Green Building

Green Building Permit Incentives

In Seattle, buildings are one of the largest and fastest growing sources of climate pollution. They are responsible for more than a third of our city's greenhouse gas emissions, with over 90 percent of these emissions resulting from burning fossil fuels like fracked gas for heat, hot water, and appliances. These emissions pollute our air and accelerate climate change, which disproportionately harms Seattle's Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities. Seattle is committed to eliminating climate pollution and transitioning to 100 percent clean energy in our buildings and vehicles by 2050 for our health and resilience in the face of a changing climate.

Our green building permit incentives aim to create more efficient buildings that center around clean electric energy, water, and resource conservation with a focus on human health. Projects can gain additional height, floor area, or a faster building permit in exchange for meeting specific green building goals and certification. The Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections is proud to play a role in helping make Seattle a safe, livable, and inclusive city for generations to come. See the incentives below to learn more about each incentive and how it can benefit your project. 

• Priority Green Expedited: Available for all new construction projects. Offers faster building permit review and processing for projects that meet green building requirements with a focus on clean energy, resource conservation, indoor air quality, and lead hazard reduction.
• Green Building Standard: Gives additional development capacity in specific zones in exchange for meeting green building requirements.
• Living Building Pilot Program: Offers additional height, floor area ratio (FAR), and Design Review departure requests for projects that meet aggressive energy and water requirements and Living Building Petal Certification.
• 2030 Challenge: Offers additional height, FAR, and Design Review departure requests for projects that meet the 2030 Challenge.
• Innovation Advisory Committee: This group of experts will review energy efficient proposals not covered in the technical codes.