(The Center Square) — Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell and City Council President Sara Nelson have introduced two proposals to amend the city’s building codes and help reactivate vacant storefronts in the city.
The proposed bills would exempt buildings with 7,000 square feet of less from substantial alteration standards under the 2021 Seattle Existing Building Code. If approved by the city council, the building code changes allow small businesses to make tenant improvements or reopen a vacant commercial space without having to update the building to current fire or life safety standards.
According to a press release, the change to the city’s building code could lead to the reactivation of more than 50 small commercial storefronts by 2030.
Under the city’s current code, projects deemed substantial alterations must upgrade fire and life safety systems to meet modern standards. They may also be required to make costly improvements to the building’s structure, ventilation systems and exterior.
“Our two bills will exempt most projects undertaken by small businesses from many permitting requirements, which just get in the way,” Nelson said in a statement.
According to the city, over the past eight years, Seattle issued approximately 180 substantial alteration permits for projects over the last eight years. Under the proposed 7,000-square-foot exemption, nearly half of those would no longer need a substantial alteration permit.
The proposed bills are the latest in a string of city actions to adjust its permitting process to help fill vacant storefronts — a flagged issue for the city.
According to a 2024 report from the Downtown Seattle Association, total office vacancy rate for the downtown area was 21.5% at the end of the year.
A director’s report from the Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections states that vacancies along Seattle streets create gaps in the continuity of neighborhoods and deter the presence of shoppers and pedestrians.
Last June, Harrell signed an executive order to launch the Permitting and Customer Trust (PACT) Team, which is tasked to streamline the city’s permitting process.
Last May, Harrell signed two bills into law that adjust Seattle’s land-use code to allow more variety of street-level uses than retail, bars and restaurants, and amend the 2021 Seattle Building Code to let stalled housing projects move forward for two more years without having to apply for a new permit.
