23.45.506

A. Uses permitted as administrative conditional uses in Section 23.45.504 may be permitted by the Director when the provisions of Section 23.42.042 and this Section 23.45.506 are met. B. Unless otherwise specified in this Chapter 23.45 , conditional uses shall meet the development standards for uses permitted outright. If an existing structure is nonconforming to development standards, then no conditional use is required for any alterations that do not increase the nonconformity. C. Institutions other than public schools not meeting the development standards of 23.45.570 , Institutions, and Major Institution uses as provided in Chapter 23.69 , may be permitted subject to the following: 1. Bulk and Siting. In order to accommodate the special needs of the proposed institution, and to better site the facility with respect to its surroundings, the Director may modify the applicable development standards. In determining whether to allow such modifications, the Director shall balance the needs of the institution against the compatibility of the proposed institution with the residential scale and character of the surrounding area. 2. Dispersion Criteria. An institution that does not meet the dispersion criteria of Section 23.45.570 may be permitted by the Director upon determination that it would not substantially worsen parking shortages, traffic safety hazards, and noise in the surrounding residential area. 3. Noise. The Director may condition the permit in order to mitigate potential noise problems. Measures the Director may require for this purpose include, but are not limited to the following: landscaping, sound barriers, fences, berms, adjustments to yards or the location of refuse storage areas, location of parking areas and access, structural design modifications, and regulating hours of use. 4. Transportation Plan. A transportation plan is required for proposed new institutions and for those institutions proposing to expand larger than 4,000 square feet of floor area and/or required to provide 20 or more new parking spaces. The Director may condition a permit to mitigate potential traffic and parking impacts pursuant to a Transportation Management Plan or Program as described in directors rules governing such plans or programs. The Director will determine the level of detail to be disclosed in the transportation plan based on the probable impacts and/or scale of the proposed institution. D. A use not otherwise permitted in the zone within a structure designated as a Seattle landmark that is subject to controls and incentives imposed by a designating ordinance, when the owner of the landmark has executed and recorded an agreement acceptable in form and content to the Landmarks Preservation Board providing for the restoration and maintenance of the historically significant features of the structure, may be permitted subject to the following: 1. The use is compatible with the existing design and/or construction of the structure without significant alteration; and 2. Uses permitted by the zone are impractical because of structure design and/or that no permitted use can provide adequate financial support necessary to sustain the structure in reasonably good physical condition. E. Park and ride facilities on surface parking lots may be permitted as a Type II decision subject to the following: 1. The facility may be permitted only where there is direct vehicular access to an arterial street improved to City standards in subsection 23.53.015.B. 2. The facility is located on a lot containing required accessory parking for other uses, and there must be no substantial conflict in the principal operating hours of the facility and other uses on the lot. 3. The Director may require noise mitigation, vehicular access control, signage restrictions, landscaping and screening in addition to that required for surface parking areas, and other measures to provide comfort and safety for pedestrians and bicyclists. The purpose of these measures is to help ensure the compatibility of the facility with the surrounding area. F. In addition to medical service uses permitted as ground floor commercial uses pursuant to subsection 23.45.504.E, medical service uses occupying over 4,000 square feet may be permitted in Highrise zones as administrative conditional uses on lots that are at least 25,000 square feet in size, have not been in residential use since January 1, 1989, and are located on a block that abuts a Neighborhood Commercial zone on at least two entire sides of the block (defined for the purpose of this subsection 23.45.506.F as an area bounded by street lot lines). 1. In order to approve a medical service use, the Director must determine that the medical service use is an expansion of an existing medical service business establishment in the immediate vicinity that is not a major institution. 2. Design review is required. 3. The development standards in Sections 23.45.510 , 23.45.514 , 23.45.516 , 23.45.518 , 23.45.520 , and 23.45.536 do not apply to the portion of the structure occupied by medical service uses, except as specified in this subsection 23.45.506.F. Portions of the structure occupied by medical service uses shall meet the following development standards: a. The maximum height for the portions of structures containing medical office uses is 108 feet, except that the provisions for green roofs and rooftop features in Section 23.45.514 apply. b. The average of the gross floor area of stories in medical service use above 45 feet in height shall not exceed 60 percent of the area of the lot. 4. Setbacks a. Setbacks shall be required as shown on Table A for 23.45.506. Table A for 23.45.506: Setback Requirements for Medical Office Uses (all measurements in feet) Elevation of Facade or Portion of Facade from Existing Grade Setback on Street Frontages Setback on Alley Frontages Setback on shared lot lines 45 or less 7 average, 5 minimum 0 7 average, 5 minimum More than 45 up to 108 10 average, 7 minimum 10 15 average, 10 minimum b. If the ground floor of a street facade is in use as a child care center, community center, or commercial use permitted on the ground floor by Section 23.45.504 , no setback is required for the portion of the street facade that is 45 feet in height or less. c. If a lot abutting the lot is developed to the side lot line, portions of the proposed development that are 45 feet in height or less may be joined to the abutting structure. d. Projections into required setbacks, and structures in required setbacks, are permitted pursuant to Section 23.45.518 . 5. A minimum of 25 percent of the lot area shall be provided as landscaped open space at ground level. Except as provided in this subsection 23.45.506.F.5, no horizontal dimension for required open space shall be less than 10 feet, nor shall any required open space area be less than 225 square feet. The following additional areas may be included in the calculation of required ground level open space: a. Area in the public right-of-way of a neighborhood green street designated in Section 23.45.516 abutting the lot that is improved according to a plan approved by the Director, in consultation with the Director of the Seattle Department of Transportation; except that the Director may waive the requirement that the neighborhood green street abut the lot and allow the improvements to be made to a neighborhood green street located in the general vicinity of the project, if such an improvement is determined to be beneficial to the occupants of the project; and b. Landscaped area in the public right-of-way that abuts the required open space on the lot, when the landscaping contributes to achievement of the Green Factor score required in subsection 23.45.506.F.6. below. 6. The landscaping and screening requirements of Section 23.45.524 apply, except that the required Green Factor score is 0.3 or greater, pursuant to Section 23.86.019 . 7. Parking shall be required as provided in Chapter 23.54 . 8. The Director shall determine the location of access to parking. In order to promote pedestrian safety and comfort, access via an alley is preferred. Where street access is deemed appropriate, due to safety hazards, topography, or other special conditions of the lot, the number of curb cuts and the width of curb cuts, driveways, and garage openings shall be minimized. 9. No surface area parking shall be provided, and no parking shall be located at or above grade, unless it is separated from all street lot lines by another use. 10. The preferred access to loading berths shall be from an alley if the lot abuts an alley. Loading berths shall be located so that access to any residential parking is not blocked. 11. The Director shall determine the location of passenger load zones, based on safety considerations, minimizing conflicts with automobile and pedestrian traffic, reducing impacts on any nearby residential uses, and the efficient operation of the medical service use. 12. Identifying signs shall be permitted according to Chapter 23.55 , Signs. 13. For mixed use structures containing both medical service uses and residential uses, the portion of the structure in residential use shall meet the requirements of the HR zone, except as modified by the following: a. The maximum width and floor size limits in Section 23.45.520 apply to any portion of the structure in residential use above 45 feet in height. b. Amenity areas shall be provided according to the provisions of Section 23.45.522 . Open space required at ground level pursuant to subsection 23.45.506.F.5 may be counted as amenity area if it meets the applicable development standards of Section 23.45.522 . c. No landscaped open space is required in addition to the open space required in subsection 23.45.506.F.5. G. Heat recovery incinerators located on the same lot as the principal use may be permitted by the Director as accessory conditional uses, subject to the following conditions: 1. The incinerator may be located no closer than 100 feet to any lot line unless completely enclosed within a building. 2. If not within a building, the incinerator shall be enclosed by a view-obscuring fence of sufficient strength and design to resist entrance by children. 3. Adequate control measures for insects, rodents and odors shall be continuously maintained. (Ord. 126157 , § 19, 2020; Ord. 125558 , § 7, 2018; Ord. 123495, § 26, 2011; Ord. 123378, § 12, 2010; Ord. 123209, § 24, 2009.)