023, when retiring board members’ terms expire.

Reminder: Plan Review Response/Reply Process Refresher

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In January 2022, SDCI transitioned to providing plan reviews via plan mark-up instead of traditional letters. This Building Connections article serves as a resources refresher for applicants responding to review comments. The primary change that we are asking of applicants is that they document responses to comments directly in the plan set provided to them by SDCI at the end of each review cycle instead of sending response letters corresponding to each correction letter. (Note: You will still receive correction summaries from individual reviews as they are completed.)

Virtual Applicant Services Center Available in Spanish and Chinese Languages

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SDCI has added in-language assistance to our Virtual Applicant Services Center for customers who prefer to conduct business in Spanish, Traditional Chinese, and Simplified Chinese. Our live chat, support ticketing system, and coaching sessions are now available in these three languages. You can access these services by clicking the green chat icon on the bottom of our contact webpage and selecting your preferred language. If you know somebody who might be interested in using our in-language Virtual Applicant Services Center, please forward this information.

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.

November Publication Updates

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In November we published 2 new Tips about the new Tree Regulations, updated a Tip on how to legalize a non-permitted use, and published a Director’s Rule that sets the standards for reviewing applications to establish uses for the record.