The City recently passed a major design review reform for Downtown Seattle as part of the Mayor’s Downtown Activation Plan. McCullough Hill was proud to assist clients in working to secure this exemption, which will exempt certain projects from design review for three years. Key features of the law are:
- Excludes projects in Downtown from design review (including Uptown, SLU and First Hill Urban Centers).
- Eligible projects include those with residential, lodging or R&D/lab uses even if those projects pay MHA fees rather than perform MHA onsite.
- Eligible projects can still obtain Downtown departures through a Type I process with your planner.
- The new standard for Downtown departures will be whether the departure “would result in an increase number of dwelling units, lodging rooms, or increased floor area in R&D use” rather than the subjective standard on “better meets the intent” of the design guidelines from design review.
- If projects want to use the Living Building Pilot Program, full design review is still required.
- Still allows for vesting mechanism and a “MUP” type process to get entitled prior to building permits.
- Does not apply in the Pioneer Square Preservation District or International Special Review District. Individual landmarks will still require landmark review.
For more information about how this may apply to existing or proposed projects, please contact Ian Morrison or Jessica Clawson.