Theme Name:  Zoning / Overlay or Special Designation Districts

Description:  City of Seattle land use zoning which determines what 
kinds of land uses are allowable and what the characteristics of those
uses can be (i.e. building heights).  Contains information about overlay
or special designation districts where special regulations may apply.

What is zoning?
Zoning is the law governing how every piece of land in Seattle may be used and sets the limits on the 
sizes of structures that may be built on that land.  All properties in the city have a zoning "designation" 
on the City's Official Land Use Map.  (Note:  Every effort is made to insure the accuracy of the information 
in this GIS product.  While this GIS information is intended to portray that of the Land Use Map, the information 
contained herein does NOT constitute an Official land use map.)

A zoning designation is applied to an area, defined by boundaries, to indicate the types of activities or "uses," 
densities and the height and size of buildings that may be developed.  There are several broad categories of 
uses, for example residential, commercial, or industrial. Each zoning designation has associated with it 
"allowable uses" or subsets of these broad categories. Generally, zones permit several kinds of uses.  Each 
zoning designation also has "development standards," which govern the physical characteristics of the building, 
such as height, setbacks, etc.

For more information consult the "Working with Zoning in Neighborhood Plans" brochure and the zoning summary 
charts in the Neighborhood Planning "toolkit".

Important Attributes:

			Zone Category	Description
			Abbreviation

			Residential:
			SF5000		Single Family
			SF7200		Single Family
			SF9600		Single Family
			RSL		Residential Small Lot

			Multifamily:
			LDT	  	Lowrise Duplex/Triplex
			L1	       	Lowrise 1
			L2	       	Lowrise 2
			L3	       	Lowrise 3
			L4	       	Lowrise 4
			MR		Midrise
			HR		Highrise

			Commercial:
			NC1		Neighborhood Commercial 1
			NC2		Neighborhood Commercial 2
			NC3		Neighborhood Commercial 3
			NC2/R		Neighborhood Commercial/Residential
			NC3/R		Neighborhood Commercial/Residential
			C1		Commercial 1
			C2		Commercial 2
			SCM		Seattle Cascade Mixed
				(Commercial zoning designations will also indicate height limits,
		 		e.g., NC1-30 is an NC1 zone with a height limit of 30 feet.
		 		Height limits are 30', 40', 65', 85', 125', 160')

			Industrial:
			IG1		General Industrial 1
			IG2		General Industrial 2
			IB		Industrial Buffer
			IC		Industrial Commercial

			Downtown:  
			DOC1		Downtown Office Core 1
			DOC2		Downtown Office Core 2
			DRC		Downtown Retail Core
			DMC		Downtown Mixed Commercial 
			DMR		Downtown Mixed Residential
			DH1		Downtown Harborfront 1
			DH2		Downtown Harborfront 2
			PMM		Pike Market Mixed
			PSM		Pioneer Square Mixed
			IDR		International District Residential
			IDM		International District Mixed


The following are designations that refine the broad categories above:

Overlay district
Overlay districts are established to advance a shared vision for an area,
to conserve or enhance Seattle's unique natural setting, environmental
and topographic features, to preserve areas of special character, historical
note or architectural merit, or to assist in the redevelopment and rehabilitation
of declining areas. In addition to all the requirements of the underlying zone,
property located within an overlay district is subject to the specific
requirements of the overlay districts.

Major Institution Overlay (MIO)
Those colleges, universities and hospitals in Seattle that have master plans for future development.  Master Plans define the permitted total amount and the general 
configuration of development that will be added to the institution over time.  Individual
height limits may be applied to particular areas within the overlay as specified in an 
adopted Master Plan.

Residential/Commercial (RC)
Goes with certain multifamily zones to indicate that some
ground floor retail is allowable. Indicated as a suffix, e.g., L1/RC.

P1 or P2
Pedestrian overlays for neighborhood commercial zones.
Indicated as a suffix, e.g., NC1-30/P1.

Shoreline designations
There are a variety of special zoning designations that apply to shoreline
areas (e.g., CN, CM, US, UH).   These are indicated as suffixes.  Consult
the Land Use Code section on "shorelines" to find out more about them.

			
Current As Of:  February 1997

Data Quality:  Very Good

Source:  Department of Construction and Land Use

Dept. of Origin/Responsibility:  Department of Construction and Land Use