On June 23, 2003, the Seattle City Council unanimously approved legislation defining "live-work units" and establishing development standards for this unique hybrid use. A live-work unit is a single unit or space within a building that is both a place to live and a place of business.

The legislation (ordinance #121196) allows live-work units in commercial, downtown and some multifamily zones, subject to appropriate standards. The main elements of the legislation:

• establish "live-work" as a use made up of commercial activities that may need accommodations for customer traffic, commercial signage, or freight delivery, while also meeting life-safety regulations for a place where people live.
• distinguish the live-work units from purely residential use by applying standards to help ensure that work is performed in the unit, including a requirement that the occupant have a valid business license;
• allow live-work at the street-level in commercial and downtown zones, unless a neighborhood plan has identified a desire to see retail use or the zone has a pedestrian designation; and
• apply development standards—such as minimum ceiling heights, depth of the space, and façade transparency—that will help the street-level live-work units be compatible with the surrounding streetscape.

The live-work legislation, signed by the mayor on July 1, 2003, becomes effective
July 31, 2003.