Lowrise and design review hearing set
On Monday, Nov. 22, the Seattle City Council’s Committee on the Built Environment (COBE) will take comments on the proposed changes to the lowrise zone, which your association supports, and administrative design review, which the Master Builder’s Association strongly oppose. The hearing will take place at 5:30 p.m. at the Wing Luke Museum Auditorium, 719 S. King St. in Seattle.
The Lowrise Zone Final Draft Memo proposes to condense the number of lowrise zones in the city to three, add definitions for cottage housing, townhouse, apartment, rowhouse and townhouse autocourts and set the height limit for each (townhouses and rowhouses = 30 feet; apartments = 40 feet). The draft also addresses parking requirements and includes a steep lot height exemption. The final draft language is available at Final Lowrise Draft Language.
Traveling parallel to the Lowrise Zone Update is Administrative Design Review (ADR), which mandates that projects of three units or more must go through the Department of Planning & Development’s review by staff, better known as Administrative Design Review (ADR). For more information, see Administrative Design Review Memo 5-12-2010 and Administrative Design Review Graphics 5-12-2010. The estimated cost is $9,000 per unit and an additional two months in the process.
COBE would like to hear from those of you who work in the lowrise zone and whether the city’s estimate of ADR is accurate. Please plan to attend the hearing, or contact South King & Seattle Manager Garrett Huffman at (425) 460-8236 with any questions, comments or concerns.
