In an effort to reduce the amount of billable time charged to applicants above the base fee and reduce the length of review times, DPD has revised the process for sidewalk café permit applications. Applicants are now required to submit materials related to their permit applications to the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) after obtaining a project number from DPD. Once SDOT has reviewed the application and transmitted the materials to DPD, applicants will be contacted to schedule the land use intake appointment. The notice, review criteria and applicable codes remain unchanged.

As is done currently, applicants will obtain their project number using the preliminary application. Once applicants have received their project number, they will submit their sidewalk café plan(s), certificate of liability insurance and complete application to SDOT on the 37th floor of the Seattle Municipal Tower (by mail or in person). SDOT will review the information and will approve as proposed, require modifications, or deny the project. SDOT will work with applicants directly to resolve issues as needed. Next, SDOT will send their comments and the materials submitted by the applicant to DPD for archiving. DPD support staff will then contact the applicant to schedule the land use intake for the project. Finally, the public notice and land use review will occur.

This process allows the DPD land use planner to have SDOT comments on the application and plans with the approved liability insurance immediately when receiving the application for review. As soon as the comment period is complete the planner should have the information necessary to render a decision in a more timely and efficient manner without any snags in the process.

Lastly, the planners will not be issuing sidewalk café permits anymore—instead, permit technicians will now issue the permits. Permit technicians will contact the applicant for payment of fees and can either mail the permit to the applicant or set up an appointment to issue them in person at DPD.