Citizens
The Design Review program encourages citizen involvement. In fact, it was established to enable citizens to get involved very early in the design process to develop better projects and to reduce the number of appeals.

Get involved in these ways:

• Attend a Design Review Board meeting and comment on a proposed design. See a list of upcoming meetings. (You can also sign up to receive via e-mail the Land Use Information Bulletin, which includes notices for upcoming Design Review Board meetings.) Meetings are structured to give equal voice to a project's three main players -- the project applicant, the citizens of Seattle, and the City. A meeting's 90 minutes is broken down as follows:
• • 30 minutes for the project applicant's presentation and the Design Review Board's clarifying questions;
  • 20 minutes for citizens to address their concerns and ideas to the Design Review Board about the project's design; and
  • 25 minutes for the Design Review Board to deliberate and make recommendations to the project applicant.
• Apply to be on a Design Review Board. About 8-10 new board members are appointed every April. Applications are due in the middle of December. Download an application.

Developers and Architects
Want to learn how to navigate Seattle's design review process?

Consult the Applicant's Toolbox, an online resource for architects and developers. This online toolbox contains:

1. application instructions;
2. the City's sets of design guidelines:
   
   
   • Design Review Guidelines for Multifamily and Commercial Buildings: covers all Board Districts except for Downtown (see map of districts)
   • • Neighborhood Design Guidelines: supplements the Design Review Guidelines for Multifamily and Commercial Buildings in certain neighborhhoods that have adopted them
   • Design Review Guidelines for Downtown Development: covers Downtown only (see map of districts)
3. a sample project packet

Also, consider attending a Design Review Board meeting to see first-hand what design review is all about. See a list of upcoming meetings.