Tower trash in alleys doesn’t pass the smell test
Today’s blog post is the sixth in a series where we look at Seattle’s land use history and decades of missed opportunities for comprehensive infrastructure planning for transportation and housing.
Local, national and international developers have pitched forty and 50-story mixed-use towers as the sustainable and environmentally responsible choice for Seattle downtown living. But their designs share a dirty secret: the garbage and recycling for most these giants will be staged in the City’s 130-year old alleys alongside trash from older buildings without other options.
Even towers covering a quarter city block decline to provide space for off-alley garbage niches. Most tower garbage rooms don’t have direct alley access and require waste to be placed outside for extended periods for collection, decreasing the alley’s functional width by 3-5’.
Alley congestion and conflicts are further exacerbated by code that mandates vehicle access through alleys. For new towers the average is 1,000 new vehicle trips a day.
The problem is well known. Downtown Seattle Design Guidelines C6 and E3 address the issue head on. Guideline C.6.b. calls for “providing a niche for recycling and waste receptacles to be shared with nearby, older buildings lacking such facilities.” Guideline E3.1. a. advises “placing service areas in less visible locations on the site, such as off the alley.”
But between Design Review and MUP developers prevail. The most recent example is First Light, a 500’ mixed use tower sharing the alley with two residences, three popular restaurants, a pharmacy and a mixed use hotel tower proposed 60’ away. And First Light is not alone.
DRA reviewed seven towers (#3019699, #3018037, #3026266, #3026416, #3018686, #3033067, #3007605) built or proposed in the past three years within 1 ½ blocks of First Light. Only one (#3007605) provided easy garbage access to the alley and a niche for neighbor’s waste. Another, 40-story tower #3026266, proposes a niche for two retail bins but permanently places 8 large dumpsters extending into the alley right-of-way with another 12 stored inside but blocked from accessing the alley when the single loading berth is in use.
The Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections (SDCI) has recognized the issue and proposed on-site solid waste collection for larger projects as part of its 2019 draft Alleys Loading Berths and Solid Waste (ALBSW) Director’s Rule. Expected to be enacted by the end of 2019, the legislation has since stalled but hopefully not been trashed.
Building a sustainable, clean city requires solid waste design standards that contain outsize tower garbage and recycling without straining limited alley infrastructure.
Stay tuned for future posts in this series, exploring how current Seattle development and land use policy is impacting Seattle transportation and sustainable housing.
Be sure to read additional posts in series:
Will Seattle’s 19th century transportation grid continue to survive business as usual?
Another rubber-stamped tower is designed to fail
Demands of e-commerce won’t be met by paper band aids
