WaSMAR1802_F2 Guide to the Board of Adjustment Annual Reports 1957-1969 Board of Adjustment Annual Reports Finding aid prepared by Anne Frantilla Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities. Seattle Municipal Archives ©2004
PO Box 94728 600 Fourth Avenue, Floor 3 Seattle, WA 98124-4728 Phone: 206/233-7807 Email: archives@seattle.gov http://www.seattle.gov/cityarchives
Finding aid encoded by Shannon B. Lynch 2004 Finding aid written in English. Seattle Municipal Archives
PO Box 94728 600 Fourth Avenue, Floor 3 Seattle, WA 98124-4728 Phone: 206/233-7807 Email: archives@seattle.gov http://www.seattle.gov/cityarchives
1802-F2 Seattle (Wash.). City Clerk Board of Adjustment Annual Reports 1957-1969 .2 cubic foot 1 box Annual reports of the Board of Adjustment Collection materials are in English. Historical Note

The 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 The Board's functions were superseded and it was abolished in 1981 its "appellate functions" were transferred to the Office of the Hearing Examiner.

The Board of Adjustment Annual Reports 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.

Annual reports are arranged chronologically by year.

Records are open to the public.

[Item and date], Board of Adjustment Annual Reports, Record Series 1802-F2. Box [number], Folder [number]. Seattle Municipal Archives.

Records were originally filed with the City Clerk in the Comptroller/Clerk's Files (CFs) and were removed to create this record series.

This 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.

Seattle (Wash.). Board of Adjustment Seattle (Wash.)--Politics and government City planning--Washington (State)--Seattle Zoning--Washington (State)--Seattle Zoning boards--Washington (State)--Seattle Land use--Washington (State)--Seattle Building--Washington (State)--Seattle Building permits--Washington (State)--Seattle Government and Politics City Planning Seattle Annual reports

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.

Board of Adjustment Annual Reports 1957-1969 1 Board of Adjustment Annual Report 1957-1958 1 Board of Adjustment Annual Report 1959 1 Board of Adjustment Annual Report 1960 1 Board of Adjustment Annual Report 1961 1 Board of Adjustment Annual Report 1962 1 Board of Adjustment Annual Report 1963 1 Board of Adjustment Annual Report 1964 1 Board of Adjustment Annual Report 1965 1 Board of Adjustment Annual Report 1966 1 Board of Adjustment Annual Report 1967 1 Board of Adjustment Annual Report 1968 1 Board of Adjustment Annual Report 1969