Those looking to develop in Wallingford now have a set of guidelines to help them. On March 28, 2005, the City Council adopted Wallingford Neighborhood Design Guidelines, a key implementation strategy of the Wallingford Neighborhood Plan.

Residents, business and property owners in the Wallingford neighborhood outlined a vision to guide the future development of the neighborhood as a place where neighbors may meet, where local businesses thrive in a pedestrian environment, and where streets are pleasant public places. Neighborhood advocates anticipate that design guidelines will be an additional tool to enhance the area’s intimate scale and historic character.

Effective May 6, 2005, these guidelines will augment the existing “Citywide Design Guidelines for Multifamily and Commercial Buildings.” The Wallingford guidelines are the twelfth set of neighborhood-specific design guidelines to be adopted by the City. They will assist the City’s Design Review Board in evaluating the design of new multifamily and commercial buildings in the Wallingford neighborhood.

Background
A number of neighborhoods throughout the city have requested assistance in preparing neighborhood-specific design guidelines through the neighborhood planning process. Seattle's existing neighborhood-specific design guidelines address specific design concerns that have historical, cultural and architectural significance and offer many suggestions for how new developments can enhance the public realm by being sensitive to these issues.