23.73.024

A. General standards for the transfer of development potential (TDP) within the Pike/Pine Conservation Overlay District 1. For a lot located in an NC3P-75 zone within the Pike/Pine Conservation Overlay District shown on Map A for 23.73.004, an applicant may use TDP to obtain any of the following: a. A floor area exemption for residential and live-work unit floor area, as permitted under subsection 23.73.009.D.3; b. A height exception to allow an additional 10 feet above the 75-foot height limit; and c. A 25 percent increase in the floor area limit as provided in subsection 23.73.010.B.3. 2. Within the Conservation Core shown on Map A for 23.73.010, a lot that is an eligible sending site meeting the provisions of subsection 23.73.024.C may transfer development potential to any lot that is an eligible receiving site meeting the provisions of subsection 23.73.024.B. Eligible receiving sites may only gain development potential from eligible sending sites that are also located within the Conservation Core. 3. Development potential may not be transferred from one lot to another except as allowed by this Chapter 23.73 . 4. Development potential may be transferred from eligible sending sites meeting the provisions of subsection 23.73.024.C to locations outside the Pike/Pine Conservation Overlay District if TDP transfer to specifically identified areas or lots is authorized by City ordinance. B. Standards for character structure TDP receiving sites. A lot must meet the following conditions in order to be eligible to achieve extra residential floor area through TDP: 1. TDP receiving sites shall be located in an NC3P-75 zone within the Pike/Pine Conservation Overlay District, provided that: a. Development of the receiving site shall not result in the demolition of a structure designated as a Landmark according to Chapter 25.12 or its alteration in a manner that is inconsistent with Chapter 25.12 or an ordinance imposing controls on the Landmark structure. b. Development on the lot that is the receiving site shall not result in the demolition or significant alteration of a character structure that is not a designated Landmark and that has existed on the site since January 18, 2012, unless a departure is approved through the design review process to allow the removal of a character structure based on the provisions of subsection 23.41.012.B. For the purposes of this subsection 23.73.024.B.1.b, significant alterations to a character structure would result in conditions that would preclude compliance with the minimum requirements of subsection 23.73.024.C.4. 2. An additional 10 feet in height above the height limit of the zone is permitted on a lot that is an eligible TDP receiving site. 3. Any residential and live-work floor area that is exempt from the FAR limit as allowed by subsection 23.73.009.D.3, or any floor area that exceeds the maximum floor area limit as allowed under subsection 23.73.010.B.3, or that is located above 75 feet in height shall be achieved through the use of TDP. 4. Floor area gained through the use of TDP shall be for residential and live-work unit use only. 5. For a structure that achieves an increase in height through the use of TDP, the minimum street-level floor-to-ceiling height is 13 feet. 6. TDP required before construction. No permit after the first building permit, and in any event no permit for construction activity other than excavating or shoring, and no permit for occupying existing floor area by any use based on TDP; will be issued for development that includes TDP until the applicant has demonstrated possession of TDP to the Director's satisfaction. C. Standards for sending sites. A lot must meet the following conditions in order to be eligible as a sending site to transfer extra residential floor area through TDP to a lot that is an eligible receiving site according to subsection 23.73.024.B: 1. TDP sending sites shall be located in an NC3P zone within the Pike/Pine Conservation Overlay District, excluding NC3P zones with an MIO-105 overlay, and shall contain one of the following structures: a. One or more structures designated wholly or in part as a landmark under Chapter 25.12 or its predecessor ordinance; or b. Any character structure, provided that character structures on the proposed TDP sending site have not been demolished or significantly altered since January 18, 2012, unless a departure is approved through the design review process to allow the removal of a character structure based on the provisions of subsection 23.41.012.B.33. For the purposes of this subsection 23.73.024.C.1.b, a significant alteration results in conditions that would preclude the character structure from complying with the minimum requirements for retaining the character structure in subsection 23.73.024.C.4. 2. Maximum transferable floor area a. The maximum amount of floor area that may be transferred from an eligible sending site with a character structure that is not a designated landmark is the product of: the eligible lot area of the sending site, times the maximum FAR for structures containing both residential and non-residential uses as prescribed in Section 23.47A.013 , minus the sum of any chargeable gross floor area on the sending site under the zoning in effect at the time a complete application transferring TDP is accepted, and minus any TDP previously transferred from the sending site. b. The maximum amount of floor area that may be transferred from an eligible sending site with a designated landmark is the amount calculated in subsection 23.73.024.C.2.a multiplied by two. c. For purposes of this subsection 23.73.024.C.2, the eligible sending site lot area is the total area of the lot where the character structure was originally built. 3. Rehabilitation and maintenance of character structures. Character structures that are designated landmark structures on sending lots from which TDP is transferred shall be rehabilitated and maintained as required by the Landmarks Preservation Board. Character structures located on a lot that is a TDP sending site that are not designated landmark structures shall be rehabilitated and maintained to comply with applicable codes and shall remain in compliance with the provisions of subsection 23.73.024.C.4 for the life of the structure on the receiving site that includes the additional gross floor area. If the TDP is proposed to be transferred prior to completing rehabilitation work necessary to satisfy this subsection 23.73.024.C, the Director may require as a condition of the transfer that a security be deposited with the City in an amount determined by the Director to ensure that the work is completed. 4. For character structures that are not designated landmark structures, the following provisions for retaining the character structure shall apply: a. All exterior facades are retained; except that portions of a new structure may abut facades that are not street-facing facades, and connections between the new structure and the facades of the retained character structure that do not face a public street are allowed; and b. The original floor area of the character structure is maintained, except that additions or alterations that extend the useful physical life or economic viability of the structure are permitted, provided that: 1) The additions do not significantly damage or destroy the structural system of the character structure or fundamentally alter historic characteristics of its exterior appearance; and 2) The total floor area of any additions, excluding floor area added to reclaim floor area that may have been removed from the original structure over time, does not exceed the equivalent of 0.5 FAR, as calculated on the lot where the structure was originally built. D. TDP deeds and agreements 1. The fee owners of the TDP sending site shall execute a deed, and shall obtain the release of the TDP from all liens of record and the written consent of all holders of encumbrances on the sending lot other than easements and restrictions, unless the requirement for a release or consent is waived by the Director for good cause. The deed shall be recorded in the King County real property records. If TDP is conveyed to the owner of a TDP receiving site described in the deed, then unless otherwise expressly stated in the deed or any subsequent instrument conveying the lot or the TDP, the TDP shall pass with the receiving site whether or not a structure using the TDP shall have been permitted or built prior to any conveyance of the receiving site. Any subsequent conveyance of TDP previously conveyed to a receiving site shall require the written consent of all parties holding any interest in or lien on the receiving site from which the conveyance is made. If the TDP is transferred other than directly from the sending site to the receiving site using the TDP; then after the initial transfer all subsequent transfers shall also be by deed, duly executed, acknowledged, and recorded, each deed referring by King County recording number to the prior deed. 2. Any person may purchase TDP that is eligible for transfer by complying with this Section 23.73.024 , whether or not the purchaser is a permit applicant to develop real property or the owner of potential receiving site. Any TDP purchaser, including any successor or assignee, may use TDP on a receiving site to the extent that using TDP is permitted under the Land Use Code provisions applicable at the time the project intended to use the TDP vests, according to Section 23.76.026 . The Director may require, as a condition of processing any permit application using TDP, that the owner of the receiving site demonstrate that the TDP has been validly transferred of record to the receiving site, and that the receiving site owner has recorded in the real estate records a notice stating that a permit application using TDP has been filed and the TDP to be used on the receiving site is not available for retransfer. 3. As a condition to the effective transfer of TDP from a designated landmark, except from a City-owned sending site, the fee owner of the sending site shall execute and record an agreement running with the land, in form and content acceptable to, and accepted in writing by, the Director of Neighborhoods; providing for the rehabilitation and maintenance of the historically-significant or other relevant features of the structure or structures on the lot and acknowledging the restrictions on future development resulting from the transfer. The Director may require evidence that each lien holder has effectively subordinated the lien to the terms of the agreement, and that any holders of interests in the property have agreed to its terms. To the extent that a landmark structure on the sending site, the presence of which is a condition to eligibility to transfer TDP under the provisions of the zone, requires restoration or rehabilitation for the long-term preservation of the structure or its historically or architecturally-significant features, the Director of Neighborhoods may require as a condition to acceptance of the necessary agreement that the owner of the sending site apply for and obtain a certificate of approval from the Landmarks Preservation Board for the necessary work, or post security satisfactory to the Director of Neighborhoods for the completing the restoration or rehabilitation. E. Reservation in deed. Any TDP eligible for transfer may instead be reserved in the conveyance of title to an eligible sending site by the express terms of the deed or other instrument of conveyance reserving a specified amount of TDP, provided that an instrument acceptable to the Director is recorded binding the sending site to the terms and conditions for eligibility to send TDP under this Section 23.73.024 . Any TDP so reserved shall be considered transferred from that site and later may be conveyed by deed without participation of the owner of the site. F. Any agreement governing the use or development of the sending site shall provide that its covenants or conditions run with the land and shall be specifically enforceable by the City. G. The eligibility of a sending site to transfer TDP and the amount transferable from a sending site, shall be determined as of the date of transfer from the sending site and shall not be affected by the date of any application, permit decision, or other action for any project seeking to use TDP. (Ord. 125791 , § 105, 2019; Ord. 125603 , § 66, 2018; Ord. 125429 , § 22, 2017; Ord. 124503, § 12, 2014; Ord. 123776, § 12, 2011)