Washington state law authorizes the Washington State Building Code Council (SBCC) to impose a fee on residential and commercial building permits issued by local government agencies, plus an additional surcharge for each residential unit after the first unit (RCW 19.27.085). Each Washington county and city is required to send the money collected for this purpose to the state treasurer on a quarterly basis. SDCI has always added this fee and any related surcharges to building permits issued by the City of Seattle.
Changes to Design Review Coming Soon
On July 1, many of the changes to the Design Review program that were adopted as part of Ordinance No. 125429 in October 2017 will go into effect. The changes include: new requirements for early community outreach for all projects going through Design Review; updates to the thresholds that determine which projects are required to go through Design Review.
Neighborhood Parking Ordinance Effective May 14
On April 2, the City Council approved legislation with several changes to parking rules in the Land Use Code. The amendments provide more flexible off-street parking options and clarify “frequent transit service” areas where parking is not required. The rules will go into effect Monday, May 14.
Planning for the New Mandatory Housing Affordability Upzones
The Mandatory Housing Affordability (MHA) upzones are coming soon! The City Council is considering changes to the zoning designation and development standards for property throughout Seattle. The proposed MHA upzones will allow you to construct larger buildings than what is currently allowed. After an MHA upzone, your property will also be subject to the MHA requirements and you may need to contribute to an affordable housing fund or provide affordable units as part of your development.
New Rules for Short-Term Rentals
In December 2017, the City Council adopted new rules for the operation of short-term rentals in Seattle. The new rules address regulatory licensing, taxation, and land use requirements for short-term rentals, a type of lodging sometimes called vacation rentals.
Land Use Code Omnibus Amendments
SDCI is responsible for normal maintenance of the Land Use Code and related regulations. The State Department of Commerce recommends such maintenance as good government practice in furthering Growth Management Act implementation. We package a collection of amendments that are relatively small in scale, and have a limited scope of impact, into an “omnibus” bill.
Neighborhood Parking Legislation
For the past couple of years, SDCI has been working on parking legislation. On April 2, the full City Council may vote on the legislation. The legislation will increase opportunities for shared parking and set or reinforce progressive parking policies in places where Seattle invests in frequent transit service. These strategies will help provide access for the greatest number of Seattleites to a range of transportation options that promote social equity, help reduce household transportation costs, and reduce reliance on automobiles.
New Rules for Short-Term Rentals
In December 2017, the City Council adopted new rules for the operation of short-term rentals in Seattle. The new rules address regulatory licensing, taxation, and land use requirements for short-term rentals, a type of lodging sometimes called vacation rentals. Most of the new requirements will go into effect in January 2019.
Clustered Conference Rooms: Live Load and Occupancy
There is a recent design trend of office tenants seeking more collaborative work spaces. Where typical office layouts used to locate conference rooms throughout a tenant space, conference rooms are now being grouped together in a cluster to encourage collaboration, and eliminated in the rest of the office space. Because of the concentration of conference rooms, there is a higher chance that all rooms will be simultaneously loaded. This is even more likely when the tenant occupies most of the floor or multiple floors in an office building.
New Seattle Electrical Code
City Council approved the new Seattle Electrical Code on September 18, 2017. The new code became effective on October 21, 2017. All projects submitted to SDCI on or after October 21, must meet the new Electrical Code standards. If your electrical permit is associated with a building permit, you must follow the electrical code that was effective when you applied for the building permit.
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