Effective May 30, 2008, Seattle will change its environmental review thresholds, which determine when new development is subject to environmental review under the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA). Recent state legislation allows higher thresholds for infill development in urban areas.
The Adopted Changes
The Residential Thresholds are:
- Downtown Urban Centers, 80 dwelling units.
- Other Urban Centers, 30 dwelling units.*
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- *Except, if a property abuts, is across an alley or a substandard-width right-of-way in an L1, L2 or LDT zone, the threshold remains at prior levels of 4 or 6 dwelling units.
- Station Area Overlay Districts, 30 dwelling units.*
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- *Except, if a property abuts, is across an alley or a substandard-width right-of-way in an L1, L2 or LDT zone, the threshold remains at prior levels of 4 or 6 dwelling units.
- Thresholds for review of parking uses increase from 20 spaces up to 40 spaces.
The Commercial Thresholds are:
- Downtown and other Urban Centers, 12,000 square feet in most zones (except lowrise and single family zones).
- Station Area Overlay Districts, 12,000 square feet in most zones (except lowrise and single family zones).
- Outside Urban Centers and Station Area Overlay Districts (unchanged), 4,000 square feet in midrise, highrise, neighborhood commercial; 12,000 square feet in C1, C2, Seattle mixed and industrial zones.
What Thresholds Will Not Change
- The thresholds for the design review process.
- Most development actions in environmentally critical areas.
Other Details
- Maintains reviews for possible landmarks at their current levels (properties that may meet criteria for landmarks have a threshold of 4 dwelling units or 4,000 square feet).
Benefits of the Proposal
These adjustments bring a better balance to the City’s current housing, economic and environmental protection priorities. The changes recognize that many environmental protections are now in place through other regulations that have been adopted since the SEPA policies were adopted. They also bring these thresholds into alignment with the City’s growth management strategy that encourages most growth in urban centers and villages.
The changes will:
- Allow more cost-effective production of new housing.
- Encourage business and residential growth in urban centers.
- Improve the efficiency of the City’s review processes.
