"Sale and rental of large boats." See "Sales and services, marine." "Sale and rental of motorized vehicles." See "Sales and services, automotive." "Sale and rental of small boats, boat parts and accessories." See "Sales and services, marine." "Sale of heating fuel." See "Commercial sales, heavy" under "Sales and services, heavy." "Sales and rental of commercial equipment and construction materials." See "Commercial sales, heavy" under "Sales and services, heavy." "Sales and services, automotive" means a commercial use in which motorized vehicles or vehicle parts are rented, sold, serviced or repaired. Automotive sales and services uses exclude sales and services primarily relating to electric scooters or electric assisted bicycles. Automotive sales and services uses include but are not limited to the following: 1. "Retail sales and services, automotive" means an automotive sales and service use in which goods are rented or sold primarily for use in motor vehicles or minor services are provided to motor vehicles. Uses in this category may include gas stations, car washes, minor repair of vehicles not falling under the definition of major automotive vehicle repair, battery stations for electric vehicles, and towing of vehicles when no more than two trucks are used or kept on site for towing purposes. 2. "Sales and rental of motorized vehicles" means an automotive sales and service use in which operable motorized vehicles, such as cars, trucks, buses, recreational vehicles or motorcycles, or related non-motorized vehicles, such as trailers, are rented or sold. 3. "Vehicle repair, major automotive" means an automotive sales and service use in which one or more of the following activities are carried out: a. Reconditioning of any type of motorized vehicle, including any repairs made to vehicles over 10,000 pounds gross vehicle weight; b. Collision services, including body, frame or fender straightening or repair; c. Overall painting of vehicles or painting of vehicles in a paint shop; d. Dismantling of motorized vehicles in an enclosed structure. "Sales and services, general" means one of the uses listed below, in which goods are rented or sold or services are provided primarily for household and personal use rather than for business establishments, institutions, or government agencies, but excluding medical services and uses in which goods are sold that primarily need to be delivered by truck, such as building materials, major durables and/or heating fuel. 1. "Retail sales and services, general" means a general sales and service use that is not a multi-purpose retail sales use. General retail sales and services include general retail sales uses, general services uses, and customer service office uses. Examples of general retail sales include but are not limited to bookstores, florists, and clothing stores. Examples of general services include but are not limited to shoe repair, hair cutting salons, pet grooming, pet daycare centers and dry cleaning. Customer service offices are uses in which services are provided to individuals and households in an office setting in a manner that encourages walk-in clientele and in which generally an appointment is not needed to conduct business, including but not limited to uses such as branch banks, travel agencies, brokerage firms, real estate offices, and government agencies that provide direct services to clients. 2. "Retail sales, multipurpose" means a general sales and service use in which a wide range of items frequently purchased for household use are rented or sold. Examples of multipurpose retail sales include but are not limited to grocery, hardware, drug, and variety stores, and farmers' markets. "Sales and services, heavy" means one of the following uses: 1. "Commercial sales, heavy" means a heavy sales and services use in which goods that primarily require delivery or pickup by truck are sold. Examples include but are not limited to the sale of construction materials, heating fuel, or industrial supplies. Sales are retail and/or wholesale, and are made primarily to businesses rather than to individual households, or primarily delivered directly to households without customers visiting the business. 2. "Commercial services, heavy" means a heavy sales and service use that provides services that require significant truck traffic or the use, storage and disposal of chemicals as a significant part of the functioning of the business. Heavy commercial services include but are not limited to the following: a. "Commercial laundry" means a heavy commercial service use in which items such as clothing and linens are cleaned. This definition includes uses such as laundering for hospitals, restaurants, hotels and diaper cleaning services, as well as rug and dry cleaning plants where on-premises retail services to individual households are incidental to the operation of the plant. b. "Construction services" means a heavy commercial service use in which construction contracting services, including the final processing of building materials such as but not limited to the mixing of concrete or the heating of asphalt, are provided; or in which construction equipment is stored, either in conjunction with an office or as a separate use, but not including a construction site. c. "Building maintenance services" means a heavy commercial service use that provides maintenance and cleaning services to other business establishments. 3. "Retail sales, major durables" means a heavy sales and service use in which large household items, such as but not limited to furniture or appliances, are rented or sold. 4. "Retail sales and services, Non-household" means a heavy sales and service use in which goods and services are provided primarily for businesses, institutions and/or government agencies, rather than for households. Examples include but are not limited to business support services, and the sale of office or restaurant supplies. Non-household retail sales and services include, but are not limited to: "Business support services" means a non-household retail sales and service use in which services are provided primarily for businesses, institutions and/or government agencies, rather than for households. Examples include but are not limited to blueprint companies, medical laboratories, merchant banks, assaying services and microfilming and copying services. 5. "Wholesale showroom" means a heavy sales and service use in which merchandise is displayed and sold at wholesale to business representatives for resale, rather than to the general public for direct consumption, and that includes storage of goods for sale. "Sales and services, marine." means one or more of the following uses: 1. "Marine service station" means a marine retail sales and service use in which fuel for boats is sold, and for which accessory uses including, but not limited to, towing or minor vessel repair may also be provided. 2. "Sale or rental of large boats" means a marine retail sales and service use in which boats sixteen (16) feet or more in length are rented or sold. 3. "Sale and rental of small boats, boat parts and accessories" means a marine retail sales and service use in which goods are rented or sold primarily for use on boats and ships, but excluding uses in which fuel for boats and ships is the primary item sold. Examples of goods sold include navigational instruments, marine hardware and paints, nautical publications, nautical clothing such as foul weather gear, marine engines, and boats less than sixteen (16) feet in length. 4. "Vessel repair, minor" means a marine retail sales and service use, other than major vessel repair, in which one (1) or more of the following activities take place: a. General boat engine and equipment repair; b. The replacement of new or reconditioned parts; c. Repair of boat hulls; d. Painting and detailing; and e. Rigging and outfitting. 5. "Vessel repair, major" means a marine retail sales and service use in which ferrous hulls are repaired; or in which boats and ships sixty-five (65) feet or more in length are converted, rebuilt, painted, repaired, or dismantled. Associated activities may include welding and sandblasting, as part of this use. "Sales, service and rental of office equipment." See "Retail sales and services, non-household" under "Sales and services, heavy." "Sales, service and rental of commercial equipment and construction materials." See "Commercial sales, heavy" under "Sales and services, general." "Salvage and recycling." See "Utility." "Sanitarium" means "Hospital." "Satellite dish antenna." See "Communication devices and utilities" "Scale" means the spatial relationship among structures along a street or block front, including height, bulk and yard relationships. "Scenic route" means any of those streets designated by the Land Use Code as scenic routes. "Scenic view section" means a section of the traveled way of a freeway, expressway, parkway, or scenic route that has been so designated by this Code. "School, elementary or secondary." See "Institution." "Screen" means a continuous wall or fence that effectively obscures view of the property that it covers and that is broken only for access drives and walks. See "Parking screen." "Screening" means a screen, hedge or landscaped berm that effectively obscures a view between a use or activity and another use or activity. "SEPA" means the State Environmental Policy Act. "Setback" means the minimum required distance between a structure or portion thereof and a lot line of the lot on which it is located, or another line described in a particular section of this Title 23 . "Setback, street-level" means the required distance between all portions of a structure and a street lot line. "Setback, upper level" means the required distance between a lot line and all portions of a structure above a height specified in a particular section of this title. "Sewage treatment plant." See "Utility." "Shared-use facility." See "Communication devices and utilities." "Shed roof" means a roof having only one (1) sloping plane. "Shopping atrium" means a feature consisting of a large enclosed space that is accessible to the public, and that provides a combination of retail stores and passive recreational space in a weather-protected, convenient, and attractive atmosphere for shoppers that also contributes to the activity and visual interest at street level. "Shopping corridor" means a feature consisting of a passage that goes through a block and connects two avenues, and that is lined with retail uses, in order to make pedestrian circulation more convenient, provide more frontage for shops, give protection to pedestrians from inclement weather, and shorten walking distances. "Short plat" means a map or representation of a short subdivision. "Short plat approval, fully complete application." See "Application." "Short subdivision" means the division or redivision of land into nine or fewer lots, tracts, parcels, sites, or divisions for the purpose of sale, lease, development, or financing. "Short subdivision, zero lot line" means a short subdivision that conforms to the unit lot subdivision standards in Section 23.24.045 . "Short-term rental." See "Lodging use." "Short-term rental operator" or "operator" means any person who is the owner of a dwelling unit established under Title 23 , or portion thereof, who offers or provides that dwelling unit, or portion thereof, for short-term rental use or a person who is the tenant of a dwelling unit, or portion thereof, who offered or provided a short term rental as set forth in subsection 6.600.040.B.1. "Short-term rental platform" or "platform" means a person that provides a means through which an operator may offer a dwelling unit, or portion thereof, for short-term rental use and from which the person or entity financially benefits. Merely publishing a short-term rental advertisement for accommodations does not make the publisher a short-term rental platform. "Shoulder" means the graded area between the roadway edge and the sidewalk, or slope line where there is no sidewalk, on the portion of a street where there are no curbs. "Shrub" means a plant defined as a shrub in the Sunset Western Garden Book, 7th Edition, 2001. "Shrub, large" means a shrub normally expected to be equal to or taller than 2 feet at maturity. "Sidewalk" means a hard-surfaced pedestrian walkway, usually of Portland cement concrete, separated from the roadway by a curb, planting strip or roadway shoulder. "Sidewalk widening" means an extension of the surface of a sidewalk, generally onto private property, which is free of all permanent obstructions. "Sight triangle" means the area on both sides of a driveway that must be clear of any obstruction to permit optimal visibility from the driveway to the sidewalk and street. "Sign" means any medium, including structural and component parts, that is used or intended to be used to attract attention to the subject matter for advertising, identification, or informative purposes. "Sign, advertising" means a sign directing attention to a business, profession, commodity, service, or entertainment conducted, sold, or offered elsewhere than upon the lot where the sign is located. "Sign, awning" means graphics on a fixed awning used or intended to be used to attract attention to the subject matter for advertising, identification, or informative purposes. An awning sign shall not be considered a fabric sign. "Sign, business" means an on-premises sign directing attention to a business, profession, commodity, service, or entertainment conducted, sold, or offered on the lot where the sign is located. This definition shall not include signs located within a structure except those signs oriented so as to be visible through a window. "Sign, canopy" means graphics on a canopy used or intended to be used to attract attention to the subject matter for advertising, identification, or information purposes. A canopy sign shall not be considered a fabric sign. "Sign, changing-color" means any sign where the message background or message is capable of changing color. "Sign, changing-image" means a sign, including a sign using a video display method, which changes its message or background by means of electrical, kinetic, solar, or mechanical energy, not including message board signs. A video display method is a method of display characterized by real-time, full-motion imagery of at least television quality. "Sign, chasing" means a sign that includes one or more rows of lights that light up in sequence. "Sign, combination" means any sign incorporating any combination of the features of freestanding, projecting, and roof signs. The individual requirements of roof, projecting, and pole signs shall be applied for combination signs incorporating any or all of the requirements specified in this Code. "Sign, double-faced" means a sign that has two display surfaces in approximately parallel planes backed against each other or against the same background, one face of which is designed to be seen from one direction and the other from the opposite direction. "Sign, electric" means any sign containing electrical wiring, but not including signs illuminated by an exterior light source. "Sign, externally illuminated" means a sign illuminated by an exterior light source. "Sign, fabric" means a sign made of canvas, cloth, or similar nonrigid material, but not including a canopy sign. "Sign, flashing" means an electrical sign or portion of an electrical sign that changes light intensity in sudden transitory bursts. Flashing signs do not include changing image or chasing signs. "Sign, freestanding" means a pole or ground sign. "Sign, ground" means a sign that is 6 feet or less in height above ground level and is supported by one or more poles, columns, or supports anchored in the ground. "Sign, identification" means any ground, wall, or roof sign which displays only (1) the name, address, and/or use of the premises, or (2) noncommercial messages, or both. "Sign kiosk" means a small freestanding sign structure visible to the public used for posting small signs. "Sign, land use" means a sign with dimensions of at least 18 inches by 24 inches but smaller than an environmental review sign, constructed of a durable material, required for public notice of proposed land use actions according to Chapter 23.76 , Procedures for Master Use Permits and Council Land Use Decisions. "Sign, large" means a sign 4 feet by 8 feet, constructed of a durable material. "Sign, large notice" means a sign with dimensions of 4 feet by 8 feet constructed of a durable material, required for public notice of proposed land use actions according to Chapter 23.76 , Procedures for Master Use Permits and Council Land Use Decisions. "Sign, marquee" means a sign placed on, constructed in, or attached to a marquee. "Sign, message board" means an electric sign that has a reader board for the display of information, such as time, temperature, or public service or commercial messages, that can be changed through the turning on and off of different combinations of light bulbs within the display area. "Sign, multiple business center" means an on-premises sign directing attention to a grouping of two or more business establishments that either share common parking on the lot where the sign is located or occupy a single structure or separate structures that are physically attached or both. A multiple business center sign may be used to identify a multiple business center and may identify individual business establishments within a multiple business center but not the products or services offered by the business establishments. (See also "Multiple business center" and "Sign, business.") "Sign, off-premises" means a sign relating, through its message and content, to a business activity, use, product, or service not available on the premises upon which the sign is erected. "Sign, off-premises directional" means an off-premises sign used to direct pedestrian or vehicular traffic to a facility, service, or business located on other premises within 1,500 feet of the sign, which sign does not include any reference to brand names of products or services whether or not available on such other premises, except the name of the facility, service, or business. "Sign, on-premises" means a sign or sign device used solely by a business establishment on the lot or premises where the sign is located that displays: (1) commercial messages that are strictly applicable only to a use of the premises on which it is located, including signs or sign devices indicating the business transacted, principal services rendered, goods sold or produced on the premises, name of the business, and name of the person, firm or corporation occupying the premises; or (2) noncommercial messages. For the purposes of this definition, "business transacted, principal services rendered, goods sold or produced on the premises" does not include: (a) the sale or donation of a gift card, gift certificate, coupon, or other document that can be exchanged in part or whole for an item or good that is not directly sold or produced or a service rendered where the gift card, gift certificate, coupon, or other document is sold or donated; or (b) access by phone, computer, or any other device to allow a person to obtain an item or good that is not directly sold or produced or a service rendered where the access by phone, computer, or other device is offered. This definition does not include signs located within a structure except those signs oriented so as to be visible through a window. "Sign, on-premises directional" means an on-premises incidental sign designed to direct pedestrian or vehicular traffic. "Sign, pole" means a sign wholly supported by a structure in the ground. "Sign, pole banner" means a sign of non-rigid material or rigid material, which may include a changing-image sign but not a sign using video display methods that is attached to a pole in the Seattle Center Sign Overlay District. "Sign, portable" means a sign that is not permanently affixed and is designed for or capable of being moved, except those signs explicitly designed for people to carry on their persons or that are permanently affixed to motor vehicles. "Sign, projecting" means a sign other than a wall sign, that projects from and is supported by a wall of a structure. "Sign, public" means a sign in the right-of-way that is at least partially funded by public funds and is intended to carry messages of interest to the public. "Sign, roof" means a sign erected upon or above a roof or parapet of a building or structure. "Sign, rotating" means a sign that revolves on a fixed axis. "Sign, side-by-side" means advertising signs that are adjacent to each other on the same plane and facing in the same direction, either on the same structure or within 25 feet of one another. "Sign, sponsorship" means a sign identifying or representing a sponsor's business, product, service, or identity through the use of images, texts, fonts, or colors pursuant to an agreement between the property owner or authorized tenant and a sponsor. A sponsorship sign must identify the event, program, or facility to which the sponsor is providing financial or in-kind support. A sponsorship sign may not contain comparative language, price information or other indications of savings or value, or overt encouragement to take any action with respect to the sponsor, the sponsor's business, or any other products or services of the sponsor. "Sign, temporary" means any sign that is to be displayed for a limited period of time only, including but not limited to, banners, pennants, streamers, fabric signs, wind-animated objects, clusters of flags, festoons of lights, and searchlights. A temporary sign may be of rigid or non-rigid construction. "Sign, under-marquee" means a lighted or unlighted sign attached to the underside of a marquee. "Sign, vegetative wall" means a wall sign consisting of organic or synthetic plants or a combination thereof and a planting or mounting medium. "Sign, visually blocked" means an advertising sign that is located against or attached to a building, thereby visible from only one direction. To be considered visually blocked, the advertising sign must be within 8 feet of any building wall or walls that are used to block the back side of the advertising sign and the advertising sign cannot project above or beyond the blocking wall or walls. "Sign, wall" means any sign attached to and supported by a wall of a structure, or projected on or onto a wall of a building or structure, or suspended from the roof of a building or structure, with the exposed face of the sign on a plane approximately parallel to the plane of the wall, or any sign painted directly on a building facade. "Single-family dwelling unit." See "Residential use." "Single-occupant facility." See "Telecommunication facility, single-occupant" under "Communication devices and utilities." "Skylight" means an opening in a roof that is covered with translucent or transparent material, designed to admit light, and incidental to the roof itself. "Social housing" means housing that is publicly owned, publicly financed, mixed-income housing developed by a public development authority organized pursuant to RCW 35.21.660, RCW 35.21.670, and RCW 35.21.730 through 35.21.755. "Soil, structural" means a soil mix or equivalent structure approved by the Director that is engineered to support pavement while allowing healthy root growth. "Solar access" means the amount of unrestricted sunlight that reaches a structure, or portion thereof. "Solar collector" means a device used to collect direct sunlight for use in the heating or cooling of a structure, domestic hot water, swimming pool, or the generation of electricity, including photovoltaic panels and solar thermal panels. "Solarium" means a room, porch, or other area, that is designed to admit sunlight, is part of a larger structure, is enclosed substantially entirely by glass or another transparent material, and is not primarily used for the cultivation or protection of plants. "Solid waste collection location" means the location where solid waste is collected from solid waste containers into a solid waste collection vehicle. "Solid waste containers" include, but are not limited to, the following: 1. "Carts" are wheeled containers and available in sizes ranging from 10 gallons to 100 gallons. 2. "Dumpsters," with or without wheels, are containers designed to allow mechanical loading of solid waste onto solid waste collection vehicles, provided in volumes ranging from 0.75 cubic yards to 8 cubic yards. 3. "Roll-off dumpsters" are containers for solid waste that require a winch system to load onto the flatbed of a specialized solid waste collection vehicle. They may include compacted or uncompacted materials. 4. "Front-load dumpsters" are containers loaded by mechanisms on the front of solid waste collection vehicles to dump solid waste and require 24 feet of overhead clearance to complete service. 5. "Low-profile roll-off dumpsters" are roll-off dumpsters with a height maximum of 88 inches. "Solid waste incineration facilities." See "Solid waste management" under "Utility." "Solid waste landfills." See "Solid waste management" under "Utility." "Solid waste management." See "Utility." "Solid waste service providers" means persons that provide solid waste management services for a solid waste management business or utility, and persons hired by site occupants to move solid waste containers on a regular basis. "Solid waste staging area" means a location for intermediate placement of garbage, recycling, and compostable materials in preparation for collection by solid waste collection vehicles, either on private property or within the right-of-way. "Solid waste storage space" means a location for keeping, maintaining, or storing garbage, recycling, or compostable materials from the time of disposal by users until the time of staging or collection, provided that a solid waste storage space may serve as a solid waste staging area and/or solid waste collection location if the storage space meets the requirements for such area(s). "Solid waste transfer station." See "Solid waste management" under "Utility." "South Downtown" means the area that is identified as such on Map 1A for Chapter 23.49 . "Spectator sports facility." See "Theaters and spectator sports facilities" under "Entertainment." "Sponsor" means a person, corporation, or entity that provides financial or in-kind support for an event, program, or facility. "Sports and recreation, indoor." See "Entertainment." "Sports and recreation, outdoor." See "Entertainment." "Stoop" See "porch" "Storage" means a use in which goods or products are stored more than (72) hours. Storage uses include but are not limited to the following uses: 1. "Mini-warehouse" means a storage use in which enclosed storage space divided into separate compartments no larger than five hundred (500) square feet in area is provided for use by individuals to store personal items or by businesses to store material for operation of a business establishment at another location. 2. "Storage, outdoor" means a storage use in which an outdoor area is used for retention of materials, containers and/or equipment. Outdoor storage does not include sale, repair, incineration, recycling or discarding of materials or equipment. Outdoor storage areas are not accessible to the public unless an agent of the business is present. Outdoor parking areas for two (2) or more fleet vehicles of more than ten thousand (10,000) pounds gross vehicle weight shall also be considered outdoor storage. Temporary outdoor storage of construction equipment and materials associated with an active permit to demolish or erect a structure and vehicle sales areas where motorized vehicles are stored for the purpose of direct sale to the ultimate consumer shall not be considered outdoor storage. 3. "Warehouse" means a storage use in which space is provided in an enclosed structure for the storage of goods produced off-site, for distribution or transfer to another location. "Story" means that portion of a structure included between the surface of any floor and the surface of the floor next above, except that the highest story is that portion of the structure included between the highest floor surface and the ceiling or roof above. "Street" means a right-of-way that is intended to provide or that provides a roadway for general vehicular circulation, is the principal means of vehicular access to abutting properties and includes space for utilities, pedestrian walkways, sidewalks and drainage. Any such right-of-way shall be included within this definition, regardless of whether it has been developed or not. "Street, arterial" means every street, or portion thereof, designated as an arterial on the Arterial street map, Section 11.18.010 . 1. "Minor arterial" means a street or portion thereof designated as such on Map 1B for Chapter 23.49 . 2. "Principal arterial" or "major arterial" means a street or portion thereof designated as such on Map 1B for Chapter 23.49 . "Street, existing" means any street that is not a new street. "Street-facing facade." See "Facade, street-facing". "Street level" or "street-level" means the same grade as an abutting street or streets, or at that grade, as the context may require. "Street-level facade" see "Facade, street-level". "Street, new" means a street proposed to be created through the platting process, or by dedication to the City as part of a development proposal. "Street, private" means a named, private permanent access easement exceeding thirty-two (32) feet in width not dedicated to public use but that provides a roadway at least twenty-four (24) feet wide for internal use within a subdivision or development, and that includes sidewalks and space for utilities and drainage. A private street shall be treated as a street for purposes of application of development standards to abutting properties. "Streetscape" means the visual character of a street as determined by various elements such as structures, landscaping, open space, natural vegetation and view. "Structural building overhang" means all encroachments into and over public property, such as: bay windows, other projections enclosing occupied interior space, balconies, cornices, eaves, sills, belt courses, facade treatments, and other minor architectural features. "Structural soil." See "Soil, structural." "Structural alterations" means any change in the supporting members of a building, such as foundations, bearing walls or bearing partitions, columns, beams or girders, or any structural change in the roof. "Structure" means anything constructed or erected on the ground or any improvement built up or composed of parts joined together in some definite manner and affixed to the ground, including fences, walls and signs, but not including poles, flowerbed frames and such minor incidental improvements. "Structure depth" means that dimension of a structure extending between the front and rear lot lines. "Structure width" means that dimension of a structure extending between side lot lines. "Structure, accessory." See "Accessory structure." "Structure, attached" means a structure that shares a common or party wall with another structure or have walls containing floor area that are located within 2 feet of another structure. "Structure, detached" means a structure that is not attached to any other structure. "Structure, enclosed" means a roofed structure or portion of a structure having no openings other than fixed windows and such exits as are required by law, and which is equipped with self-closing doors. "Structure, multifamily residential." See "Multifamily residential structure." "Structure, nonconforming." See "Nonconforming structure." "Structure, nonresidential." See "Nonresidential structure." "Structure, principal." See "Principal structure." "Structure, residential." See "Residential structure." "Structure, single-family." See "Single-family dwelling unit." "Subdivision" means the division or redivision of land into ten or more lots, tracts, parcels, sites, or divisions for the purpose of sale, lease, or transfer of ownership. "Subdivision, zero lot line" means a subdivision that conforms to the unit lot subdivision standards in Section 23.22.062 . "Submerged land" means all lands waterward of the ordinary high water mark or mean higher high water, whichever is higher. "Substandard size lot" means a lot that contains less land than the minimum size required for the zone in which it is located. (Ord. 127376 , § 86, 2025; Ord. No. 127285 , § 3, 2025; Ord. 127219 , § 31, 2025; Ord. 126157 , § 54, 2020; Ord. 125869 , § 5, 2019; Ord. 125483 , § 7, 2017; Ord. 125272 , § 66, 2017; Ord. 124457, § 5, 2014; Ord. 124378 , § 93, 2013; Ord. 123913, § 49, 2012; Ord. 123649, § 61, 2011; Ord. 123589, § 102, 2011; Ord. 123495, § 89, 2011; Ord. 123378, § 26, 2010; Ord. 123046, § 62, 2009; Ord. 122935, § 21, 2009; Ord. 122311 , § 100, 2006.)