Public comment is currently being accepted, until 5p on July 24th, by the Seattle City Council on a list of recommendations submitted by the Seattle Department of Planning & Development (DPD) on the Living Buildings Pilot Program. This program was developed to encourage construction of buildings built to extremely high standards (in today’s market) of sustainability and energy efficiency – such as the one proposed by Skanska for construction at the foot of Stone Way, called Stone34.
In Council draft bill 117516, DPD submitted departures from current Seattle development standards. In brief, these are:
- allow an increase in maximum building height up to 20 feet above the zone height limit (currently 45 feet or less,) provided that the gross floor area in the floors above 45 feet is limited to 66% of the lot area of the structure
- exempt the ground floor retail space from the maximum floor area ratio
- clarify that review of compliance with the minimum standards of the Living Building Pilot Program shall be done in consultation with the Institute Living Future Institute (ILFI,) with procedures and requirement to be set forth in a DPD Director’s Rule
- add a process set forth by ILFI for ‘petal certification’ as a Living Building by meeting three of seven performance areas (or ‘petals’,) of the Living Building Challenge – as an alternative to meeting the entire challenge
Comments on these proposed amendments may be submitted any time until the final Council vote on the legislation, however the Council prefers to receive written comments by 5p on July 24th to allow for review prior to a vote. Please submit comments to Seattle Councilmember Richard Conlin, the Chair of the Council Land Use, Planning & Sustainability Committee, at P.O. Box 34025, Seattle, WA 98124-4025.
Questions regarding the proposed amended bill may be directed to Michael Jenkins, Council Central Staff, at 206/615-1674 or michael.jenkins@seattle.gov, or Bill Mills, of DPD, at 206/684-8738 or william.mills@seattle.gov