Mall Inc. V. City Of Seattle

Appellant Mall, Inc., applied for permission to construct a 35-story building on the site of the Bartell Building in downtown Seattle. Its application was denied by the Seattle Department of Construction and Land Use (DCLU) because the building's proposed total floor area greatly exceeded the maximum allowed under the Seattle Municipal Code. The Seattle Hearing Examiner and trial court upheld the DCLU's interpretation. Mall contends on appeal that its fee interest in the land underlying Westlake Avenue, which lies adjacent to the site, should be included in the computation of its lot area, thereby increasing the allowable floor space in its proposed structure. We disagree. We hold that the code excludes streets from the definition of lot area. This exclusion holds true whether the street was created by dedication or, as in the case of Westlake Avenue, by power of condemnation. We affirm.