23.50.027

A. Applicability 1. Except as otherwise provided in this Section 23.50.027 , the maximum size of use limits on gross floor area specified in Table A for 23.50.027 apply to principal uses on a lot, and apply separately to the categories of uses. The total gross floor area occupied by uses limited under Table A for 23.50.027 shall not exceed 2.5 times the area of the lot in an IG1, IG2, or IB zone. 2. The combined square footage of any one business establishment located on more than one lot is subject to the size limitations on nonindustrial uses specified in Table A for 23.50.027. 3. The maximum size of use limits in Table A for 23.50.027 do not apply to the North Lake Union area identified in Map A for 23.50.027. In that area no single non-office use listed in Table A for 23.50.027 may exceed 50,000 square feet in size. Table A for 23.50.027 Size of use limits in Industrial zones Uses subject to size limits IG1 (in square feet) IG2 (in square feet) IB (in square feet) Animal shelters and kennels* 10,000 10,000 75,000 Drinking establishments** 3,000 3,000 N.S.L. Entertainment* 10,000.*** 10,000*** 75,000 Lodging uses* 10,000 10,000 75,000 Medical services* 10,000 10,000 75,000 Office 10,000 25,000 100,000 Restaurants 5,000 5,000 N.S.L. Retail sales, major durables 10,000 25,000 75,000 Sales and services, automotive 10,000 25,000 75,000 Sales and services, general 10,000 25,000 75,000 Key for Table A for 23.50.027 N.S.L. = No size limit * Where permitted under Table A for 23.50.012. ** The size limit for brew pubs applies to that portion of the pub that is not used for brewing purposes. *** The size limit for indoor sports and recreation is 50,000 sq. ft. for lots meeting the criteria of subsection 23.50.027.H. B. The following exceptions to the size limitations in Table A for 23.50.027 are allowed for a structure existing as of September 26, 2007: 1. A use legally established as of September 26, 2007, that already exceeds the size limitations listed in Table A for 23.50.027 may continue. 2. Subject to the limitations in subsection 23.50.027.E, the gross floor area of a use listed in Table A for 23.50.027 and legally established as of September 26, 2007, may be converted to another category of use listed in Table A for 23.50.027 provided that the combined gross floor area devoted to uses listed in Table A for 23.50.027 does not exceed the total gross floor area of such uses legally established as of September 26, 2007. 3. If 50 percent or more of the gross floor area of the structure has been legally established as of September 26, 2007, with a use or uses listed in Table A for 23.50.027, those categories of uses may exceed the size of use limits as follows: a. Uses listed in Table A for 23.50.027 may expand within and occupy the entire structure. b. The structure may be expanded by up to the following amounts and the use or uses may be permitted to expand within and occupy the entire structure: 1) IG1 and IG2 zones: 20 percent of the existing structure's gross floor area or 10,000 square feet, whichever is less; 2) IB zone: 20 percent of the existing structure's gross floor area or 20,000 square feet, whichever is less. C. Special Exceptions for Office Use. 1. Office Uses that are not Public Facilities Operated for Public Purposes by Units or Instrumentalities of Special or General Purpose Government or the City. a. The Director may permit an office use to exceed the size of use limits as a special exception pursuant to Chapter 23.76 , Master Use Permits and Council Land Use Decisions, provided that the total gross floor area devoted to the uses limited in Table A for 23.50.027 shall not exceed an area equal to the area of the lot in an IG1 zone or 2.5 times the area of the lot in an IG2 or IB zone, and either the office is on the same lot as, and accessory to, a permitted use not listed in Table A for 23.50.027; or the office is a principal use on the same or another lot within 1 mile distance of a permitted use not listed in Table A for 23.50.027 and is directly related to and supportive of that use. b. The Director shall use the following characteristics to determine whether to approve, approve with conditions or deny a special exception: 1) Characteristics that make a lot more appropriate for office uses are: a) The presence of well-defined boundaries, buffers, edge conditions or circulation patterns that separate office uses from industrial activity; b) The likelihood that the proposed use will provide or encourage improvements that will directly support industrial activity in the area; c) The likelihood that the proposed use, because of its type, size and location, will operate without substantial conflicts with the industrial function of the area; d) A sufficiently large industrial area such that the proposed use would not undermine the area's industrial character. 2) Characteristics that make a lot less appropriate for office uses are: a) The presence of heavy industrial uses that would conflict with office use; b) The presence of any special features, such as access to the water, rail and the regional highway systems, that make the land especially well-suited to industrial use. 2. Office Uses in Public Facilities Operated for Public Purposes by Units or Instrumentalities of Special or General Purpose Government or the City in IG1 Zones. The Director may permit office uses in existing vacant structures that were and are to be used as public facilities operated for public purposes by units or instrumentalities of special or general purpose government or the City on lots zoned IG1 to exceed the size limits referenced in Table A for 23.50.027 as a special exception pursuant to Chapter 23.76 , Master Use Permits and Council Land Use Decisions, under the following circumstances: a. Eligible Sites. To be eligible to apply for this exception the lot must meet the following criteria: 1) The lot and its structures are owned by a unit or instrumentality of special or general purpose government or the City and must have been owned by a unit or instrumentality of special or general purpose government or the City on January 1, 2000; 2) The lot is at least 500,000 square feet; 3) The lot contains existing structures with a total gross floor area of at least 300,000 square feet that were at least 50 percent vacant continuously since September 1, 1997; and 4) The lot and the existing structures on the lot must have functioned most recently as a public facility operated for a public purpose by a unit or instrumentality of special or general purpose government or the City, and a) The previous public facility must have had at least ten percent of its gross floor area functioning as accessory or principal offices; and b) The previous public facility must have had at least 25 percent of its gross floor area functioning as one or more of the following uses or categories of uses: i. Warehouse, ii. Light, general or heavy manufacturing, iii. Food processing or craft work, iv. Transportation facilities, v. Salvage and recycling, or vi. Utilities other than solid waste landfills. b. Development Standards. The proposed public facility must meet the following development standards in order for a special exception to be approved: 1) The existing structure or structures will remain on the lot and will be reused for the proposed public facility, except that demolition of up to 20 percent of the gross floor area of the existing structures and/or an addition of up to 20 percent of the gross floor area of the existing structures is allowed; 2) The total gross floor area to be devoted to office use in the proposed public facility will not exceed the lesser of 55 percent of the gross floor area of the existing structures on the lot or an area equal to the area of the lot; and 3) At least 25 percent of the gross floor area of the structures in the proposed public facility must include one or more of the following uses or categories of uses: a) Warehouse; b) Light, general or heavy manufacturing; c) Food processing or craft work; d) Transportation facilities; e) Salvage or recycling; or f) Utilities other than solid waste landfills. D. Covered rooftop recreational space of a building existing as of December 31, 1998, if complying with subsection 23.50.012.D, is not subject to the limits on maximum size of nonindustrial uses contained in subsection 23.50.027.A. E. Special Exception to Maximum Sizes for General Sales and Service Use. 1. Subject to the procedures set forth in Chapter 23.76 , Master Use Permits and Council Land Use Decisions, a general sales and service use within the Duwamish Manufacturing/Industrial Center that satisfies the criteria in this subsection 23.50.027.E may obtain a special exception to expand its gross floor area by a maximum of 30 percent above the gross floor area being used for general sales and service use as of October 1, 2003. The expansion in gross floor area may occur one time only, either by addition to the existing building or by construction of a replacement building, in which case the gross floor area of the portion of the replacement building to be used for general sales and service use must not exceed the gross floor area of the old building that was used for general sales and service use as of October 1, 2003, plus 30 percent of that gross floor area. 2. To be eligible for this special exception an applicant must demonstrate to the Director's satisfaction that: a. The general sales and service use was established on a lot on or before January 1, 1985, the use has continued as an established general sales and service use since that date without interruption, and it exceeded the size of use limits in Table A for 23.50.027 as of September 12, 2007; b. At least 50 percent of the gross sales of the general sales and service use are to businesses or business representatives; and c. The use has not previously converted any use listed in Table A for 23.50.027 to general sales and service pursuant to subsection 23.50.027.B.2 or expanded the gross floor area of the general sales and service use pursuant to subsections 23.50.027.B.3.a or 23.50.027.B.3.b. 3. The Director shall consider the following and may impose conditions to assure that these criteria are met: a. That well-defined boundaries, buffers, edge conditions or circulation patterns will separate the use, if the gross floor area of the general sales and service use is expanded, from surrounding industrial activity; b. That adverse impacts on nearby industrial uses are minimized; and c. That the proposed expansion of the gross floor area of the general sales and service use will increase the capacity of the existing use to support other businesses by providing goods and services that are used by such businesses as well as by individual consumers in the Duwamish Manufacturing/Industrial Center. 4. To be eligible for expansion onto a contiguous lot that is not separated by a street, alley or other right-of-way, the applicant also must demonstrate that: a. The established use on the contiguous lot is a use that is permitted in commercial as well as industrial zones, and that use has been established for at least ten years prior to the date of application; and b. The most recent business establishment on the contiguous lot has ceased operations or moved to another location for reasons unrelated to the proposed expansion of the general sales and service use that is applying for the special exception. 5. Any general sales and service use that has expanded its gross floor area pursuant to a special exception granted pursuant to this Section 23.50.027 may not thereafter convert any use listed in Table A for 23.50.027 to retail pursuant to subsection 23.50.027.B.2 or expand the gross floor area of the general sales and service use pursuant to subsections 23.50.027.B.3.a or 23.50.027.B.3.b. F. Special Exception to Size-of-Use Limits for Reuse of Certain Buildings. 1. Special Exception to Size-of-Use Limits. If a building meets all of the conditions in subsection 23.50.027.F.2, then pursuant to the procedures in Chapter 23.76 , the Director may grant a special exception to the size limits in Table A for 23.50.027 for one or more uses in that building and any other buildings on the lot, based upon the criteria in subsection 23.50.027.F.3. 2. Eligible Buildings. To be eligible for the special exception, the building shall meet the following conditions: a. The building is located within the following boundaries: north of Lander St., west of Interstate 5, south of Royal Brougham Way, and east of State Route 99; b. The building has a minimum of five stories that are entirely or partially above grade; c. The building was built and occupied prior to January 1, 2009; and d. The lot on which the building is located is at least 0.5 mile from any other lot where a special exception under this subsection 23.50.027.F has been granted. 3. Special Exception Criteria. The Director may grant the special exception when all of the following are met: a. At least 75 percent of the building that is eligible under subsection 23.50.027.F.2, existing as of January 1, 2009, remains intact after reuse, except to the extent structural alterations are necessary to comply with other applicable codes; b. The proposed use will not directly or indirectly lead to changes in traffic volumes, traffic patterns or right-of-way improvements that would interfere with adjacent industrial uses, such as by impeding freight access and freight movement; and c. The proposed use will not contribute to a pattern or density of non-industrial uses to an extent that will conflict with the viability of industrial uses or development on adjacent industrially zoned property. 4. Exception in Addition to Size of Use Limits. Unless the Director expressly specifies otherwise, any space allowed to be occupied under this special exception is in addition to the amounts allowed by the size of use limits in Table A for 23.50.027 that otherwise apply to a lot or business establishment. 5. Conditioning Authority. The Director may impose conditions to assure that criteria for the special exception are satisfied and to mitigate any impacts that may result from granting the special exception. G. Rooftop Recreational Space in IG1 and IG2 Zones. Rooftop recreational space in IG1 and IG2 zones accessory to office use and meeting the standards of subsection 23.50.012.D is not subject to the limits on maximum size of nonindustrial uses. H. The maximum size limit for indoor sports and recreation is 50,000 square feet for lots in the IG1 and IG2 zones that meet all of the following conditions: 1. Located in the Ballard Interbay Northend Manufacturing Industrial Center (BINMIC); 2. Located 500 feet or more from a shoreline; 3. Located within 300 feet of land zoned either Neighborhood Commercial (NC) or Seattle Mixed (SM); 4. Located within 1/4 mile of a public park with active recreation use such as sports fields or sports courts; and 5. Not located within 1 mile of another indoor sports and recreation use in the BINMIC that exceeds 25,000 square feet in size. (Ord. 126864 , § 6, 2023; Ord. 126685 , § 36, 2022; Ord. 126452 , § 1, 2021; Ord. 124172, § 40, 2013; Ord. 123589, § 58, 2011; Ord. 123266, § 1, 2010; Ord. 123046, § 65, 2009; Ord. 122714 , § 1, 2008; Ord. 122611 , §§ 7, 17, 2007; Ord. 122601 , § 1, 2007; Ord. 121281, § 1, 2003; Ord. 121145, § 10, 2003; Ord. 120155, § 2, 2000; Ord. 119972, § 8, 2000; Ord. 119370, § 15, 1999; Ord. 117570, § 17, 1995; Ord. 117430 , § 77, 1994.)