After working closely with South Lake Union (SLU) neighborhood representatives, DCLU has prepared design guidelines for this area, which are now available. Legislation that would amend the Land Use Code to incorporate the SLU guidelines will be submitted to the Seattle City Council for their consideration later this year.

After adoption, these neighborhood-specific guidelines will augment the existing Citywide Design Guidelines and together outline the design objectives to be met by new commercial and multifamily development proposals within the SLU neighborhood. The main elements of the SLU guidelines:

• reinforce the existing context and character of the neighborhood; and
• outline ways in which new development proposals can relate well to noteworthy buildings and positive attributes of urban form within the neighborhood.

Seattle's existing neighborhood-specific design guidelines address specific design concerns that have historical, cultural and architectural significance and offer many suggestions for how new developments can enhance the public realm by being sensitive to these issues.