Home › Forums › Open Discussion › have you looked at building codes in Residential Zones lately?
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July 23, 2015 at 3:38 pm #817990
JoBParticipantthe lot next door to us sold and a developer started demolishing the house early this week.
except for the first day, the noise has not been as bad as i feared, but there have been unanticipated dust issues.
so.. long story short, i looked up the ordinances covering construction this morning… and got an unpleasant surprise.
most of the ordinances that cover nuisance factors to neighbors have been visibly removed.. as in a line drawn through them to eliminate what was in the 2012 ordinances and is not in the 2014 ordinances.
http://www.seattle.gov/dpd/cs/groups/pan/@pan/documents/web_informational/s047878.pdf
you might want to take a second look at the protections you thought were in place for you before signing off on the mayor’s new not really upzoning rules for our neighborhoods…
July 23, 2015 at 4:05 pm #826153
StumbledoreMemberProbably because the nuisance to people is less profitable than the nuisance to developers.
Had an experience about 4 years ago where the neighbor’s double lot was subdivided (seemingly overnight) and came home one day to find all the big trees along the property line between my house and theirs completely removed, and a tractor leveling the spot where they ended up dumping a huge house.
When the house was built and on the market, I parked a flatbed trailer full of old junk (old couch, mattress, lawnmower, buckets, and other unsightly items) right next to the fence line, right across from the entrance to the home and their side windows.
If they’re going to take away the one major selling point of my home – a mostly private back yard with trees galore – then I was damn sure going to make it difficult for them to sell the house, or at least make prospective buyers think twice!
Fight fire with fire.
In the end, however, the people that bought the home are some of the coolest people I’ve ever met and are outstanding neighbors, even though we can watch each other cook dinner, watch TV, shower, etc.
Luck be a lady tonight!
July 23, 2015 at 4:26 pm #826154
wakefloodParticipantYeah, the city basically stopped enforcing those statutes a while ago, hence the strikeouts.
Get ready for a new round of building in tight spaces folks. It’s initially going to be in areas already zoned multi-family but it’s going to grow in those adjacent areas as well. There’s maps to see about where those are but the new plan will essentially turn thousands of single family homeowners into real estate speculators overnight.
Subdivide and build. Now.
So, my problem is that this doesn’t really fix anything with respect to providing low income housing. Far from it. It will make tons of $ for developers and those mini-homes will still be out of reach of anyone who isn’t already doing pretty well and can afford $1500-$2000/mo. for housing.
That describe anyone you know who’s making $15/hr. much less $10 or $12?
Didn’t think so.
July 23, 2015 at 4:45 pm #826155
anonymeParticipantStumbledore, it’s illegal to cut more than 3 trees per year that are more than 5″ caliper. People do it all the time, of course. They also cut down/maim street trees – also illegal. I’ve never seen a city with so little enforcement of any law or ordinance.
July 23, 2015 at 7:03 pm #826156
wakefloodParticipantAnd for those interested in seeing the areas affected by HALA, here’s a google maps overlay.
Pass it along:
July 23, 2015 at 7:47 pm #826157
StumbledoreMemberAwesome – no purple haze in my neighborhood woop woop!
July 23, 2015 at 11:20 pm #826158
waterworldParticipantJoB: First, I’m sorry that you’re going through this. It can be amazingly unpleasant when construction, and sometimes even maintenance, is going on next door. Our neighbor tuck-pointed his brick earlier this summer, and we’re still living with the dust that made it into the house.
However, it’s not entirely true that all of the nuisance-related ordinances have been eliminated, despite the line-outs in the 2012 building code. Most of the protections are preserved in the Seattle Municipal Code, in Title 15. For example, all of the pedestrian protection requirements – preserving minimum walking space, putting in barriers, barricades and fences, lighting walkways near construction areas — are in Title 15 of the SMC. And they are all still enforceable, although that may not mean they get enforced nearly enough.
There’s actually a good reason for taking some of these regulations out of the building code and following what’s already in the SMC. Title 15 has slightly different rules from the old building code for what kind of barricade has to be installed around a construction site, for instance. Where the rules conflict, the developer gets the benefit of the doubt, because the law is somewhat ambiguous. What the building code does now is point developers to Title 15 for the rules on walkway preservation, so the same rule applies to everyone and there’s no room for a claim of confusion.
If there’s a specific nuisance rule that was eliminated and you want it back, you can get in touch with DPD – they are in the process of amending the code for the 2015 (or maybe it is 2016) version. Here’s link:
http://www.seattle.gov/dpd/codesrules/changestocode/BuildingCodeUpdate/getinvolved/default.htm
July 24, 2015 at 1:38 pm #826159
JoBParticipantWaterworld..
they parked a porta potty on the strip of land between the sidewalk and the street that blocks the sight lines for exiting into traffic from the alley.. and obstructs the sidewalk..
it’s not even parked on the construction side of our alley.
no problem if you are walking though since the sidewalk is blocked and you have to cross the street midblock to proceed.
and not really a problem for me trying to get out of the alley during the day since heavy equipment blocks that end of the alley during the day anyway.. right?
i can’t get handicapped parking on the street in front of the house because the alley exists.. but i can’t use the short end of the alley during the day very easily during construction and i can’t use the long end of the alley because it is far less improved than my end… and too painful for me to use easily.
nevermind that i paid for the dump loads of gravel that improved my end and allow his equipment easy access…
and construction with obstruction starts at 7 AM.
and in spite of tearing up the alley the city does not maintain with heavy equipment, the developer has no plans to repair the damage…
as for that barricade around the site..
it was erected after the site was demolished …
just about the time they connected the water :(
that said.. they were reasonably considerate.
i did let them use my water to damp the dust of demolition and will be paying the water bill..
it was cheaper than the emergency room….
but even after running my water full time for two days there was particulate in the air from both the roofing and insulation…
I can wash it off the plants..
but not out of the soil:(
luckily the wind blew it away from my vegetable garden.
the developer did pay for the material to resurface the fencing between our two residences…
but i will be supplying the labor…
which means i will be paying for that too since swinging a hammer is out for me :(
the good news is that it is a solid wood fence which should help some.
it’s going to be a very long summer :(
my point is that those rules don’t make for very good neighbors.. and people ought to know that increased density and rising property values .. increasing those taxes… won’t be the only issue.
July 25, 2015 at 4:41 am #826160
JoBParticipanti love the magic of the WSB forum..
today the porta potty was magically moved from the sidewalk to the construction site ;-)
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