Design Review Exemption Legislation

City Council recently adopted legislation to enact a temporary exemption from Design Review. Until November 2, 2027, as part of the Downtown Activation Plan, projects that include any research and development laboratory uses or that are developing at least half of the project with residential or lodging uses are exempt from Design Review if they are located in:

• The Downtown, Uptown, South Lake Union, and First Hill Urban Centers

• A subarea adjacent to the Uptown Urban Center

• A portion of the Greater Duwamish Manufacturing and Industrial Center

These projects may also qualify for waivers or modifications to certain development standards that would have been allowed as departures as part of the Design Review process. The City requires public notice for these projects, however there is not an administrative appeal process for projects that do not have another related land use decision (e.g. environmental review, variance, conditional use, or special exception). SDCI will document any comments submitted on these projects in the permit's online records and compile them into a report for the City Council.

To use this Design Review exemption, you must file a letter of eligibility in advance of a permit application. Instructions for filing a letter of eligibility are available on Design Review Exemptions website. Once the letter of eligibility is filed, you have 90 days to submit a complete permit application to maintain the exemption and vest to the development standards in place at the time of filing your letter of eligibility with SDCI. If a complete application is not submitted within 90 days, a new letter of eligibility may be filed that defines a new 90-day timeframe for providing a complete application.

If you have questions about this new design review exemption process, visit our website or submit your question to SDCI's Virtual Applicant Services Center.