23.48.045

A. Amenity area is required for all development with more than 20 new dwelling units. B. Quantity of amenity area. An area equivalent to five percent of the total gross floor area in residential use shall be provided as amenity area, except that in no instance shall the amount of required amenity area exceed the area of the lot. In determining the quantity of amenity area required, accessory parking areas and areas used for mechanical equipment are excluded from the calculation of gross floor area in residential use. For the purposes of this subsection 23.48.045.B, bioretention facilities qualify as amenity area. C. Standards for amenity area. Required amenity area shall meet the following standards: 1. All residents of the project shall have access to the required amenity area, which may be provided at or above ground level. 2. A maximum of 50 percent of the required amenity area may be enclosed. 3. The minimum horizontal dimension for required amenity areas is 15 feet, except that for amenity area that is provided as landscaped open space located at street level and accessible from the street, the minimum horizontal dimension is 10 feet. 4. The minimum size of a required amenity area is 225 square feet. 5. Amenity area provided as landscaped open space located at street level and accessible from the street shall be counted as twice the actual area in determining the amount provided to meet the amenity area requirement. 6. Public open space provided on a lot to meet open space requirements for non-residential uses on the lot or to allow for extra non-residential floor area through a floor area bonus for open space amenities according to the provisions of this Chapter 23.48 and Section 23.58A.040 may be used as area satisfying the residential amenity area requirement for residential uses on the lot if the open space provided meets the standards of this Section 23.48.045 . 7. Parking areas, driveways, and pedestrian access, except for pedestrian access meeting the Washington State Rules and Regulations for Barrier-Free Design, shall not be counted as amenity area except that a woonerf may provide a maximum of 50 percent of the required amenity area if the design of the woonerf is approved through a design review process pursuant to Chapter 23.41 . 8. For a development that maintains a designated Seattle Landmark on the lot, the Director may, as Type I decision and in consultation with the Director of the Department of Neighborhoods, waive or modify the amenity area requirement if it is determined that maintaining the Landmark structure significantly limits the ability to accommodate the required amenity area on the site. 9. For lots abutting a designated Neighborhood Green Street, up to 50 percent of the amenity area requirement may be met by improving the abutting Neighborhood Green Street according to the standards for green street improvements in Section 23.58A.040 . The Director may waive the requirement that the Neighborhood Green Street abut the lot and allow the improvement to be made to a Neighborhood Green Street located in the general vicinity of the project if the Director determines that the improvement will benefit residents of the project. (Ord. 125267 , § 22, 2017; Ord. 124883 , § 13, 2015.)