Seattle City Council to vote on easing environmental reviews

To encourage development that will accommodate growth in Seattle, Mayor Greg Nickels has proposed easing environmental reviews for developers. Today, the City Council is set to vote on the issue.

When a developer proposes a project in Seattle now, Washington state requires an environmental review. The developer has to disclose what impact the project could have on endangered species, pollution and other environmental concerns. The public can suggest changes, which the city can require developers to make.

Small projects are exempt. Under the plan the council is considering, the city could expand that exemption in urban centers.

City Councilwoman Sally Clark, who chairs the land-use committee, supports such a change in the city's urban centers, which include downtown, Northgate, Uptown, Capitol Hill, South Lake Union and the University District. The review is mandated by the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA).

"The goal of this is to recognize that Seattle has pretty sophisticated codes in place that other smaller jurisdictions may not have" in the state, she said. City code, for example, requires developers to build sidewalks, provide drainage, protect view corridors and set noise limits.

The changes would require fewer projects to pass environmental review. A town-home complex with four or more units, for example, currently has to go through environmental review if proposed for an area zoned for low-rise development.

If the City Council passes the changes, the trigger point for that review would rise from four units to 10 units. The trigger points would also rise for commercial developments and high-rise buildings.

Chris Leman, who serves on the City Neighborhood Council, called the proposal "a terrible precedent."

"The State Environmental Policy Act, or SEPA, is a very important law. It provides basic rights that are enforceable at the state level," Leman said. "The city is saying, 'Trust us, we will still be concerned about all of these different things covered by SEPA — air quality, drainage and water quality, environmental health, plants and wildlife, light and glare, energy, height, bulk and scale, shadowing of open spaces, public view protection.' "

Clark says environmental review rarely results in changes other than stricter noise standards during construction and where people park their construction trucks.

"What I'm hearing from neighbors is the tool they're looking for is one that will help them influence the long-term impact on their community, not just the few months the construction truck is there," she said.

The complaints Clark hears regarding large projects often are about poor design, such as town-house developments that don't fit in with their neighborhood.

The city should address those concerns by changing the city's multifamily code or design review, a separate process where the public can provide input on a project's design, Clark said. The trigger points for design review will not change under this proposal.

She expects the City Council to consider changes to the multifamily code this summer.

Sharon Pian Chan: 206-464-2958 or schan@seattletimes.com