Summary

The purpose of the pedestrian-oriented commercial development special district overlay is to provide for high-density, pedestrian-oriented retail/employment uses.

Story

Description

Pedestrian-Oriented Commercial Development SDO

Development Condition Text

21A.38.050 Special district overlay - Pedestrian-oriented commercial development.

A. The purpose of the pedestrian-oriented commercial development special district overlay is to provide for high-density, pedestrian-oriented retail and employment uses. The pedestrian-oriented commercial districts shall only be established in areas designated as a center on the adopted Urban Centers map of the King County Comprehensive Plan and zoned CB, RB or O. 

B. Permitted uses shall be those uses permitted in the underlying zone, excluding the following:

1. Motor vehicle, boat and mobile home dealer;

2. Gasoline service station;

3. Uses with drive-through facilities, except SIC Industry Number 5812 (Eating places) in buildings existing before July 2017;

4. SIC Industry Group 598 (Fuel dealers);

5. Uses with outside storage, e.g. lumber yards, miscellaneous equipment rental or machinery sales;

6. Bulk retail;

7. Recreation/cultural uses as set forth in K.C.C. 21A.08.040, except parks, sports clubs, theaters, libraries and museums;

8. SIC Major Group 75 (Automotive repair, services and parking) except 7521 (automobile parking; but excluding tow-in parking lots);

9. SIC Major Group 76 (Miscellaneous repair services), except 7631 (Watch, clock and jewelry repair);

10. SIC Major Group 78 (Motion pictures);

11. SIC Major Group 80 (Health services), except offices and outpatient clinics (801-804);

12. SIC Industry Group 421 (Trucking and courier service);

13. Public agency archive;

14. Self-service storage;

15. Manufacturing land uses as set forth in K.C.C. 21A.08.080, except SIC Industry Code 2759 (Commercial printing);

16. Resource land uses as set forth in K.C.C. 21A.08.090;

17. SIC Industry Code 7261 (Funeral home/crematory);

18. Cemetery, columbarium or mausoleum;

19. Interim recycling facility;

20. Utility facility, except underground water, gas or wastewater pipelines; and

21. Vactor waste receiving facility.

C. The following development standards shall apply to development located in pedestrian-oriented commercial overlay districts:

1. For properties that have frontage on a public street, the following conditions shall apply:

a. main building entrances shall be oriented to the public street;

b. at the ground floor (at grade), buildings shall be located no more than five feet from the sidewalk or sidewalk improvement, but shall not encroach on the public right-of-way. For buildings existing before the effective date of this section of this ordinance with setbacks greater than five feet and that have substantial improvements made to them after the effective date of this section of this ordinance, a minimum five-foot-wide pedestrian walkway shall be constructed that connects the main building entrance to the public sidewalk or sidewalk improvement;

c. building facades shall comprise at least seventy-five percent of the total street frontage for a property and if applicable, at least seventy-five percent of the total pedestrian route frontage for a property;

d. minimum interior setbacks of the underlying zoning are waived;

e. building facades that front onto a street shall incorporate windows into at least thirty percent of the building facade surface area and overhead protection above all building entrances and along at least fifty percent of length of the building facade, which may extend over the sidewalk if it does not impede use of the sidewalk by the public;

f. ground floor building facades shall include ornamentation such as decorative architectural treatments or finishes, pedestrian scale lighting, and window and door trim; and

g. buildings facades shall not be comprised of uninterrupted glass curtain walls or mirrored glass;

2. vehicle access shall be limited to the rear access alley or rear access street where such an alley or street exists;

3. Floor/lot area ratio shall not exceed 5:1, including the residential component of mixed use developments, but not including parking structures;

4. Building setback and height requirements may be waived through the application of residential density incentives under K.C.C. chapter 21A.34 or the transfer of development rights under K.C.C. chapter 21A.37, except for areas within fifty feet of the perimeter of any special district overlay area abutting an R-12 or lower density residential zone;

5. The landscaping requirements of K.C.C. chapter 21A.16 shall apply to all new development and to buildings existing before the effective date of this section of this ordinance that have substantial improvements made to them after the effective date of this section of this ordinance; and

6. Off-street parking requirements K.C.C. 21A.18.110 shall apply, except that the relief from K.C.C. 21A.18.110.A.4. that may be granted by the director shall only allow use of on-street parallel parking in front of or adjacent to the subject parcel for the parking spaces that cannot be accommodated to the rear or sides of buildings.

Current Ordinance

19146

Effective Date

August 20, 2020

Changes

Amended by Ord. 12823, 08/18/1997 (Language)
Amended by Ord. 13022, 03/28/1998 (Language)
Amended by Ord. 17485, 12/03/2012 (Map) - See adopted 2012 King County Comprehensive Plan, Map Amendment #1
Amended by Ord. 18592, 10/26/2017 (Language)
Amended by Ord. 19146, 08/10/2020 (Language)

View Map(s) for SO-050

SO-050 Map