Land Use / Master Use Permit - Land Use Code Variance

What Is It?

A variance allows us to grant relief from certain code requirements. You can request Land Use Code variances from land use zoning provisions listed in the Seattle Municipal Code (SMC) Chapter 23. You may not request a variance for prohibited uses or height limits. A Land Use Code variance is a type of master use permit that has a public comment and appeal process. 

We review your application to confirm that the variance request meets all of the following:

  • Your request is the minimum necessary to grant relief and is not a special privilege compared to nearby properties
  • Your request is not harmful to the neighboring area
  • The strict application of Land Use Code provision would cause undue hardship if a variance is not granted
  • Your proposal is consistent with the spirit and purpose of the Land Use Code

If your proposal requires relief from the Shoreline Code requirements (SMC 23.60A), you must apply for a shoreline variance.

If your proposal requires variance relief from the Environmentally Critical Areas requirements (SMC 25.09), you must apply for an Environmentally Critical Areas variance.

How Much Does It Cost?

We charge an hourly review fee based on our Fee Subtitle. You need to pay a minimum fee when you submit your land use application. After we accept your application, we will send you a monthly invoice for all review time completed in that billing cycle. If you do not pay your invoice, we will stop reviewing your project. All fees are subject to an additional technology fee. See our Fee Subtitle for details.

How Long Does It Take?

A land use variance takes several months for our review and a written decision. Exactly how long it takes us to complete our review of your proposal depends on several factors, including:

  • Complexity of your proposal
  • Quality of your plans and project documentation
  • Timely response to correction letters and requests for further information
  • Public interest

Steps to Get Your Land Use Variance

Find your property information. Research your site to help you plan your project.

Determine standards for your project. Research the Seattle Municipal Code (SMC) to determine standards that will apply to your proposal.

Attend a coaching session. We offer 20 minutes of free video coaching through our SDCI Services page to answer drainage, land use, geotechnical, or construction permit questions. If you need a longer coaching session, we offer paid one-hour sessions. 

Start your application. Complete the Building & Land Use Pre-Application online using the Seattle Services Portal. You will need to answer questions about your proposal and upload a site plan. You'll receive an email once we have added the pre-application site visit (PASV) fees to your project. (Most projects require a PASV.) After you have paid the fee, we will perform the site visit. Your preliminary application information will be reviewed by other departments for comment on how the project relates to their department. If your application is related to a code violation case, report the case number.

Review your preliminary application report. You will receive a preliminary application report that will include critical information about whether you need Design Review, SEPA, or street improvements. Our report will include information from the utilities about your specific site and proposal.

Request a pre-submittal conference. We recommend pre-submittal conferences for very complex projects, including work in environmentally critical areas or shorelines. You must pay a minimum two hour pre-submittal conference fee before we schedule your appointment. We might charge additional hourly fees based on the number of City staff attending the conference, and the amount of follow-up time required.

Apply for exemptions. You may be eligible for exemptions from code or permitting requirements if your project is located in an environmentally critical area or near the shoreline. You need to apply for and resolve any exemption requests during the preliminary application process before you submit your permit application. Submit your exemption requests using the Seattle Services Portal.

Coordinate with other agencies. You may need permits or approvals from other agencies. These are the most common agencies you may need to work with for your permit type:

Prepare your plans and technical documents. Plans should be to scale. You may need to upload technical documents including a survey, geotechnical, and wetland reports, and other types of reports. Our Tips and code standards provide additional detail on the type of plans and reports we require to review your proposal.

Schedule an intake appointment. Schedule an intake appointment using the Seattle Services Portal. You must upload all application documents by 7:00 a.m. on the day of your appointment. You don’t need to come to our office for your appointment. However, you do need to be available for questions. We may call or email you on your appointment day for more information.

Pay fees. You must pay a minimum fee for your review, and accrued land use hourly fees, and intake and notice fees at intake. You will receive an email once we have added fees to your project. You must pay your fees using your portal before we will post any public notice or conduct any reviews. We will invoice you monthly for additional fees during the review process. We will stop reviewing your project if you do not pay your monthly invoice. After you pay your fees, we will complete public notice as required for your type of project. Then we will start our initial review. 

We'll consider all public comments we receive during our review and before we publish our decision.

Make corrections and resubmit your plans. Once all of our reviews are done, you will receive an email telling you that corrected or additional documents can be uploaded into your portal. Your project may require multiple correction rounds before our reviews are complete.

Pay outstanding fees. Once our review is complete, you will get an email for any outstanding fees. You must pay these fees in your portal before we publish our decision.

Read our decision. We will send a notice of our decision to you and everybody that submitted a public comment on your project. We will also publish our decision on your project in our Seattle Services Portal. Our decision will include any required conditions of approval, some that you must meet before we issue your permit.

Submit an appeal. If you or a member of the public disagree with our decision, an appeal may be filed with the Seattle Hearing Examiner within 14 days from when we publish our decision.

Pay final fees. We will notify you if you need to pay any final fees before we issue your permit.

Print your permit. We will notify you when we have issued your permit and the documents are available in your portal.

Note the expiration date. The expiration date of your permit is based on the date of the end of the appeal or the City Hearing Examiner decision. Your permit may expire six years from issuance, and therefore, your application may expire without having a construction permit issued.

You may apply for a construction permit at any time once you submit a land use application. However, the project can change and evolve through the land use application review process. Corrections required by our decision may require building plan changes that can result in costly design changes.

Construction and Inspections

Sam Steele, Interim Director
Address: 700 5th Ave, Suite 2000, Seattle, WA, 98104
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 34019, Seattle, WA, 98124-4019
Phone: (206) 684-8600
Phone Alt: Violation Complaint Line: (206) 615-0808
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SDCI issues land use, construction, and trade permits, conducts construction and housing-related inspections, ensures compliance with our codes, and regulates rental rules. SDCI is committed to an antiracist workplace and to addressing racism through our work in the community.