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A triumph for the ‘Seattle Way’–years of contentious hearings, studies, tweaks resolve into ultimately a unanimous decision. Â There is a certain super-tanker inertia about the city process that eventually prevails but it does it take a quite a while to steer the ship of state toward higher goals.
Big thanks to Councilmember Sally Clark, the DPD staff, and CORA supermen: Â Brandon Nicholson, Bradley Khouri, and David Neiman.
The new Multifamily Code is scheduled to come up for a vote before Council on Monday. Â After years of process, hearings, and work shaping the outcomes, the new code will have some new attributes geared toward more flexibility in heights, parking, setbacks, and density. Â It disincentivizes the ’6 pack’ townhomes everyone dislikes and gives out bonuses for green building, designs that hid parking and give a better streetscape.
For those of us who participated in the sausage-making legislative process over the years, it is great to see that it will finally come up for a vote. Â If you want to see the vote, and who wouldn’t, it will be at City Hall at 2pm Monday.
The Seattle channel recently interviewed myself and CAST clients Kate Lichtanstein and Ric Cochrane regarding the backyard cottage we are currently working on together. They included our project in a broader story that profiles an owner of a recently completed backyard cottage and gives a basic outline of the new Seattle backyard cottage ordinance.
Are you considering building a backyard cottage?
We’ve put together a Seattle Backyard Cottage Quick Start Guide* to help homeowners better understand Seattle’s citywide backyard cottage ordinance and the opportunities available to them.
The first step is to figure out whether or not your lot is large enough to qualify for a backyard cottage. The chart below outlines the minimum requirements for lot area and dimensions.
| BASIC SITE REQUIREMENTS: | |
| Minimum Lot Size | 4000 sq.ft. |
| Minimum Lot Width | 25 feet |
| Minimum Lot Depth | 70 feet |
The next step is to figure out what portion of your lot is buildable under the backyard cottage ordinance. Setbacks, yard requirements and maximum lot coverage all factor into whether or not a cottage is feasible.
| SETBACKS AND YARDS: | |
| Setback from lot lines | 5′ unless adjacent to an alley in which case the setback is 0 |
| Setback from other structures | 5′ |
| Maximum Lot CoverageSMC 23.44.010 | Lots less than 5,000 sq. ft. – 1,000 sq. ft. + 15% of lot area |
| Lots 5,000 sq. ft. or more - 35% of lot area | |
| Maximum Rear Yard Coverage | 40% of the area required for the rear yard. |
| Maximum Front Yard Coverage | Cottages not allowed in front yard. |
| Off Street Parking SMC 23.44.016 |
One space per dwelling unit required – some exceptions apply. |
| Entry Location | May not be located on the side facing the nearest lot line unless that lot line abuts an alley or other public right of way. |
Once you’ve verified that your lot can accommodate a backyard cottage the next step is to take a look at the the floor area and height restrictions in order to determine if you can meet your objectives within those boundaries.
| FLOOR AREA: | |
| Gross Floor Area SMC 23.86.007 |
800′ square feet max.Gross Sq. Ft. is measured from interior finished surface to interior finished surface. If you are planning a two story structure the floor area of each story counts toward the total. |
There are three factors that set the height limit for your cottage, the width of your lot, the type of roof you choose and the height of your home.
| HEIGHT LIMITS: | |||||
| Lot width | |||||
| < 30′ | 30′-35′ | 36′-40′ | 41′-50′ | 50′ < | |
| Max base height | 12′ | 14′ | 15′ | 16 | 16 |
| Max height with pitched roof | 15′ | 21′ | 22′ | 22′ | 23′ |
| Max height with shed or butterfly | 15′ | 18′ | 19′ | 20′ | 20′ |
| Max height above peak of existing home | 15′ | 15′ | 15′ | 15′ | 15′ |
| REFERENCES | |
| CAST Architecture | tim@CASTarchitecture.comFeel free to email me with any questions you may have regarding Seattle’s Citywide backyard cottage ordinance |
| Seattle Department of Planning and Development (DPD) | Seattle Backyard Cottage OrdinanceThis is the definitive legal document covering Seattle Backyard Cottages. |
| DPD’s Land Use Q&A ServiceAny ambiguities or clarifications unanswered by the ordinance document (above) can be addressed through the DPD’s Land Use Q&A Service | |
| DPD CAM 116B – Establishing a Backyard CottageThe DPD’s client assistance memo (CAM) outlining the citywide backyard cottage ordinance. CAMs are guides intended to help people navigate the building permit processes in the city of Seattle. | |
| A Guide to Building a Backyard Cottage in Southeast SeattleThis is an out of date but very useful guide put together by the DPD for Backyard Cottages in Southeast Seattle. The ordinance the guide was written for has changed (proceed with caution) but the value of the guide is still intact. It covers many of the issues you are likely to encounter and does a good job of mapping out design considerations you should be aware of. | |
*This guide is intended as an overview of the backyard cottage ordinance and does not include detailed conditions and restrictions that may affect individual properties. Please note that the guide was created in 2010 and that zoning codes may have changed since then. As such, it should only be used as a basic starting point for planning. If you would like to move forward with the design and permitting of a backyard cottage for your home we recommend careful scrutiny of the entire ordinance and the assistance of an architect or design professional.
Download guide as a printable pdf
We’ve seen an unexpected level of interest in backyard cottages in the 2 months since the new ordinance has been in effect. Perhaps the most interesting thing about the projects is the diversity of needs for each one…
We have a young couple with a small house on a large lot that would like an outbuilding with a workshop and guestroom. We have a couple planning to build and occupy a cottage in their backyard in order to open up their home for their children and grandchildren to live in. We have a third couple who have separated but are committed to raising their children together. They currently live in the same house and believe that adding a backyard cottage to the property will maintain the proximity they need to raise their children together while providing them the space they need as individuals.
In a bit of a surprise, we have yet to see anyone looking to build a cottage for the sole purpose of rental income. Although one of the guys here at the office has been running the numbers and is strongly considering building a cottage for rent in his backyard.
We’ve completed the first round of design on our CAST architecture case study backyard cottage.
Kate and Ric’s cottage is intended to serve as an art studio, workshop and guest house. It is also designed so that it may function as a rental home if needed. Our initial round of planning looked at how the spaces might work as a rental thinking that those functional requirements would be more restrictive than the requirements for an art studio and workshop.
The Department of Planning and Development (DPD) has posted a new client assistance memo (CAM) to outline the citywide backyard cottage ordinance. CAMs are guides intended to help people navigate the building permit processes in the city of Seattle.
CAM 116B, Establishing a Backyard Cottage (Detached Accessory Dwelling Unit)
“This Client Assistance Memo (CAM) explains the requirements and process for establishing a detached accessory dwelling unit (also called a DADU or mother-in-law unit) on an owner-occupied Single Family zoned lot in southeast Seattle.”
If you are considering building a cottage in your backyard it is still worth reviewing the DPD’s older, more comprehensive (but now somewhat inaccurate) publication: “A Guide to Building a Backyard Cottage in Southeast Seattle.”
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.
The ordinance  to allow backyard cottages in the other three quarters of Seattle just passed 9-0!  The council’s comments focused on the exhaustive community outreach, successful pilot program and benefit of having this housing choice for Seattle.
Excellent work by the planning commission, DPD and council.
Usually, the city’s process oriented decision making can be cumbersome, and having spent hours in meetings, testifying, and communicating with council, I feel vindicated that our involvement has helped in some small way to bring some innovation to the Single Family zoning.
We’re excited to design some of these–in part because of the opportunity to foster multi-generational housing, and the option of building a smaller free standing structure rather than building an addition. Â Plus, it is a really fun scale–I think more people will be thinking about bonus studios rather than housing units.
northwest perspective showing clerestory band wrapping studio and office
north elevation: office over guest suite to the left/studio to the right
With the impending vote on the backyard cottage ordinance, everyone in the office has been doing a little daydreaming about the DADUs and what they would build. Â I have been working on a idea that started with a little ink drawing. It’s now developed into a preliminary model/floor plans. Â I’ve flipped the shed roof to have more volume in the shop/studio and worked out the bathroom so that my shop could easily be converted into an open kitchen/living space.
I have also been working out a simple steel structure, clad with structural insulated panels for easy construction and minimization of waste. Â The goal is prefabrication of the components offsite, then assemble.
I’d love to try out using a geothermal pre-heating loop, with a hydronic radiant system run of a domestic hot water heater and test the new PV shingles, but that might get a bit expensive.