Serving the Public in Neighborhood Design Review: A Case Study of Seattle's Capitol Hill Design Guidelines

Abstract

Design Review is a discretionary process in which land development proposals are judged by a third party, independent of the project client and the developer, that reports to a local government entity. In Seattle, the City ensures the right to due process in Design Review through the use of Citywide and Neighborhood Design Guidelines. Community members may give feedback on a project-by-project basis and in the creation of Neighborhood Design Guidelines. Research on how well Design Review serves the public focuses largely on public engagement on a project-by-project basis, and not in the creation of Design Guidelines. How the City engages the public when creating Neighborhood Design Guidelines, who is involved, and why it matters have been left unasked, but are more relevant than ever in Seattle as the City considers how to standardize outreach for Neighborhood Design Guidelines. To help planners answer these questions, this thesis provides an assessment of how Seattle recently updated the Design Guidelines for the Capitol Hill neighborhood.