The city has been working on an administrative design review process to improve the design of townhouses (all those 4-packs and 6-packs you see around), and the first ‘pilot’ of this project is planned right here in our own little neighborhood! It won’t go to the Design Review Board, but it will be reviewed by the DPD planner for design review. It’s in the early stages of review with the city and there will be public notice later (hopefully with some graphics). The developer has proposed 4 townhouses with rooftop decks at 119 15th Ave (between Yesler & Fir). There’s a brief description here: http://web1.seattle.gov/DPD/permitstatus/Project.aspx?id=301
The architect, Ray Johnson, was on KUOW earlier this week. The show is at http://www.kuow.org/program.php?id=18095 . You can see other Johnson Architects projects at http://www.johnstonarchitects.com/multi.html , but there’s nothing I can find on their site about this project yet. Does anyone know how to get images from the DPD site?
I checked with the DPD planner, and the applicant hasn’t yet applied for Early Design Guidance, but they have had a pre-submittal conference. Once they apply for EDG, the graphics will be posted on DPD’s website at this location: http://www.seattle.gov/dpd/Planning/Design_Review_Program/Pr
I’ll try to keep an eye out and post the graphics here, if I see it.
I have been particularly interested in how this process might work. I would hope that the renderings would be posted on the site so that people who might not be online, and even those of us online, can view the renderings ‘in situ’.
I ask because I have hopes that neighbors have what they need to make comments that are useful so that what is built is a positive addition.
The Department of Planning and Development has proposed changing the Land Use Code so that most multifamily developments currently not required to go through the regular design review process (townhouses, mainly) would, in the future, have to go through an “administrative” design review process. (This new administrative design review process would be something like the current administrative design review process now occasionally used for smaller townhouse developments where the developer wants premission for a “departure” from development standards.)
The new administrative design review process for townhouses exists as a set of ideas and has not yet been introduced to the City Council as proposed legislation. The project on 15th Avenue is the first project in which DPD will be testing some of the ideas for the new administrative design review process. The new process almost certainly will not involve public meetings, as the “regular” design review process does. As Canamian says, DPD is working on ways to notify the public and solicit comments, including on-line.
If you have some thoughts on how you’d like to see the process work, contact, at DPD, Geoffrey Wentlandt, [email protected], or 684-3586. If you have comments on the particular project on 15th Ave., the Land Use Planner is [email protected], 615-1392.
One process example might be a system where the public and DPD comments are available on-line for all to read, rather than a process of simply sending e-mail messages to DPD.