Small Efficiency Dwelling Units are small dwelling units that do not meet minimum floor area requirements per the Seattle Building Code. Director’s Rule 9-2017 allows for efficiency units smaller than required by SBC 1208.4 when other amenities are provided.
Increased Oversight of Vacant Buildings
New processes for inspection of vacant buildings took effect on June 1, 2019. The changes add a wider range of properties to the City’s Vacant Building Monitoring program, including all properties with active development proposals containing a vacant building. The frequency of inspections increased from once a quarter to once a month. We estimate that this will add approximately 1,200 new properties to the program this year and can reduce the risk of vacant buildings becoming a blight on the community. In the past, SDCI monitored around 100 properties each year with consistent vacant building violations.
New Vacant Building Monitoring Rules
New rules for vacant building monitoring take effect on June 1, 2019. The goal of the revised monitoring program is to help prevent the neighborhood blight commonly associated with vacant buildings.
Council Approves New Electric Vehicle Readiness Rules for Parking
On April 29, the City Council voted to adopt legislation to add new requirements for electric vehicle charging infrastructure in new off-street parking spaces. The legislation will now be sent to the Mayor for a signature.
New Tree Rules for Single-Family Zones
On April 19, new rules went into effect for tree planting and protection requirements in single-family zones. The recently passed Mandatory Housing Affordability Ordinance 125791 made several important changes to tree protection requirements in the Seattle Municipal Code (SMC) 25.11, Tree Protection, and SMC 23.44, Single Family Zone.
Changes to Requirements for Green Building
On April 19, citywide Mandatory Housing Affordability (MHA) legislation became effective, implementing affordable housing requirements throughout the City of Seattle. The legislation amends the Land Use Code in many ways, but specific to the green building standards, it changes the triggers for when the green building requirements apply. The Land Use Code does not make green building mandatory. The code does make green building a requirement when a project exceeds floor area ratio (FAR) thresholds, and when gaining extra floor area and height in specific zones.
Citywide Rezones and Mandatory Housing Affordability Adopted
On March 18, City Council voted unanimously to adopt zoning changes and Mandatory Housing Affordability (MHA) in urban villages and commercial and multifamily zones around the city. The legislation expanded ten urban villages within a 10-minute walking distance from transit stops such as light rail stations. The Council also passed a companion resolution requesting several work items including design guidelines, updates to historic inventories, and historic review protections. The Mayor signed the legislation on March 20. It becomes effective on April 19.
Proposed Electric Vehicle Readiness Rules at Council
On April 16, the City Council’s Sustainability & Transportation Committee will hold a public hearing to take comments on proposed legislation to add new requirements for electric vehicle charging infrastructure in new off-street parking spaces. The hearing will be held at 2:00 p.m. in the Seattle City Council Chambers at City Hall, on the 2nd floor at 600 4th Avenue. In addition, we will be providing a briefing on the legislation at the April 2 committee meeting. See the Sustainability & Transportation Committee’s webpage for all upcoming meetings related to this proposal
Shoreline Code – Vessel Definition Ordinance
SDCI is proposing to amend the Shoreline Master Program (SMP) to increase the consistency of the use of terms in the code. The amendments would add additional language to the definition of vessel to clarify that the intent of the term “designed for navigation” is to transport people or goods over water. Additionally, the proposed amendments would add language to clarify what “used for navigation” means by including the term “capable of being used for navigation.” The term “capable of being used for navigation” would clarify that the use of the vessel isn’t dependent on the current owner of the vessel or the current condition of the vessel.
Public Hearing for Proposed Electric Vehicle Readiness Rules
On April 16, the City Council’s Sustainability & Transportation Committee will hold a public hearing to take comments on proposed legislation to add new requirements for electric vehicle charging infrastructure in new off-street parking spaces. The hearing will be held at 2:00 p.m. in the Seattle City Council Chambers at City Hall, on the 2nd floor at 600 4th Avenue.
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- …
- 28
- Next Page »