The Pike/Pine Urban Village Center, Roosevelt Urban Village, and University Community Urban Center neighborhood design guidelines—the first of many neighborhood-specific design guidelines the City anticipates developing in the next couple years—were approved by the Seattle City Council on September 11, 2000.  The corresponding ordinance (#120081) was signed by the mayor on September 15, making the guidelines effective October 15, 2000.

Part of the recently completed neighborhood planning process, design review and design guidelines have been the subject of extensive neighborhood discussion, as 28 neighborhoods throughout the city have requested assistance with, or approval of, neighborhood-specific design guidelines.  Many neighborhoods have discussed ways to help ensure that the design review process includes consideration of local character during the review of neighborhood development projects.

Currently, new development subject to design review in neighborhoods outside of the downtown area follows the citywide design guidelines.  Since these guidelines are meant to apply throughout the city, they reflect general principles of good urban design, ranging from site-related considerations to provision of amenities that provide streetscape continuity.

Neighborhood design guidelines share these objectives, but they also provide a more focused opportunity to recognize local design concerns and issues. The Pike/Pine, Roosevelt, and University design guidelines give specific direction as to local architectural context, unique site conditions, and other community objectives to which new development should respond.