Columbia Citizens

From http://smarterneighbors.com/2007/10/24/what-to-do-when-the-little-yellow-land-use-action-sign-comes-to-your-neighborhood/

First thing, don’t ignore it! On this little yellow sign are tons of important pieces of information including (a brief summary of the application, the project number and generally a deadline for public feedback). I’d start off by going to jotting down the project number and entering it into the project number field on this DPD page. Next, get in touch with the DPD planner assigned to this project and ask them for a copy of the entire filing. What you find here will be significantly more useful than what the little yellow sign provides. And if there are any deadlines on the sign, make sure to meet them!

That’s an interesting blog. It looks to cover a lot of terrain and raises some good questions about Seattle’s communities and development.

Here’s a semi-weekly bulletin, published by the City’s Department of Planning and Development. Online, you can tap into this information in a few different ways: the citywide list (sortable) via the DPD website, and southeast-specific lists in the BHN/SDJ, and via RSS.

These notices are related to discretionary land use reviews and decisions, each type defined by its respective set of rules. In my experience, that level of discretion varies according to project type. So some notices more than others offer neighbors a meaningful opportunity to affect development. Done right, and with well-prepared participants, I think Design Review offers the best return for our effort.

That said, I’d qualify the blog’s contention that public comment deadlines are critical. DPD land use planners will receive and consider public comment beyond the formal comment period, up until when the land use planner drafts the decision. Early input is always more helpful, but comment periods are basically a legislated waiting period, to make sure that decisionmakers don’t jump the gun. Considering our current backlog of land use applications, there’s little chance of that.

Full disclosure: I review land use applications, mostly in north Seattle.