(The Center Square) – The Seattle Land Use Committee expedited a slew of bills related to zoning and construction codes to Tuesday’s city council meeting amid upcoming budget deliberations.
Council bills 121045 and 121047 would amend the city’s municipal code and existing building code in order to limit hurdles for housing construction, one of the top priorities of Seattle leaders.
Council Bill 121045 aligns Seattle’s permit review process with the default project permit review timelines of Washington’s. More specifically, type one permits, which do not require public notice or hearing, would have a deadline of 65 days. Type two permits, which do require public notice, but not a public hearing would have a deadline of 100 days. Lastly, type three permits, which require both public notice and a hearing, would have 170 days.
Seattle City Council Chair Sara Nelson – the prime sponsor of the bill – said the bill is a response to permitting problems that are slowing housing construction and economic growth.
“These delays can jeopardize the financing of these projects, because the banks want to know when they are going to get their return on their investment,” Nelson said during Monday’s committee meeting.
Council Bill 12047 would amend Seattle’s construction codes to limit the areas for which substantial alterations are required to spaces or buildings greater than 7,000 square feet in gross area.
According to a bill summary, if the permitting volume remains stable, by 2030, this legislation could support the reactivation of more than 50 small commercial tenant spaces by reducing time-consuming regulatory barriers.
Both bills were given unanimous do-pass recommendations by the Seattle Land Use Committee on Monday and were pushed to a final vote by the Seattle City Council on Tuesday, as opposed to the typical week later.
According to Seattle City Councilmember Mark Solomon, the bill was expedited to Tuesday’s meeting primarily because the city council will begin budget deliberations later this month.
The Seattle Land Use Committee also passed Council Bill 121048, which would temporarily suspend required design review for six months, making design review voluntary for proposed development of housing projects that meet Mandatory Housing Affordability requirements.
These regulations would remain in place while the Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections works to update the design review program and guidelines as required by state law. A permanent ordinance is expected to be announced sometime next spring.
This bill will be sent to the Sept. 23 city council meeting.
