Mayor Greg Nickels signed new legislation cutting permit costs by more than half for voluntary seismic upgrades to single family homes in Seattle.

The cut applies to voluntary retrofits that use the City’s “prescriptive seismic plans.” Developed by Seattle, the plans are used by numerous jurisdictions in the area to make it easier for homeowners to improve the strength and stability of their homes. With the new legislation, a permit will cost $155, down from an average fee of $360.

The prescriptive plans can be used for many wood-frame homes with reinforced foundations. They provide details for properly connecting homes to foundations and for increasing lateral strength below the first floor—often, the two easiest ways to improve seismic strength in residential structures.

The prescriptive plans also allow for quick permit approval and preclude the need to hire an engineer. In many cases, homeowners are able to do the upgrade themselves.

The City has issued over 700 of these seismic upgrade permits since the program began in 1998, with an average fee of $360.

“Reducing the fee to $155 makes an easy process even easier,” said Nickels. “I want to thank the City Council for joining me in this small but important step in our disaster preparedness.”