Seattle Council President Streamlines Permits

REALTOR®-supported Seattle City Council President Sara Nelson has delivered on a campaign promise to cut red tape with new legislation that will reduce barriers and allow small businesses to setup storefronts faster and cheaper. SKCR believes energizing small retail businesses will add safety and positive energy to Seattle’s neighborhood business districts and downtown.

Sara Nelson continues to work to remove the costly, unnecessary roadblocks which slow housing construction, inhibit economic growth, and increase building project cost and hassle.

Under the previous code, businesses looking to occupy a vacant space were often subject to a “Substantial Alteration” designation. This rule required them to undertake extremely expensive and time-consuming upgrades to the entire building’s structure, ventilation, and fire safety systems, even when there was no change in the building’s use or safety risk. This requirement was a major barrier for small businesses, preventing many from ever opening.

The bill significantly reduces the number of projects that qualify for this onerous designation by creating a size exemption for spaces with a gross area of 7,000 square feet or when the project changes less than 20% of the building. It also removes the rule that a building being vacant for more than 24 months automatically triggers a substantial alteration review.