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We advise the Mayor and the City Council on the design of City funded capital projects, projects that seek permanent or long-term use of a right of way, major transportation projects, or plans and policies that have an impact on the public realm.

We welcome the public to our meetings and to follow projects under their review. The two best ways to stay involved and engaged on projects under SDC review is to attend a meeting or track the project on our website.

Attend a Meeting

We hold our meetings on the first and third Thursdays of every month in the Boards and Commissions Room, located on lower level 2 (L2) of Seattle City Hall at 600 4th Ave. Our meetings generally begin at 9:00 a.m. and end at 5:00 p.m. Please click here to see the agenda of upcoming meetings. We post our agenda approximately 7 days prior to the meeting. If you are interested in an upcoming meeting, contact us at (206) 615-1349 or at SDC_Administration@seattle.gov.

When you attend a SDC meeting, we provide a time for members of the public to comment. We ask people to sign up when they attend a meeting - we use a sign in sheet to keep track of attendance and to see who wants to speak. We also use this sheet to send notice of future meetings on the project you came to follow. We generally limit comments to two minutes per person. When there are larger groups of people who want to speak on the same topic, we ask that the group appoint a spokesperson to speak for the group. We give groups up to five minutes for public comment.

When making comments, make sure that the comment is relevant to the project and what the commission reviews. For example, we may look at the location and design of a City parking facility, but we generally don't evaluate the traffic impacts of the facility. We rely on the applicant or the City to let the commission know about those impacts and how they have been addressed in the design of the project. There are also many times that we are reviewing a project that has not applied for City permits. We want to make sure that the right person here at the City considers your comments. If you have a question about the scope of the commissions review on any project, contact us before a meeting and we'll help you get to the right person. Click here if you want to get information from the Seattle Department of Construction and Inspection about required permits on a project.  

If you can't attend a commission meeting, you can also submit written comments on a project. The SDC appreciates written comments, especially if you can get them to us before the scheduled meeting. By submitting them early, it gives commissioners more time to consider your comments when they are reviewing the project at the meeting. If you want to submit comments in writing, please contact SDC staff at 206-615-1349. You can also email them to us at SDC_Administration@seattle.gov.

You can also attend public meetings run by City departments for specific City-funded projects. City departments that are undertaking new projects - called Capital Improvement Program projects - often hold community meetings to get feedback during the initial concept and design phases. The City often holds these meetings before, or even concurrent with, the Design Commission review. The most common City departments that bring projects to the Design Commission are:

• Seattle Department of Finance and Administrative Services
• Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation
• Seattle Department of Transportation 
• Seattle Public Utilities
• Seattle Public Libraries

Follow a project

Follow the progress of a project on our website, which includes presentations and minutes of current and former projects. Depending on the status of the project, it could be in our current projects or archives. Click here to see our project webpages for current projects. If you don't see the project, it may have already been sent to archives. Click here to see our archive pages.

We try to post the final presentation on a project within 48 hours following the project. Each project has a webpage, so you can access all presentations on any specific project. It generally takes a month to get meeting minutes approved. Once they are approved they are posted to the project page.

New Commissioners Sought to join the Seattle Design Commission

New Commissioners Sought to join the Seattle Design Commission

SEATTLE – Mayor Bruce Harrell is recruiting to fill three upcoming vacancies on the Seattle Design Commission - a Licensed Architect, a Licensed Engineer, and an Artist. All positions will start their two-year terms in March 2024.

Commissioners are appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by the City Council. Commissioners are eligible for a second two-year term following completion of their first two-year term. The 10‐member commission is comprised of architecture and design professionals and includes one member from Get Engaged, the YMCA Young Civic Leaders Program.

Established in 1968, the Seattle Design Commission advises City officials on design excellence in City funded capital improvement projects, in the City right-of-way, or constructed with City funds. The Commission also advises the Mayor, City Council, and City departments on projects or policies that impact Seattle’s public realm. You can see the scope of our work at www.seattle.gov/designcommission.

Commission meetings are on the first and third Thursdays of each month and occur in the day. Commission meetings are in a hybrid format – in-person with a virtual link through WebEx. In addition, members may serve on commission subcommittees and represent the commission on other City boards or commissions. Commissioners work up to 15 hours a month, during meetings held in the day and in preparation time. During the term as a commissioner, and six months following the end of the term, commissioners may not contract with the city on any capital improvement project reviewed by the commission. Commission members receive $25 an hour for their time in Commission meetings.

To be considered, please email a letter of interest and resume by November 27, 2023, to michael.jenkins@seattle.gov. The letter of interest should be addressed as follows:
Mayor Bruce Harrell c/o:

Michael Jenkins, Executive Director
Seattle Design Commission
City of Seattle - Office of Planning and Community Development
600 – 4th Avenue, 5th Floor
PO Box 94788
Seattle, WA 98124‐7088