Find Posts By Topic

Posts categorized under Department Updates Archives - Page 3 of 4 - Building Connections

Seattle Tree Service Providers: New Single Registration for SDCI and SDOT

February 28, 2024

Hiring tree service providers knowledgeable in the City’s regulations ensures that your provider knows and understands the City’s regulations and policies for proper tree care and protection. Tree service providers are required to be registered with the City to do certain tree work on private property (registry administered by the Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections (SDCI)) and in the public rights-of-way (registry administered by the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT)). These two departments previously managed separate application and monitoring processes for their respective tree service provider registries. We are happy to announce that the City of Seattle launched a single registration process for SDCI and SDOT Tree Service Providers on February 22, 2024. The new registration process helps create a more streamlined and efficient experience for tree service providers and a more automated and efficient process for staff.

Filed Under: Department UpdatesTagged With: ,

Coming Soon: Seattle Tree Service Providers May Submit a Single Application to Register with SDCI & SDOT

February 1, 2024

The City of Seattle is committed to protecting our urban canopy. Trees add value to your property and the surrounding community. Canopy cover is one important measure of the health of the urban forest. Urban trees provide numerous ecological, economic, and social benefits, including wildlife habitat, neighborhood livability, and improved public health outcomes. Hiring tree service providers knowledgeable in the City’s regulations ensures that your provider knows and understands the City’s regulations and policies for proper tree care. Tree service providers are required to be registered with the City to do certain tree work on private property (registry administered by SDCI) and in the public rights-of-way (registry administered by the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT)). These two departments currently manage separate application and monitoring processes for their respective tree service provider registries. In late February, the tree service provider registration application processes for SDCI and SDOT are being combined into a single application. This single application will help create a more streamlined and efficient experience for tree service providers and a more automated and efficient process for City staff.

Filed Under: Department UpdatesTagged With: ,

Reminder: SDCI Opens Information Desk

February 1, 2024

SDCI is pleased to announce it has opened an information desk on the 4th floor of the Seattle Municipal Tower at 700 5th Avenue. The fastest way to get help is still through our Virtual Application Services Center (ASC). The information desk serves customers who need technical or language assistance to use the Virtual ASC. The SDCI information desk is staffed by a single person who will provide assistance with customer questions. If needed, they will connect customers with an SDCI expert via our online services. Customers can also visit the information desk for help with making an in-person payment. 

Filed Under: Department UpdatesTagged With:

SDCI Opens Information Desk

January 2, 2024

SDCI is pleased to announce it has opened an information desk on the 4th floor of the Seattle Municipal Tower at 700 5th Avenue. The fastest way to get help is still through our Virtual Application Services Center (ASC). The information desk serves customers who need technical or language assistance to use the Virtual ASC. The SDCI information desk is staffed by a single person who will provide assistance with customer questions. If needed, they will connect customers with an SDCI expert via our online services. Customers can also visit the information desk for help with making an in-person payment. 

Filed Under: Department UpdatesTagged With:

Parcel Data Viewer Retired

January 2, 2024

SDCI has officially retired the Parcel Data Viewer tool. We retired the Parcel Data Viewer tool because it was critically out of date. In attempting to repair the data sources, our IT partners determined that updating the tool was not feasible due to its age and structure.

Filed Under: Department UpdatesTagged With:

2024 Fee Changes

December 27, 2023

On January 1, 2024, SDCI will be implementing an inflationary increase of 2% to most fees. These fee increases will result in an SDCI base hourly rate of $257/hour and a land use hourly rate of $439/hour. While most permitting fees will see these increases, electrical, refrigeration, and furnace fees will not be increasing in 2024 following a series of reductions SDCI has made to these fees over the past three years.

Filed Under: Department UpdatesTagged With:

Comment Opportunity for Updated Tree Requirements Tip

December 27, 2023

The Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections (SDCI) recently updated several of our Tips related to the Tree Protection Code (SMC 25.11) to provide additional clarification on our current tree regulations. In particular, SDCI substantially updated Tip 242A, Tree Requirements Associated with Development, to include information related to the basic tree protection area and the allowance to remove Tier 2 trees in certain instances. Tips are one tool the department uses to explain complex codes to the public and help customers understand the regulations. Tips also give guidance on how applicants should show compliance with codes in a permit application.

Filed Under: Department UpdatesTagged With: ,

Retiring Parcel Data Viewer

December 1, 2023

We are planning to retire the Parcel Data Viewer tool in mid-December, however all of the data displayed on that tool may be found using the King County Parcel Viewer and SDCI’s GIS mapping tool.

Filed Under: Department UpdatesTagged With:

Accela Awards the City of Seattle a 2023 Trendsetter Award

October 31, 2023

Employees from SDCI and Seattle IT attended the Accela annual conference, Accelarate, September 23 – 27 in Washington D.C. The City of Seattle was honored at the recognition luncheon with an Accelarate Trendsetter Award for “Connecting in Purpose – Permitting System Integration” for the Seattle Services Portal (on the Accela platform). The annual conference and Trendsetter Awards are opportunities for agencies in the US to connect and learn from each other to move governments forward to improve services to the public. The award recognizes government agencies as well as individuals who embrace technology and digital modernization to deliver reliable services to their communities.

Filed Under: Department UpdatesTagged With:

Make Sure Your Condominium Address is Valid

October 31, 2023

SDCI is the Addressing Authority for the City of Seattle. It is essential that assigned addresses are accurate so the property can reliably receive the following services: mail delivery, utilities, and emergency services. When King County records condominiums as part of the process to assign assessor parcel numbers, they sometimes assign addresses that do not match the addresses we have on record at SDCI. This is particularly prevalent in neighborhood residential (NR) zones with attached and detached accessory dwelling units.

Filed Under: Department UpdatesTagged With: