A sketch of the Pacific Tower parking lot TOD project showing lots of trees and greenery and the 160 apartment homes at the base of the distinctive orange brick Pacific Tower building in Beacon Hill. Image by Weber Thompson.

Seattle Public Utilities Is Exacting Impermissible Capital Improvement Fees

Project requirements suggest a pattern of double charging, which nearly sunk a 160-unit affordable housing project in Beacon Hill. Navigating the Seattle permitting system is arduous, unpredictable, and unnecessarily difficult. To make matters worse, hidden within the overall building permit process is a Seattle Public Utilities procedure that places costly and unsubstantiated burdens on new … Continue reading Seattle Public Utilities Is Exacting Impermissible Capital Improvement Fees

The Urbanist