Stop It

Now that individual neighborhoods are banding together against backyard/side yard houses, we have a real, viable opportunity to finally close the loophole that allows them to be built. There are also some things you can do on your own.

Follow along as the City Council takes action

The city is trying to do something to control the spread of backyard/side yard houses. Here’s the current status of its efforts (as of 1/31/13):

NOTE: These dates are very loose and always changing. Check back often for the latest. Also, the DPD has established this website to help keep people informed about the issue.

September 10, 2012 — The Seattle City Council (lead by councilman Richard Conlin) unanimously passed a one-year moratorium on the construction of any more tall, skinny backyard/side yard houses (projects that already have building permits will be allowed to continue, as well as projects constructed on tax parcels larger than 2,500 square feet, in most cases).

March, 2013 — The Department of Planning and Development made public its preliminary recommendations for permanent building code changes regarding backyard/side yard houses.

Spring, 2013 — The DPD will make public its permanent recommendations regarding the building code changes. Then a committee of the City Council (the Planning Land Use and Sustainability Committee) will begin deliberating the DPD’s recommendations.

Sometime between April and July, 2013 — The City Council will hold public hearings on the issue.

Sometime between April and July, 2013 – The City Council will vote on the final recommendations of the Planning Land Use and Sustainability Committee.

By September, 2013 – The City Council will end the emergency moratorium and implement the new building codes.

Let the City Council know what you think

The Planning, Land Use and Sustainability Committee (a committee of the Seattle City Council) is deliberating how to make backyard/side yard houses more “appropriate” for their surroundings. The members of that committee need to hear from people like you. Richard Conlin is the chair of the committee, Tim Burgess is the vice-chair, Mike O’Brien is a member, and Sally J. Clark, while listed as an alternative, is a very influencial member.

Contact information for the four members of the Planning Land Use and Sustainability Committee:

The other members of the city council:

 

Meanwhile, developers Dan Duffus and Mark Knoll have hired well-known Seattle lobbyist Roger Valdez to pressure those city leaders into watering down any development regulations. The name of their lobbying group: Smart Growth Seattle.

Don’t believe what Smart Growth Seattle is saying

From the very beginning, a few developers have been distorting the facts and arguing that Seattle’s building codes for backyard / side yard houses need to be loosened, not tightened. Now they’ve hired a professional lobbyist and formed a lobbying group called Smart Growth Seattle.  Learn the truth about their arguments.

Share these photos

Show people these photos of Seattle backyard/side yard houses so they can see that the project in your neighborhood is not an anomaly, but rather just the most recent example.

Get to know the developers and their tactics

Learn more about the developers, architects and contractors behind these backyard/side yard projects:

Lobby your City Council members

Members of the Seattle City Council Planning, Land Use and Sustainability Committee have been receptive to requests to review the building codes that allow backyard/side yard houses to be built. But they won’t push for it until they hear from more disaffected neighbors and neighborhoods. Get their names and contact information, then send each of them a letter:

Lobby the Department of Planning and Development

Diane Sugimura is the director of the Department of Planning and Development. Send her a note and let her know what you think of backyard/side yard houses.

Lobby the mayor

Mayor McGinn wants to loosen regulations for development. Let him know that the loophole that allows backyard/side yard houses to be built should be closed before he allows developers to do even more developing.

Engage the mainstream media

Most mainstream reporters aren’t much interested in writing a story about just one neighborhood’s backyard/side yard house. That’s too focused for them. But if you present the project on your street as the latest in the ongoing epidemic of backyard/side yard houses, then you just may get the attention you seek.

Engage your neighborhood media

The blogs and newspapers that serve your neighborhood should be interested in running a story about the backyard/side yard house on your street.

Write a letter to the editor

When an article about development appears in the newspaper, take a few minutes to write a letter to the editor about backyard/side yard houses. Studies show that the opinion/editorial section of most newspapers are by far the most-read pages. Plus, this kind of reader feedback encourages the paper to continue reporting on the subject.

Request a code amendment

If you think the building code should be amended so that these old, historic tax parcels can no longer be built upon, take a few minutes to say so on this DPD request form.

Add a restriction to your deed prohibiting a backyard/side yard house

To protect your own property (after you sell), you could add a restriction to your deed stating that your property can never be divided or a have backyard/side yard home built upon it. But making such a restriction stick is difficult. A more effective approach would be to get your neighborhood to add a “plat restriction” to everyone’s property.

Other actions you can take

You’ve got to make an extra effort and get involved if you want to stop developers from building more backyard/side yard houses.

  • Distribute this website to others (most Seattleites don’t even know this issue exists – until a backyard/side yard house pops up next-door).
  • To add your neighborhood’s backyard/side yard project to the list, contact us.
  • To be kept informed of new developments, contact us.