On December 17 the City Council adopted legislation tightening the limits on office and certain retail uses in the General Industrial (IG1 and IG2) zones. In the IG1 zone, stand-alone office uses and many retail uses will have a maximum size of 10,000 square feet. In the IG2 zone, office and some other commercial uses will be limited to a maximum size of 25,000 square feet.

The new limits do not apply to office and retail uses that are accessory to an industrial use. For instance, a window manufacturer may have a retail store larger than 10,000 square feet that sells its product. Or a seafood processor may have office space exceeding 10,000 square feet for its administrative staff.

This legislation resulted from several years of analysis by DPD staff and the Seattle Planning Commission, including detailed surveys of industrial businesses and five public forums held in 2007. Background reports that helped inform this legislation are available on DPD’s web site at www.seattle.gov/dpd/Planning/IndustrialLands/Overview/default.asp.

In addition to the ordinance adopting the new size of use limits, City Council also adopted a resolution directing DPD and the City’s Office of Economic Development to conduct further analysis of conditions in Seattle’s industrial areas and to explore both regulatory and non-regulatory actions that could help retain and attract well-paying industrial jobs. DPD is due to report back to Council on the work described in this resolution by December 31, 2008.