AN ORDINANCE relating to land use and zoning, amending Sections 23.40.002, 23.47.004 and 23.47.006 of the Seattle Municipal Code, modifying requirements for use permits for principal use parking where permitted outright in commercial zones and adding an administrative conditional use process for temporary use as principal use parking in commercial zones where such use is not permitted; clarifying regulations, and correcting minor errors.

BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY OF SEATTLE AS FOLLOWS:

Section 1. Section 23.40.002 of the Seattle Municipal Code, which Section was last amended by Ordinance 119473, is amended as follows:

23.40.002 Conformity with regulations required.

The establishment or change of use of any structures, buildings or premises, or any part thereof, shall require approval according to the procedures set forth in Chapter 23.76, Procedures for Master Use Permits and Council Land Use Decisions, except as permitted in 23.47.004 I. No use of any structure or premises shall hereafter be commenced, and no structure or part of a structure shall be erected, moved, reconstructed, extended, enlarged or altered, except in conformity with the regulations specified in this title for the zone and overlay district, if any, in which it is or will be located. Owners of such structures, building or premises or parts thereof are responsible for any failure of such structures, buildings or premises to conform to the regulations of this title and for compliance with the provisions of this title in or on such structures, buildings or premises. Any other person who created, caused or contributed to a condition in or on such structure, building or premises, either alone or with others, is also responsible under this title for any failure to conform to the regulations of this title. Building and use permits on file shall be prima facie evidence of the time a building was built or modified, or a use commenced, and the burden of demonstrating to the contrary shall be upon the owner. Changes to existing structures may be permitted which make the structures nonconforming if the changes are required by law for reasons of health and safety.

Section 2. Section 23.47.004 of the Seattle Municipal Code, which Section was last amended by Ordinance 120661, is amended to add a new subsection as follows:

23.47.004 Permitted and prohibited uses.

* * *

I. Changes from accessory to principal use parking.

1. In zones where principal use parking is permitted outright, accessory parking may be converted to principal use parking without a separate use permit or approval when the use served by the accessory use parking has been discontinued. Any existing nonconformities as to development standards may be maintained.

2. In zones where principal use parking is not permitted outright, it may be permitted as an administrative conditional use according to subsection 23.47.006 B.8.[t1]

Section 3. Chart A for Section 23.47.004 of the Seattle Municipal Code, which Section was last amended by Ordinance 120661, is amended as follows:

23.47.004 Permitted and prohibited uses.

COMMERCIAL USES: CHART A For Section 23.47.004

ZONES

NC1 NC2 NC3 C1 C2

I. COMMERCIAL USE

A. Retail Sales and Services.

1. Personal and Household Retail Sales and Services

Multi-purpose convenience P P P P P stores

General retail sales and P P P P P service

Major durables sales, service P P P P P and rental

Specialty food stores P P P P P

2. Medical Services P/CU1 P/CU1 P/CU1 P/CU1 P/CU1

3. Animal Services2

Animal health services P P P P P

Kennels X X X X P

Animal shelters X X X X X

Pet grooming services P P P P P

4. Automotive Retail Sales and Services

Gas Stations P P P P P

Sales and rental of motorized X P P P P vehicles

Vehicle repair, minor P P P P P

Vehicle repair, major X P P P P

Car wash X P P P P

Towing services X X X P P

Automotive parts or accessory P P P P P sales

5. Marine Retail Sales and Services

Sales and rental of large X P P P P boats

Vessel repair, minor P P P P P

Vessel repair, major X X X S S

Marine service station P P P P P

Dry storage of boats X P P P P

Recreational marinas S S S S S

Commercial moorage S S S S S

Sale of boat parts or P P P P P accessories

6. Eating and Drinking Establishments

Restaurants without cocktail P P P P P lounges

Restaurants with cocktail X P P P P lounges

Fast-food restaurant (750 sq. P P P P P ft. and under)

Fast-food restaurant (over CU CU CU CU CU 750 sq. ft.)

Tavern CU CU P P P

COMMERCIAL USES: CHART A For Section 23.47.004 (Continued)

Brewpub CU CU P P P

7. Lodging

Hotel X X P P P

Motel X X P P P

Bed and breakfast P3 P3 P P P

8. Mortuary Services X P P P P

9. Existing Cemeteries14 P P P P P

B. Principal Use Parking9 X/ P/ P/ P/ P/ CU CU CU CU CU

C. Non-Household Sales and Service

1. Business support services P P P P P

2. Business incubator P P P P P

3. Sales, service and rental of X P P P P office equipment

4. Sales, service and rental of X X P P P commercial equipment and construction materials

5. Sale of heating fuel X X P P P

6. Heavy commercial services X X X P P

Construction services X X X P P

Commercial laundries X X X P P

D. Offices

1. Customer service office P P P P P

2. Administrative office P P P P P

E. Entertainment

1. Places of Public Assembly

Performing arts theater X P P P P

Spectator sports facility X P P P P

Lecture and meeting halls X P P P P

Motion picture theater X P P P P

Adult motion picture theater X P P P P

Adult panorams X X X X X

2. Participant Sports and Recreation

Indoor P P P P P

Outdoor X X X4 P P

F. Wholesale Showroom X X P P P

G. Mini-Warehouse X X P P P

H. Warehouse X X P P P

I. Outdoor Storage X X X5 P P

J. Transportation Facilities

1. Personal transportation X X P P P services

2. Passenger terminals X X P P P

3. Cargo terminals X X X S P

4. Transit vehicle base X X X CCU6 CU6

5. Helistops X X CCU7 CCU7 CU7

6. Heliports X X X X X

7. Airport, land-based X X X X X

8. Airport, water-based X X X X S

9. Railroad switchyard X X X X X

COMMERCIAL USES: CHART A For Section 23.47.004 (Continued)

10. Railroad switchyard with X X X X X mechanized hump

K. Food Processing and Craft Work

1. Food processing for human P P P P P consumption

2. Custom and craft work P P P P P

L. Research and Development P P P P P Laboratories

II. SALVAGE AND RECYCLING

A. Recycling Collection Station P P P P P

B. Recycling Center X X X P P

C. Salvage Yard X X X X X

III. UTILITIES

A. Utility Service Uses P P P P P

B. Major Communication Utility8 X X X CCU CCU

C. Minor Communication Utility8 P P P P P

D. Solid Waste Transfer Station X X X X X

E. Power Plants X X X X X

F. Sewage Treatment Plants X X X X X

G. Solid Waste Incineration X X X X X Facility

H. Solid Waste Landfill X X X X X

IV. MANUFACTURING

A. Light Manufacturing X P P P P

B. General Manufacturing X X X P P

C. Heavy Manufacturing X X X X X

V. HIGH-IMPACT USES X X X X X

VI. INSTITUTIONS

A. Institute for Advanced Study P P P P P

B. Private Club P P P P P

C. Child Care Center P P P P P

D. Museum P P P P P

E. School, Elementary or Secondary P P P P P

F. College P P P P P

G. Community Center P P P P P

H. Community Club P P P P P

I. Vocational or Fine Arts School P P P P P

J. Hospital P P P P P

K. Religious Facility P P P P P

L. University P P P P P

M. Major Institutions within a Major Institution Overlay P P P P P District subject to Chapter 23.69

VII. PUBLIC FACILITIES

A. Jails X X X X X

B. Work-release Center9 CCU CCU CCU CCU CCU

C. Secure Community Transition CCU CCU CCU CCU CCU Facility9

VIII. PARK AND POOL/RIDE LOT

A. Park and Pool Lots P10 P P P P

B. Park and Ride Lots X X CU CU CU

COMMERCIAL USES: CHART A For Section 23.47.004 (Continued)

IX. RESIDENTIAL11

A. Single-family Dwelling Units P/CU12 P/CU12 P/CU12 P/CU12 CU12

B. Multifamily Structures P/CU P/CU P/CU P/CU CU

C. Congregate Residences P/CU P/CU P/CU P/CU CU

D. Floating Homes S S S S S

E. Mobile Home Park X X X P CU

F. Artist Studio/Dwelling P/CU P/CU P/CU P/CU CU

G. Caretaker's Quarters P P P P P

H. Adult Family Homes P/CU P/CU P/CU P/CU P

I. Home Occupations P13 P13 P13 P13 P13

J. Nursing Homes P P P P P

K. Assisted Living Facilities P/CU P/CU P/CU P/CU CU

X. OPEN SPACE

A. Parks P P P P P

B. Playgrounds P P P P P

XI. AGRICULTURAL USES

A. Animal Husbandry X13 X13 X13 X13 P

B. Horticultural Uses P P P P P

C. Aquaculture P P P P P

P Permitted

X Prohibited

CU Administrative Conditional Use

CCU Council Conditional Use

S Permitted only in the Shoreline District, when permitted by the Seattle Shoreline Master Program

1 Medical service uses over ten thousand (10,000) square feet, within two thousand five hundred (2,500) feet of a medical Major Institution Overlay District boundary, shall require administrative conditional use approval, unless included in an adopted Major Institution master plan or located in a downtown zone. See Section 23.47.006.

2 The keeping of animals for other than business purposes shall be regulated by Section 23.47.026.

3 In existing structures only.

4 Outdoor participant sports and recreation uses are permitted at Seattle Center.

5 Outdoor storage is permitted at the Seattle Center, subject to the provisions of Section 23.47.011.

6 New transit vehicle bases accommodating one hundred fifty (150) or fewer buses or existing transit vehicle bases seeking to expand.

7 Permitted only as an accessory use according to Section 23.47.006.

8 See Chapter 23.57 for regulation of communication utilities.

9 Subject to criteria in Section 23.47.006.

10 Permitted only on parking lots existing at least five (5) years prior to the proposed establishment of the park and pool lot.

11 Residential uses in mixed-use developments satisfying Section 23.47.008 and assisted living facilities are permitted outright in NC1, NC2, NC3, and C1 zones. Residential use in a single-purpose residential structure generally may be permitted in NC1, NC2, NC3 and C1 zones as an administrative conditional use pursuant to Section 23.47.006. Residential use in single-purpose residential structures is permitted outright in limited areas and circumstances, and is prohibited in certain areas as described in subsection 23.47.004 E. "Single-purpose residential structure" may include a structure with both residential and nonresidential uses but does not include an assisted living facility or any structure that is part of a mixed-use development meeting the standards in Section 23.47.008. All residential uses, other than nursing homes, in the C2 zones are subject to an administrative conditional use approval. Nursing homes are permitted outright in all commercial zones, whether in a mixed-use structure or single-purpose residential use, except in pedestrian-designated zones (See Section 23.47.040).

12 An accessory dwelling unit added to a single-family residence shall be allowed outright and shall not require a separate conditional use permit. The unit shall be considered accessory to the single-family residence, shall meet the standards listed for accessory dwelling units in Section 23.44.041 and shall not be considered a separate dwelling unit for all development standard purposes in commercial zones.

13 Permitted only as an accessory use.

14 Subject to criteria in Section 23.47.004.

Section 4. Section 23.47.006 of the Seattle Municipal Code, which Section was last amended by Ordinance 120691 is amended as follows:

23.47.006 Conditional uses.

* * *

B. The following uses, identified as administrative conditional uses on Chart A of Section 23.47.004, may be permitted by the Director when the provisions of this subsection and subsection A are met:

1. Fast-food restaurants which that have a gross floor area greater than seven hundred fifty (750) square feet are identified as heavy traffic generators and may be permitted as a conditional use according to the following criteria:

a. The design of the structure, including architectural treatment, signage, landscaping and lighting, is compatible with other structures in the vicinity; and

b. Appropriate litter-control measures are provided; and

c. The applicant, if required by the Director, prepares an analysis of traffic, circulation and parking impacts, and demonstrates that the use does not:

(1) Cause significant additional traffic to circulate through adjacent residential neighborhoods, or

(2) Disrupt the pedestrian character of an area by significantly increasing the potential for pedestrian-vehicle conflicts, or

(3) Create traffic or access problems which will require the expenditure of City funds to mitigate, or

(4) Interfere with peak-hour transit operations, by causing auto traffic to cross a designated high-occupancy vehicle lane adjacent to the lot, or

(5) Cause cars waiting to use the facility to queue across the sidewalk or onto the street, or

(6) Interrupt established retail or service frontage designed to serve pedestrians;

d. In addition to the criteria in subsections B1a, B1b and B1c, in pedestrian-designated zones, the use shall not:

(1) Include a drive-in facility, or

(2) Provide any accessory parking, or

(3) Attract a significant number of customers who drive to the pedestrian district for the primary purpose of patronizing the business. This shall be determined by a transportation analysis of travel modes and patterns of customers of similar businesses in the same or similar commercial areas, which shall be prepared by a traffic consultant retained by the applicant;

e. Fast-food restaurants which are drive-in businesses shall also comply with the provisions of Section 23.47.028, Standards for drivein businesses.

2. Taverns and brewpubs in NC1 and NC2 zones may be permitted as conditional uses. A tavern or brewpub in an NC1 or NC2 zone shall be evaluated according to the following criteria:

a. The size of the tavern or brewpub, design of the structure, signing and illumination shall be compatible with the character of the commercial area and other structures in the vicinity, particularly in areas where a distinct and definite pattern or style has been established.

b. The location, access and design of parking shall be compatible with adjacent residential zones.

c. Special consideration shall be given to the location and design of the doors and windows of taverns and brewpubs to ensure that noise standards will not be exceeded. The Director may require additional setbacks and/or restrict openings on lots which that abut residential zones.

d. Taverns and brewpubs shall not generate traffic which that creates traffic congestion or further aggravates spillover parking on residential streets.

3. Park-and-ride lots in NC3, C1 and C2 zones may be permitted as conditional uses.

a. Conditional Use Criteria.

(1) The park-and-ride lot shall have direct vehicular access to a designated arterial improved to City standards.

(2) If the proposed park-and-ride lot is located on a lot containing accessory parking for other uses, there shall be no substantial conflict in the principal operating hours of the park-and-ride lot and the other uses.

b. Mitigating Measures. Landscaping and screening in addition to that required for surface parking areas, noise mitigation, vehicular access controls, signage restrictions, and other measures may be required to provide comfort and safety for pedestrians and bicyclists and to insure the compatibility of the park-and-ride lot with the surrounding area.

4. Single-purpose residential structures may be permitted outright, permitted as an administrative conditional use or prohibited as provided by Section 23.47.004 E. In order to conserve the limited amount of commercially zoned land for commercial uses, single-purpose residential structures shall generally not be allowed in commercial zones. However, additions to, or on-site accessory structures for, existing single-family structures are permitted outright. Where single-purpose residential structures may be permitted as an administrative conditional use, such a permit may be granted only when the following circumstances exist:

a. Due to location or parcel size, the proposed site is not suited for commercial development; or

b. There is substantial excess supply of land available for commercial use near the proposed site, evidenced by such conditions as a lack of commercial activity in existing commercial structures for a sustained period, commercial structures in disrepair, and vacant or underused commercially zoned land; provided that single-purpose residential development shall not interrupt an established commercial street front. As used in this subsection, an "established commercial street front" may be intersected by streets or alleys, and some lots with no current commercial use.

5. Residential Uses in C2 Zones.

a. In order to conserve the limited amount of commercially zoned land for commercial uses, residential uses in single-purpose or mixed-use structures shall generally not be allowed in C2 zones. However, additions to, or on-site accessory structures for, existing singlefamily structures shall be permitted outright. Residential uses in single-purpose or mixed-use structures may be permitted in C2 zones as administrative conditional uses according to the following criteria:

(1) Availability of Suitable Land for C2 Activities. Residential uses shall generally be discouraged in areas which have limited vacant land and where, due to terrain and large parcel size, land is particularly suitable for commercial rather than residential development.

(2) Relationship to Transportation Systems. Residential uses shall generally be discouraged in areas with direct access to major transportation systems such as freeways, state routes and freight rail lines.

(3) Compatibility With Surrounding Areas. Residential uses shall not be allowed in close proximity to industrial areas and/or in areas where nonresidential uses may create a nuisance or adversely affect the desirability of the area for living purposes.

b. Residential uses required to obtain a shoreline conditional use shall not be required to obtain an administrative conditional use.

6. Development of a medical service use over ten thousand (10,000) square feet, outside but within two thousand five hundred (2,500) feet of a medical Major Institution overlay district boundary, shall be subject to administrative conditional use approval, unless included in an adopted master plan. In making a determination whether to approve or deny a medical service use, the Director shall determine whether an adequate supply of commercially zoned land for businesses serving neighborhood residents will continue to exist. The following factors shall be used in making this determination:

a. Whether the amount of medical service use development existing and proposed in the vicinity would reduce the current viability or significantly impact the longer-term potential of the neighborhoodserving character of the commercial area; and

b. Whether medical service use development would displace existing neighborhood-serving commercial uses at street level or disrupt a continuous commercial street front, particularly of retail and personal services uses, or significantly detract from an area's overall neighborhood-serving commercial character.

7. Change of One Nonconforming Use to Another.

a. A nonconforming use may be converted by an administrative conditional use authorization to a use not otherwise permitted in the zone based on the following factors:

(1) New uses shall be limited to those first permitted in the next more intensive zone;

(2) The relative impacts of size, parking, traffic, light, glare, noise, odor and similar impacts of the two (2) uses, and how these impacts could be mitigated.

b. The Director must find that the new nonconforming use is no more detrimental to property in the zone and vicinity than the existing nonconforming use.

8. Principal use parking may be authorized on a temporary basis as an administrative conditional use, except in pedestrian designated zones (P1 or P2) or within the Station Area Overlay District, under the circumstances described in subsection (a) below, subject to the conditions of subsection (b).

a. Eligible circumstances:

(1) Principal use parking is not permitted in the zone; and

(2) An existing surface parking area or structure has been used to provide accessory parking, and the use to which the parking was accessory has been discontinued; or

(3) The site has been cleared pursuant to an active permit authorizing construction and commencement of a new use on the property; or

(4) Development of the site, including what is to become accessory surface or structured parking, is partially complete, but the use to which the parking is to be accessory has not yet commenced.

b. Conditions.

(1) The permit may be issued for a two (2) year period. At the expiration of that period, the permit may be renewed for a maximum of two (2) additional years; and

(2) Exterior lighting and vehicle lights shall be shielded or screened to minimize glare affecting nearby uses.

* * *

Section 5. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. The invalidity of any particular provision shall not affect the validity of any other provision.

Section 6. This ordinance shall take effect and be in force thirty (30) days from and after its approval by the Mayor, but if not approved and returned by the Mayor within ten (10) days after presentation, it shall take effect as provided by Municipal Code Section 1.04.020.

Passed by the City Council the _____ day of ____________, 2003, and signed by me in open session in authentication of its passage this _____ day of _______________, 2003. ___________________________________ President _______ of the City Council

Approved by me this _____ day of ______, 2003. ___________________________________

Gregory J. Nickels, Mayor

Filed by me this _____ day of _____, 2003. _________________________________ City Clerk February 25, 2003 version #2 t