Getting Smarter In Seattle

Wow! Folks are actually starting to wise up. Two months ago the little town of Los Altos Hills, California, put in place a truly sensible deconstruction permitting process. When a deconstruction (not demolition) contract is attached to the permit application, permit fees are waived and the new building plans go to the front of the approval line. This break-through ordinance was followed a couple of weeks ago by a similar measure in Seattle. There, the Department of Planning and Development (DPD) changed its land-use code to allow a deconstruction permit to be issued without first approving the plans for the new, replacement structure. Here's some background on this latest ground-breaking change (no pun intended). Many cities and counties around the country do not allow demolition to proceed without first having the new plans submitted and approved, and a building permit issued. These municipalities, just to name a few, include the California cities of San Francisco and Orinda, the Illinois cities of Glencoe and Winnetka, and, until now, Seattle. As most of you know, deconstruction is preferable to demolition for several reasons, both environmental and economic. Deconstruction reduces noise and dust pollution, extends the life of landfills and returns reusable materials to the marketplace. However, it is also more costly and takes up to 10 times longer than a bulldozer. Even though building owners may offset the cost of deconstruction by donating salvaged materials to nonprofit organizations like The ReUse People, time is still a major problem. If the demolition (deconstruction) permit is tied to the new building permit, the time factor is exacerbated by the often long wait -- 12 months or more in some cases. This is especially true in larger cities where building departments simply cannot handle the quantity of new permits. While the Seattle city council has not yet blessed the proposed change in the city's land-use code, it does look imminent. To learn more, follow this link.