23.47A.012

A. The height limit for structures in NC zones or C zones is as designated on the Official Land Use Map, Chapter 23.32 . Structures may not exceed the applicable height limit, except as otherwise provided in this Section 23.47A.012 . 1. In zones with a 30-foot or 40-foot mapped height limit: a. The height of a structure may exceed the otherwise applicable limit by up to 4 feet, subject to subsection 23.47A.012.A.1.c, provided the following conditions are met: 1) Either: a floor-to-floor height of 13 feet or more is provided for nonresidential uses at street level; or a residential use is located on a street-level, street-facing facade, provided that the average height of the exterior facades of any portion of a story that is partially below-grade does not exceed 4 feet, measured from existing or finished grade, whichever is less, and the first floor of the structure at or above grade is at least 4 feet above sidewalk grade; and 2) The additional height allowed for the structure will not allow an additional story beyond the number that could be built under the otherwise applicable height limit. b. The height of a structure may exceed the otherwise applicable limit by up to 7 feet, subject to subsection 23.47A.012.A.1.c, provided all of the following conditions are met: 1) Residential and multi-purpose retail sales uses are located in the same structure; 2) The total gross floor area of at least one multi-purpose retail sales use exceeds 12,000 square feet; 3) A floor-to-floor height of 16 feet or more is provided for the multi-purpose retail sales use at street level; 4) The additional height allowed for the structure will not allow an additional story beyond the number that could be built under the otherwise applicable height limit if a floor-to-floor height of 16 feet were not provided at street level; and 5) The structure is not allowed additional height under subsection 23.47A.012.A.1.a. c. The Director shall reduce or deny the additional structure height allowed by this subsection 23.47A.012.A.1 if the additional height would significantly block views from neighboring residential structures of any of the following: Mount Rainier, the Olympic and Cascade Mountains, the downtown skyline, Green Lake, Puget Sound, Lake Washington, Lake Union, or the Ship Canal. 2. Within the Station Area Overlay District within the University District Regional Center, maximum structure height may be increased to 125 feet when all of the following are met: a. The lot is within two blocks of a planned or existing light rail station; b. The proposed use of the lot is functionally related to other office development, permitted prior to 1971, to have over 500,000 square feet of gross floor area to be occupied by a single entity; c. A transportation management plan for the life of the use includes incentives for light rail and other transit use by the employees of the office use; d. The development shall provide street-level amenities for pedestrians and shall be designed to promote pedestrian interest, safety, and comfort through features such as landscaping, lighting, and transparent facades, as determined by the Director; and e. This subsection 23.47A.012.A.2 can be used only once for each development that is functionally related. 3. On a lot containing a peat settlement-prone environmentally critical area, the height of a structure may exceed the otherwise applicable height limit and the other height allowances provided by this Section 23.47A.012 by up to 3 feet. In addition, 3 more feet of height may be allowed for any wall of a structure on a sloped lot, provided that on the uphill sides of the structure, the maximum elevation of the structure height shall be no greater than the height allowed by the first sentence of this subsection 23.47A.012.A.3. The Director may apply the allowances in this subsection 23.47A.012.A.3 only if the following conditions are met: a. The Director finds that locating a story of parking underground is infeasible due to physical site conditions such as a high water table; b. The Director finds that the additional height allowed for the structure is necessary to accommodate parking located partially below grade that extends no more than 6 feet above existing or finished grade, whichever is lower, and no more than 3 feet above the highest existing or finished grade along the structure footprint, whichever is lower, as measured to the finished floor level above; and c. Other than the additional story of parking allowed according to this subsection 23.47A.012.A.3, the additional height shall not allow an additional story beyond the number of stories that could be built under the otherwise applicable height limit. 4. In zones that are located within the Pike/Pine Conservation Overlay District with a mapped height limit of 75 feet, the provisions of Section 23.73.014 apply. 5. In Commercial zones bounded by South Dawson Street to the north, 5th Avenue South to the east, South Fidalgo Street to the south, and 3rd Avenue South to the west, the height of a structure may exceed the otherwise applicable limit by up to 10 feet, provided all of the following conditions are met: a. The applicant makes a commitment that the proposed development will meet the green building standard and shall demonstrate compliance with that commitment in accordance with Chapter 23.58D ; b. The development includes at least five stories solely occupied by residential uses; c. At least 20 percent of the street frontage at street level of the development shall be street-level uses from the list in subsection 23.47A.005.D.1; d. A floor-to-floor height of 20 feet or more is provided for the nonresidential uses at street level provided to comply with the provisions of subsection 23.47A.012.A.5.c; and e. All dwelling units in the development have sound-insulating windows and air cooling and ventilation systems meeting the requirement of subsection 23.47A.009.J.4 and 23.47A.009.J.5. B. The ridge of a pitched roof, other than a shed roof or butterfly roof, may extend up to 5 feet above the otherwise applicable height limit in zones with height limits of 30 or 40 feet, if all parts of the roof above the otherwise applicable height limit are pitched at a rate of not less than 4:12 (Exhibit A for 23.47A.012 ). Exhibit A for 23.47A.012 Pitched roof height exception C. Rooftop features 1. Smokestacks, chimneys, flagpoles, and religious symbols for religious institutions are exempt from height controls, except as regulated in Chapter 23.64 , provided they are a minimum of 10 feet from any side or rear lot line. 2. Open railings, planters, skylights, clerestories, greenhouses, solariums, parapets, and firewalls may extend as high as the highest ridge of a pitched roof permitted by subsection 23.47A.012.B or up to 4 feet above the otherwise applicable height limit, whichever is higher. Insulation material or soil for landscaping located above the structural roof surface may exceed the maximum height limit by up to 2 feet if enclosed by parapets or walls that comply with this subsection 23.47A.012.C.2. Rooftop decks and other similar features may exceed the maximum height limit by up to two feet, and open railings or parapets required by the Building Code around the perimeter of rooftop decks or other similar features may exceed the maximum height limit by the minimum necessary to meet Building Code requirements. 3. Solar collectors a. In zones with mapped height limits of 30 to 55 feet, solar collectors may extend up to 4 feet above the otherwise applicable height limit, with unlimited rooftop coverage. b. In zones with height limits of greater than 40 feet, solar collectors may extend up to 7 feet above the otherwise applicable height limit, with unlimited rooftop coverage. 4. Except as provided below, the following rooftop features may extend up to 15 feet above the applicable height limit if the combined total coverage of all features gaining additional height listed in this subsection 23.47A.012.C.4 does not exceed 30 percent of the roof area, or the combined total coverage does not exceed 35 percent of the roof area if the total includes stair or elevator penthouses or screened or enclosed mechanical equipment, or does not exceed 60 percent coverage of the roof area if the total includes a greenhouse: a. Solar collectors that exceed heights allowed by subsection 23.47A.012.C.3; b. Mechanical equipment; c. Play equipment and open-mesh fencing that encloses it, as long as the fencing is at least 10 feet from the roof edge; d. Chimneys; e. Sun and wind screens, and similar weather protection features such as eaves or canopies extending from rooftop features; f. Covered or enclosed common recreation areas; g. Greenhouses and solariums; h. Wind-driven power generators; i. Minor communication utilities and accessory communication devices, except that height is regulated according to the provisions of Section 23.57.012 ; and j. Stair and elevator penthouses, which may extend above the applicable height limit by up to 16 feet. 5. At the applicant's option, for buildings exceeding 120 feet, the combined total rooftop coverage limit of all features listed in subsections 23.47A.012.C.4 is 75 percent, provided that all of the following are satisfied: a. All mechanical equipment is screened or enclosed; and b. No rooftop features are located closer than 10 feet to the roof edge, except features that do not exceed the height of the parapet or 5 feet above the roof surface, whichever is greater, or which may be permitted by design review departure or other code provisions including but not limited to Chapter 23.57 . 6. The rooftop features listed in this subsection 23.47A.012.C.6 shall be located at least 10 feet from the north lot line unless a shadow diagram is provided that demonstrates that locating such features within 10 feet of the north lot line would not shade property to the north on January 21 at noon more than would a structure built to maximum permitted height and FAR: a. Solar collectors; b. Planters; c. Clerestories; d. Greenhouses and solariums; e. Minor communication utilities and accessory communication devices, permitted pursuant to the provisions of Section 23.57.012 ; f. Sun and wind screens, and similar weather protection features such as eaves or canopies extending from rooftop features; g. Covered or enclosed common recreation areas; h. Non-firewall parapets; and i. Play equipment. 7. Structures existing prior to May 10, 1986, may add new or replace existing mechanical equipment up to 15 feet above the roof elevation of the structure and shall comply with the noise standards of Section 23.47A.018 . 8. For height limits and exceptions for communication utilities and accessory communication devices, see Section 23.57.012 . D. Solar retrofits. The Director may permit the retrofitting of solar collectors on conforming or nonconforming structures existing on June 9, 1986, as a special exception pursuant to Chapter 23.76 , Procedures for Master Use Permits and Council Land Use Decisions. Such a retrofit may be permitted to exceed established height limits, if the following conditions are met: 1. There is no feasible alternative solution to placing the collector(s) on the roof; 2. The positioning of such collector(s) minimizes view blockage and shading of property to the north, while still providing adequate solar access for the collectors; and 3. Such collector(s) meet minimum energy standards administered by the Director. E. Height exceptions for public schools 1. For new public school construction on new public school sites, the maximum permitted height shall be the maximum height permitted in the zone. 2. For new public school construction on existing public school sites, the maximum permitted height shall be the maximum height permitted in the zone or 35 feet plus 15 feet for a pitched roof complying with subsection 23.47A.012.E.5, whichever is greater. 3. For additions to existing public schools on existing public school sites, the maximum height permitted shall be the maximum height permitted in the zone, the height of the existing school, or 35 feet plus 15 feet for a pitched roof complying with subsection 23.47A.012.E.5, whichever is greater. 4. Development standard departure for structure height may be granted pursuant to the procedures and criteria set forth in Chapter 23.79 . For construction of new structures on new and existing public school sites to the extent not otherwise permitted outright, maximum height that may be granted as a development standard departure in zones with height limits of 30 or 40 feet shall be 35 feet plus 15 feet for a pitched roof complying with subsection 23.47A.012.E.5 for elementary schools and 60 feet plus 15 feet for a pitched roof complying with subsection 23.47A.012.E.5 for secondary schools. All height maximums may be waived by the Director when waiver would contribute to the demolition of fewer residential structures. 5. To qualify for additional height for a pitched roof under this subsection 23.47A.012.E, all parts of the roof above the height otherwise allowed must be pitched at a rate of not less than 3:12 and the roof must not be a shed roof or butterfly roof. F. Additional height in NC3-200 and NC3P-200 zoned areas in the First Hill/Capitol Hill Regional Center In the NC3-200 and NC3P-200 zones in the First Hill/Capitol Hill Regional Center, additional height above the otherwise applicable height limit of 200 feet may be permitted to accommodate floor area achieved through the provisions of subsection 23.47A.013.F and Section 23.58A.042 if the development meets the following requirements: 1. The development does not exceed 350 feet in height, except that rooftop features may exceed 350 feet in height if they comply with subsection 23.47A.012.C. 2. Only extra floor area achieved through subsection 23.47A.013.F may be located above 200 feet. (Ord. 127375 , § 46, 2025; Ord. 127025 , § 1, 2024; Ord. 126685 , § 26, 2022; Ord. 126600 , § 5, 2022; Ord. 126548 , § 1, 2022; Ord. 126157 , § 24, 2020; Ord. 125791 , § 52, 2019; Ord. 125272 , § 28, 2017; Ord. 125267 , § 13, 2017; Ord. 125173 , § 4, 2016; Ord. 124883 , § 11, 2015; Ord. 124843 , § 30, 2015; Ord. 123776, § 4, 2011; Ord. 123649, § 20, 2011; Ord. 123564, § 7, 2011; Ord. 123378, § 18, 2010; Ord. 123020, § 10, 2009; Ord. 122935, § 6, 2009; Ord. 122738, § 2, 2008; Ord. 122311 , § 44, 2006.)