Seattle Department of Planning and Development

Due to an unusually large number of applications, we are running behind on our reviews by up to 4 weeks for Initial Plan Reviews and 2 - 4 weeks for Corrected Plan Reviews. Your project will be assigned a reviewer as soon as possible. Instead of calling us for your project status, please use Permit & Complaint Status or get real-time status updates through the DPD Project Portal. We appreciate your patience and understanding while we work through this spike in applications. 

This is the message that accompanied the submittal this week by our commercial real estate company Van Gogh Development Corporation to the City of Seattle Department of Planning and Development (DPD) for a development in the Rainier Beach community.

Wow! Four weeks!?

What is "Initial Plan Review?" I am having a hard time finding a definition of what this involves from the DPD website. I am hoping that this does not mean it will take FOUR WEEKS for a City staff person to make a site visit to our property.

DPD's Design Review Program reviews multiple aspects of a building and its site, including some of the following:
The overall appearance of the building
How the proposal relates to adjacent sites and the overall street frontage
How the proposal relates to unusual aspects of the site, like views or slopes
Pedestrian and vehicular access to the site
Quality of materials, open space, and landscaping

DPD holds public meetings for full Design Review that includes review by City staff and the Design Review Boards. Their review process includes an opportunity for public comment and involvement.

But why the big delay?

According to City of Seattle stats, there were 440 building permits issued in the month of January 2014 alone, valued at almost $87million. This compares to 306 building permits issued in January 2013 for a total value of roughly $55million.

U.S. builders broke ground on homes at the fastest pace in more than five years, strong evidence that the housing recovery is accelerating despite higher mortgage rates. Construction of single-family homes jumped 21 percent to an annual pace of 727,000, also the highest in more than five years. Apartment construction soared 26 percent to a 354,000 annual pace. Though new homes represent only a fraction of the housing market, they have an outsized impact on the economy. Each home built creates an average of three jobs for a year. For more information, please see:

http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/US-home-construction-hits-highest-pace-in-5-years-5074701.php


Happy Investing!