Greenwood resident Kate Lichtenstein contacted us last spring to help her design a backyard studio / guest house for her modest 650 square foot 1920’s one bedroom home (shown above). While the home’s scale fits nicely with Kate’s desire to have a simple and ecologically responsible lifestyle it falls a little short when it comes to a rough and ready workshop space for art, bicycle repair, ski tuning and building projects. Kate’s home also lacks the space for a home office / guest room – something that she would like to integrate into the new structure.
Our initial goal was to have her project under construction by late summer 2009 but we were unable to get the project off the ground by that time. In hindsight, the stalling of the project turned out to be a stroke of luck…
In March of 2009 Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels proposed legislation that would allow Seattle homeowners to construct backyard cottages on their property. The legislation was reviewed and ultimately passed by the Seattle city council on November 2nd 2009 (with a 9 to 0 vote too! Kudos to Seattle voters for electing progressive urbanists for city council members!).
For Kate the ordinance has opened up new possibilities for a structure that can both accommodate her current needs and provide a potential source of income as a rental unit if her finances ever fall on hard times. Besides allowing for a legal detached rental unit the ordinance also allows for the construction of a two story structure – an arrangement that will work well for Kate’s needs and will help to preserve the spaciousness of her backyard.
Kate is planning to build with a mind toward sustainability and has a special interest in using recycled building materials whenever possible (she is, at this time, planning to write a parallel blog on the topic of recycled building materials). For us at CAST architecture Kate’s project is an exciting chance to test out the new backyard cottage ordinance and work with a client who is committed to building green. We see her project as an excellent opportunity to provide the general public with information about the process of designing and building a backyard cottage in Seattle. Kate and her partner Ric Cochrane are always game for an adventure and have graciously agreed to allow us to share their experience with you. To that end, we are planning to blog about Kate’s project as we travel through the design and construction process. Please subscribe to our feed if you would like to follow along in future posts…
This is a photo I noticed on Kate and Ric's fridge during my last visit. I felt it was a great visual summary of their adventurous spirits and the fact that it was held up by magnets that say "reduce, reuse, recycle" and "save water" was singular! The photos were taken during a cyclocross race last summer - Kate is on the left and Ric is on the right.
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This is more a question, than a comment. If my criteria ( building lot ) meets code, could I construct a concrete pad and possibly a roof with open sides to accommodate a motor home? The purpose of this construction would be to have a permanent parking lot for the motor home, complete with hook-up for sewer, water, and electric. I would use it as a spare bed room when I have more than several guests. As it is parking a motor home,( inside a storage building) is quite costly, and I get no use of the motor home, accept when I am traveling. Parking a motor home outside and in the weather eventually destroys the paint. Repainting a motor home is also very costly. With an 50 amp electric hook up, I could heat the Motor home, and keep the waste holding tanks from freezing. With the cost of diesel fuel raising every year,I am less able to use the motor home. A permanent parking place on my property ( with a roof and open sides to keep the cost of the structure at a minimum, I would be exercising the intent of the new ordnance of a “cottage” and saving money on storage, while accommodating guests. Any comment would be helpful. at this blogging, as I am not aware of the limits of “cottage” The motor home is already paid for, and should last indefinitely as a occasional dwelling place, even if the drive train should fail in the ensuing years. thanks TG
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Thom -
It seems unlikely that the city would approve an open-sided roofed enclosure for a motor-home under the Backyard cottage ordinance. However, depending on the size of the structure you may be able to permit it as an “accessory structure” (a.k.a garage). With the exception of the height limit and the allowance for renters, the code for accessory structures is a bit more permissive than the ordinance for backyard cottages. You can read more about accessory structures on the Department of Planning and Development’s CAM #221.
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