Bonus floor area for voluntary agreements for housing and child care
Seattle Mun. Code § 23.49.012
in effectA. General provisions 1. The purpose of this Section 23.49.012 is to encourage development in addition to that authorized by basic zoning regulations ("bonus development"), provided that certain adverse impacts from the bonus development are mitigated. Two impacts from additional development are an increased need for affordable housing to house the families of downtown workers having lower-paid jobs and an increased need for child care for downtown workers. 2. If an applicant elects to seek approval of bonus development pursuant to this Section 23.49.012 , the applicant must execute a voluntary agreement with the City in which the applicant agrees to provide mitigation for the impacts identified in subsection 23.49.012.A.1. In the absence of a signed voluntary agreement, acceptance of a permit for any bonus development allowed under this Section 23.49.012 shall constitute a voluntary agreement on the terms set forth in this Section 23.49.012 . The mitigation may be provided by building the requisite affordable housing or child care facilities (the "performance option"), by making a contribution to be used by the City to build or provide the housing and child care facilities (the "payment option"), or by a combination of the performance and payment options. B. Voluntary agreements for housing. The voluntary agreement shall commit the developer to provide or contribute to affordable housing according to Chapter 23.58A . C. Voluntary agreements for child care facilities. The voluntary agreement shall commit the developer to provide or contribute to child care facilities as follows: 1. For each square foot of bonus floor area allowed under this Section 23.49.012 , in addition to satisfying requirements of subsection 23.49.012.B, the applicant shall provide fully improved child care facility space sufficient for 0.000127 of a child care slot, or a cash contribution to the City of $5.76 to be administered by the Human Services Department. The in lieu cash contribution amount in this subsection 23.49.012.C.1 shall automatically adjust annually on March 1, starting in 2024, by an amount in proportion to the increase, if any, for January 1 through December 31 of the prior calendar year, in the Consumer Price Index, All Urban Consumers, Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA, All Items (1982-84=100), as determined by the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, or successor index. The amount of the in lieu cash contribution made at the time specified in subsection 23.49.012.C shall be based on the in lieu cash contribution amount in effect on the vesting date for the Master Use Permit under Section 23.76.026 or, if no Master Use Permit is required, on the filing date for the valid and fully complete permit application. The minimum interior space in the child care facility for each child care slot shall comply with all applicable state and local regulations governing the operation of licensed childcare providers. Child care facility space shall be deemed provided only if the applicant causes the space to be newly constructed or newly placed in child care use after the submission of a permit application for the project intended to use the bonus floor area, except as provided in subsection 23.49.012.C.2.f. If any contribution or subsidy in any form is made by any public entity to the acquisition, development, financing or improvement of any child care facility, then any portion of the space in such facility determined by the Director of Human Services to be attributable to such contribution or subsidy shall not be considered as provided by any applicant other than that public entity. 2. Child care space shall be provided on the same lot as the project using the bonus floor area or on another lot in a downtown zone and shall be in a child care facility satisfying the following standards: a. The child care facility and accessory exterior space must be approved for licensing by the State of Washington Department of Children, Youth, and Families and any other applicable state or local governmental agencies responsible for the regulation of licensed childcare providers. b. At least 20 percent of the number of child care slots for which space is provided to gain bonus floor area must be reserved for, and affordable to, families with annual incomes at or below the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Low Income Standard for Section 8 Housing based on family size (or, if such standard shall no longer be published, a standard established by the Director of Human Services based generally on 80 percent of the median family income of the Metropolitan Statistical Area, or division thereof, that includes Seattle, adjusted for family size). Child care slots shall be deemed to meet these conditions if they serve, and are limited to, a) children receiving child care subsidy from The City of Seattle, King County, or State Department of Social and Health Services, and/or b) children whose families have annual incomes no higher than the above standard who are charged according to a sliding fee scale such that the fees paid by any family do not exceed the amount it would be charged, exclusive of subsidy, if the family were enrolled in the City of Seattle Child Care Assistance Program. c. Child care space provided to satisfy bonus conditions shall be dedicated to child care use, consistent with the terms of this Section 23.49.012 , for 20 years. The dedication shall be established by a recorded covenant, running with the land, and enforceable by the City, signed by the owner of the lot where the child care facility is located and by the owner of the lot where the bonus floor area is used, if different from the lot of the child care facility. The child care facility shall be maintained in operation, with adequate staffing, at least 11 hours per day, five days per week, 50 weeks per year. d. Exterior space for which a bonus is or has been allowed under any other section of this Title 23 or under former Title 24 shall not be eligible to satisfy the conditions of this Section 23.49.012 . e. Unless the applicant is the owner of the child care space and is a duly licensed and experienced child care provider approved by the Director of Human Services, the applicant shall provide to the Director a signed agreement, acceptable to such Director, with a duly licensed child care provider, under which the child care provider agrees to operate the child care facility consistent with the terms of this Section 23.49.012 and of the recorded covenant, and to provide reports and documentation to the City to demonstrate such compliance. f. One child care facility may fulfill the conditions for a bonus for more than one project if it includes sufficient space, and provides sufficient slots affordable to limited income families, to satisfy the conditions for each such project without any space or child care slot being counted toward the conditions for more than one project. If the child care facility is located on the same lot as one of the projects using the bonus, then the owner of that lot shall be responsible for maintaining compliance with all the requirements applicable to the child care facility; otherwise responsibility for such requirements shall be allocated by agreement in such manner as the Director of Human Services may approve. If a child care facility developed to qualify for bonus floor area by one applicant includes space exceeding the amount necessary for the bonus floor area used by that applicant, then to the extent that the voluntary agreement accepted by the Director of Human Services from that applicant so provides, such excess space may be deemed provided by the applicant for a later project pursuant to a new voluntary agreement signed by both such applicants and by any other owner of the child care facility, and a modification of the recorded covenant, each in form and substance acceptable to such Director. 3. The Director of Human Services shall review the design and proposed management plan for any child care facility proposed to qualify for bonus floor area to determine whether it will comply with the terms of this Section 23.49.012 . The allowance of bonus floor area is conditioned upon approval of the design and proposed management plan by the Director. The child care facility shall be constructed consistent with the design approved by such Director and shall be operated for the minimum 20 year term consistent with the management plan approved by such Director, in each case with only such modifications as shall be approved by such Director. If the proposed management plan includes provisions for payment of rent or occupancy costs by the provider, the management plan must include a detailed operating budget, staffing ratios, and other information requested by the Director to assess whether the child care facility may be economically feasible and able to deliver quality services. 4. The Director of Human Services is authorized to accept a voluntary agreement for the provision of a child care facility to satisfy bonus conditions and related agreements and instruments consistent with this Section 23.49.012 . The voluntary agreement may provide, in case a child care facility is not maintained in continuous operation consistent with this subsection 23.49.012.C at any time within the minimum 20 year period, for the City's right to receive payment of a prorated amount of the in lieu cash contribution that then would be applicable to a new project seeking bonus floor area. Such Director may require security or evidence of adequate financial responsibility, or both, as a condition to acceptance of an agreement under this subsection 23.49.012.C. D. Cash option payments for child care. Cash payments under voluntary agreements for bonuses according to subsection 23.49.012.C shall be made prior to issuance of any building permit after the first building permit for a project, and in any event before any permit for any construction activity other than excavation and shoring is issued, or if the bonus is for use of existing floor area, the cash payment shall be made prior to issuance of any permit or modification allowing for use of the space as chargeable floor area. The payments shall be deposited in a special account established solely to fund expenditures for the development of childcare. Earnings on balances in the special account shall accrue to that account. The Director of Human Services shall use cash payments made in lieu of child care facilities and any earnings thereon to support development of child care facilities. Uses of funds to support child care facilities may include the City's costs to administer projects, not to exceed ten percent of total payments under this Section 23.49.012 and of any earnings thereon, and support provided through loans or grants to owners or developers. The location of child care facilities funded wholly or in part with cash payments shall be prioritized in the following order: 1) within the Downtown Regional Center; 2) within a regional center adjacent to the Downtown Regional Center; 3) in the City within 0.5 mile of a light rail or bus rapid transit station on a route serving the Downtown Regional Center; 4) in the City within 0.25 mile of a bus or streetcar stop on a route serving the Downtown Regional Center. (Ord. 127375 , § 76, 2025; Ord. 126855 , § 29, 2023; Ord. 124843 , § 39, 2015; Ord. 124388, § 1, 2013; Ord. 122990, § 1, 2009; Ord. 122054 § 14, 2006; Ord. 120443 , §§ 7, 8, 2001)
Source: Seattle Municipal Code (Municode library)URL: https://library.municode.com/wa/seattle/codes/municipal_codeFetched: 7/25/2026