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The City of Seattle
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An ordinance relating to leases; updating the Director of Finance and Administrative Services’ authority to execute leases when the land is used for transitional encampments, outdoor storage for any vehicle, or overnight respite areas for drivers; amending Section 3.127.020 of the Seattle Municipal Code.
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Recitals:
Ordinance 127423, passed by City Council in March 2026, expanded the authority of the Director of Finance and Administrative Services to execute leases up to 65,000 square feet without needing Council approval, if the site were to be used for transitional encampments.
The City could also use flexibility in executing leases for other purposes that serve the public good, such as storage for vehicles and areas where drivers, including those delivering freight to and from the Port of Seattle, can rest.
There may also be available and desirable sites that the City wants to lease for transitional encampments, storage of vehicles and rest areas that are in excess of 65,000 square feet. Therefore,
Be it ordained by The City of Seattle as follows:
Section 1. Section 3.127.020 of the Seattle Municipal Code, last amended by Ordinance 127423, is amended as follows:
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C. All leases executed pursuant to the authority of Section 3.127.020 shall conform to the following provisions:
1. Rental payments for office space shall not exceed a rate of $26 per
square foot per year and the total square footage leased in any one calendar year shall not exceed 5,000 square feet for such space in any single building or other facility.
2. Rental payments for improved space other than office space shall not
exceed $10 per square foot per year, and the total square footage leased in any one rental agreement in any one calendar year shall not exceed 9,000 square feet for such space in any single building, structure, or other facility.
3. Rental payments for unimproved real estate, or land used for parking or
open storage purposes shall not exceed $6 per square foot per year, and the total square footage leased in any one rental agreement in any one calendar year shall not exceed 18,000 square feet for such space in any single building, structure, or other facility. However, ((if the unimproved real estate or land is being leased for transitional encampments governed by Section 23.42.054 or Section 23.42.056,)) the total square footage leased in any one rental agreement in any one calendar year shall not exceed ((65,000)) 100,000 square feet, and the price per square foot shall be as negotiated consistent with market rate if the unimproved real estate or land is being leased for:
a. Transitional encampments governed by Section 23.42.054 or Section 23.42.056;
b. Outdoor storage for any vehicle, including recreational vehicles; or
c. Overnight respite areas for drivers, such as truck tractor drivers.
4. The dollar amounts specified in subsections 3.127.020.C.1, 3.127.020.C.2, and 3.127.020.C.3 shall be adjusted annually beginning February 1, 2011 by the percentage change in the annual Consumer Price Index For All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), All Items, Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA Metropolitan Area (1982-84 = 100) for the preceding year as published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, or its successor; provided, that if the Consumer Price Index is discontinued or its base is changed, a comparable index shall be substituted.
5. The department or agency that is to occupy the premises to be leased shall have available to it sufficient funds to pay the Department of Finance and Administrative Services for its anticipated billing for the use of such space during the balance of the current budget year.
This ordinance shall take effect as provided by Seattle Municipal Code Sections 1.04.020 and 1.04.070.
Passed by the City Council and signed in open session in authentication of its passage on .
President of the City Council
on .
Katie B. Wilson, Mayor
Scheereen Dedman, City Clerk