23.69.002

The purpose of this Chapter 23.69 is to regulate Seattle's major educational and medical institutions to: A. Permit appropriate institutional growth within boundaries while minimizing the adverse impacts associated with development and geographic expansion; B. Balance a Major Institution's ability to change and the public benefit derived from change with the need to protect the livability and vitality of adjacent neighborhoods; C. Encourage the concentration of Major Institution development on existing campuses, or alternatively, the decentralization of such uses to locations more than two thousand five hundred (2,500) feet from campus boundaries; D. Provide for the coordinated growth of major institutions through major institution master plans and the establishment of major institutions overlay zones; E. Discourage the expansion of established major institution boundaries; F. Encourage significant community involvement in the development, monitoring, implementation and amendment of major institution master plans, including the establishment of advisory committees containing community and major institution representatives; G. Locate new institutions in areas where such activities are compatible with the surrounding land uses and where the impacts associated with existing and future development can be appropriately mitigated; H. Accommodate the changing needs of major institutions, provide flexibility for development and encourage a high quality environment through modifications of use restrictions and parking requirements of the underlying zoning; I. Make the need for appropriate transition primary considerations in determining setbacks. Also setbacks may be appropriate to achieve proper scale, building modulation, or view corridors; J. Allow an increase to the number of permitted parking spaces only when it is 1) necessary to reduce parking demand on streets in surrounding areas, and 2) compatible with goals to minimize traffic congestion in the area; K. Use the TMP to reduce the number of vehicle trips to the major institution, minimize the adverse impacts of traffic on the streets surrounding the institution, minimize demand for parking on nearby streets, especially residential streets, and minimize the adverse impacts of institution-related parking on nearby streets. To meet these objectives, seek to reduce the number of SOVs used by employees and students at peak time and destined for the campus; L. Through the master plan: 1) give clear guidelines and development standards on which the major institutions can rely for long-term planning and development; 2) provide the neighborhood advance notice of the development plans of the major institution; 3) allow the city to anticipate and plan for public capital or programmatic actions that will be needed to accommodate development; and 4) provide the basis for determining appropriate mitigating actions to avoid or reduce adverse impacts from major institution growth; and M. Encourage the preservation, restoration and reuse of designated historic buildings. (Ord. 127099 , § 53, 2024; Ord. 126685 , § 49, 2022 [committee name and style update]; Ord. 120691 , § 21, 2001; Ord. 117929, § 8, 1995; Ord. 115002 , § 23, 1990.)