UPDATE 11:10 AM: Seattle City Council’s Committee on the Built Environment chair Sally Clark moved legislation forward Wednesday morning to further strengthen rules for the development and design process of construction in the Pike/Pine neighborhood. Nobody signed up to speak during the hearing’s public comment period and no major changes to the legislation were made since the committee’s August review leaving chair Clark free to suspect typical hearing rules and move the updates forward to a full Council vote immediately. City Council will vote on the new rules Monday where the legislation is expected to pass.

One small modification to the ruleset from the legislation and guidelines (links below) was approved adding the option for a developer to ‘reflect’ historical character in addition to or instead of requirements to ‘retain’ that character.

The updated rules are called a Phase Two of the Pike/Pine conservation effort. The new rules will further shape the Department of Planning and Development’s design review process and will give Capitol Hill’s Design Review Board expanded control to weigh in on elements like a proposed design’s height and scale. It will also require developers to submit at least one design alternative that includes “character structure” — if the building has “character.” Phase One of the legislation focused on creating specific incentives to developers who included historical building components into their designs. The basic equation: trading increased height of a new building for incorporating historical character.

One element that will not be moving forward at this time is a transfer of development rights program. The TDR effort — creating an exchange program giving developers the right to build higher, bulkier buildings in one part of the neighborhood or the city in exchange for preserving character in Pike/Pine — will likely be pursued in a third phase of the conservation legislation, City Hall staff have said.

Staff also passed along the one written comment they’ve received on the new rules since the committee was first briefed on the legislation in August:

Dear Councilmembers Clark, Bagshaw, and Burgess –

 Many Pike/Pine community members who have worked hard on neighborhood issues are not able to be at today’s hearing, so I am sending these comments to reflect our ongoing conversation in the neighborhood.

 We appreciate the effort that Councilmember Rasmussen, along with Council staff and DPD staff (Rebecca Herzfeld, Dennis Meier, Brian Hawksford), has applied to attempt to preserve the unique neighborhood character of Pike/Pine.  We believe that Pike/Pine’s recent economic successes are a response to what makes great cities and great neighborhoods, well, great: a mix of small, diverse, and local businesses within a framework of solid old pedestrian-friendly buildings. 

 The updated Design Guidelines you are reviewing today are an improvement on the older package.  The images and text better reflect the direction we believe this community has moved and where we should be heading.  Kudos are due to Dawn Bushnaq of the Capitol Hill Design Review Board and to community members Kirsty Burt, Chip Wall, Liz Dunn, Mike Kent for their energy to make the revisions in a very quick timeframe.

 However, we remain concerned about the fate of this neighborhood’s future.  Most of the buildings that contribute to neighborhood character and sustained economic development remain at risk of demolition because we still do not have tools that will help property owners and developers to do the right thing – save the old buildings.  The scale, rhythm, and materials of these older structures are vital to the feel of this commercial district, to the businesses they retain, and to the customers they attract.

 Please don’t take Pike/Pine off your radar.  We need your energy and attention to preserve our neighborhood.

 Betsy
Betsy Hunter, Chief Real Estate Development Officer
Capitol Hill Housing

Original Post: The City Council this Wednesday morning is holding a hearing on the process to further refine the special rule set to preserve Pike/Pine’s “historical character” and enable stricter oversight and rules for development and design in the neighborhood. We reported on the next phase of the Pike/Pine Conservation Overlay District here in August: When they redevelop the Comet building, these rules will be very important

The hearing takes place at the Council’s meeting of its Committee on the Built Environment chaired by Sally Clark. The legislation is sponsored by Council member Tom Rasmussen who has been leading the overlay district process.

An example from the new design guidelines (View complete document – PDF)

If approved, the new rules would overhaul the Department of Planning and Development’s design review process for Pike/Pine and would give Capitol Hill’s Design Review Board expanded control to weigh in on elements like a proposed design’s height and scale. It would also require developers to submit at least one design alternative that includes “character structure.” Rasmussen has told CHS he hopes the changes might eventually be applied to the design process in other parts of Seattle.

The hearing will include public comments on the new guidelines but written feedback is also encouraged. If you have something to say or simply want to encourage the Council to move this forward, written comments must be submitted by 5 PM Wednesday to [email protected]. You might want to cc: [email protected], too.

CHS will monitor the hearing and provide updates on the proceedings. For a preview of testimony from one neighborhood activist, you can review Dennis Saxman’s notes on the legislation provided to CHS and attached to this post.

Council staffers expect the legislation to be voted on by the full Council by fall.

Proposed Update to Pike/Pine Neighborhood Design Guidelines

Councilmember Tom Rasmussen is sponsoring proposed legislation that would help protect the Pike/Pine neighborhood. This proposal will carry out and conclude the second phase of a project, begun in 2008, to develop and implement measures that would protect the character of the rapidly changing and developing Pike/Pine neighborhood. The proposal before Council would update the neighborhood’s design guidelines that were first adopted in 2000. The proposed amendments to the neighborhood design guidelines will better address developments that incorporate “character structures” (defined as buildings that are at least 75 years old). New guidelines have been added that better address the height, bulk, and scale of new development and signs allowed on buildings and businesses in the district. In addition, the updated guidelines will include: 

1. new illustrations and examples of how projects can successfully meet the design guidelines
2. a requirement that a developer evaluate key architectural elements of a character structure and provide at least one alternative design that would maintain those elements along with the integrity of the character structure, as part of the process of reviewing new development when a character structure is located on a lot
3. a provision to allow the Design Review Board to consider approving departures from prescriptive code requirements for incorporating a character structure into a new development;
4. an option to allow an exception from a prohibition against internally-illuminated cabinet signs in the Pike/Pine neighborhood for signs that are no larger than three square feet

The City Council’s Committee on the Built Environment will be holding a public hearing to take testimony and comments on the proposal to revise the Pike/Pine Neighborhood Design Guidelines at its committee meeting: 

September 8, 2010, 9:30 a.m.
The Council Chamber, 2nd floor
Seattle City Hall
600 Fourth Avenue