Serving on one of Seattle’s Neighborhood Design Review Boards offers an excellent opportunity to provide guidance for the design of individual projects in the city and to stay abreast of development activity in your neighborhood. From now until Dec. 10, 2008, DPD is accepting applications for board positions which will open on April 4, 2009, when retiring board members’ terms expire.

Design review provides an alternative to prescriptive zoning requirements and fosters new development that better responds to the character of its surroundings. Each five-person Design Review Board holds public meetings twice a month during the evenings to evaluate development projects based upon the City’s design guidelines. Projects reviewed include mixed-use developments, multifamily housing and commercial projects of certain sizes. For more information on Design Review, visit www.seattle.gov/designreview.

Each Design Review Board includes a:

• Design professional
• Development representative
• Community at-large representative
• Local business representative
• Local residential representative

For each specific board position (design professional, development representative, etc.) the most successful applicants demonstrate how they understand the concerns of that group. Many applicants have multiple skills which qualifies them for several of the board positions and are therefore encouraged to apply for all positions that interest them.

Applicants should have:

• Knowledge of, or interest in, architecture, urban design and the development process
• The ability to evaluate projects based on the City’s design guidelines
• The ability to listen and communicate effectively at public meetings
• A passion for design and community development
• The ability to work well with others under pressure. Prior experience with community or neighborhood groups is a plus.

Board members must live in the city of Seattle. Board members are appointed by the Mayor and City Council to serve two-year terms and should expect to work 12-14 hours a month attending and preparing for meetings, which are held twice a month in the evenings. Board members are expected to attend at least 90 percent of the meetings.

Women, sexual minorities, persons with disabilities, and persons of color are encouraged to apply.

Opportunities to Serve in 2008
Applications will be accepted for the following ten positions on the City’s seven design review boards:

• Northeast Design Review Board
  – community at-large representative
  – local business representative
  
• Northwest Design Review Board
  – no openings
  
• Queen Anne/Magnolia Design Review Board
  – design professional representative
  – local residential representative
  
• Southeast Design Review Board
  – no openings
  
• Southwest Design Review Board
  – design professional representative
  – local residential representative
  
• Downtown Design Review Board
  – development representative
  – local residential representative
  
• Capitol Hill Design Review Board
  – community at-large representative
  – development representative