Overview of the Collection
Historical NoteThe Board of Adjustment was created in 1957 by the new Zoning Ordinance, which was based on a Comprehensive Plan for the City. It was a division of the City Planning commission and had power to hear, decide, and grant or deny applications for variances and conditional use permits. The Board had seven members, appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by the City Council; members served for up to to three years. The Board began hearing zoning and variance appeals from decisions of the Hearing Examiner following the latter's creation in 1973. In 1980, application and appeal processes were consolidated in the Department of Construction and Land Use with development of the Master Use Permit system. The Board's functions were superseded and it was abolished in 1981 its "appellate functions" were transferred to the Office of the Hearing Examiner. Content DescriptionThe Board of Adjustment Annual Reports date from 1957 to 1968 and contain statistics on conditional use, variance, and special exception applications received and actions taken. Also included with each report is a narrative discussing the year's events, Board's suggestions to the Planning Commission, Board member appointments, organization charts, referrals from the Superintendent of Buildings, number of hours worked by Board members, and other important issues. Most reports discuss the Board of Adjustment's role as a "leavening agent" which provided "needed flexibility" to the Zoning Ordinance; however, the importance of "careful and practical application of established Ordinance standards" is also stressed. Use of the Collection
Restrictions on Access :
Records are open to the public. Preferred Citation :[Item and date], Board of Adjustment Annual Reports, Record Series 1802-F2. Box [number], Folder [number]. Seattle Municipal Archives. Administrative InformationDetailed Description of the CollectionThe following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.
SubjectsThis collection is indexed under the following headings in the online catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings.
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