Concrete removal in the University District
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The University District is a neighborhood of renters and landlords. In the City's University District community reporting area, 87.1% of households rent and only 11.2% of housing units are single detached homes, per the 2020-2024 American Community Survey figures the City publishes. So the call on a cracked parking pad, a rear patio or the sidewalk out front usually belongs to an owner who does not live on the property.
It is also a neighborhood the City has deliberately set up to grow, which changes how SDOT treats a dumpster on the street. If you own property here and want a removal quoted, we can pass your details to one local concrete removal company. There is no cost to you.
Local facts for University District
- Mostly rentals
- 87.1% of households in the University District community reporting area rent; 11.2% of housing units are single detached homes (ACS 2020-2024). Source: City of Seattle, Seattle Neighborhoods - Top 50 American Community Survey Data
- 2017 rezone
- The Council unanimously approved the U District rezone in February 2017, expected to bring as many as 5,000 new residential units over 20 years. Source: Seattle City Council Blog, University District Rezone Adopted by Council
- Sidewalks since 1903
- 14th Avenue, renamed University Way in 1919, was graded and given sidewalks in 1903, after the Brooklyn Community Club pushed for paved streets. Source: HistoryLink, Seattle Neighborhoods: University District - Thumbnail History
- Urban village containers
- A construction container on a non-arterial street in an Urban Village or Urban Center needs a ROW Construction Use permit. Source: SDOT, Storage Container and Residential Dumpster Permits
A district planned for density
In February 2017 the City Council unanimously approved the U District rezone, which Councilmember Tim Burgess described as part of the City's effort to increase density in its urban centers and villages, such as the U District. He wrote that it was expected to lead to as many as 5,000 new residential units over 20 years. The Ave itself was left out of that rezone after small business owners objected, and an area just north of NE 50th Street was added because it sits five blocks from the light rail station at 45th and Brooklyn.
That station opened on October 2, 2021, when Sound Transit extended Link to the U District, Roosevelt and Northgate.
Why that matters for a dumpster
SDOT's residential dumpster permit covers short-term containers for home projects, placed in a legal parking space in front of the property. But SDOT says a Right-of-Way Construction Use permit is required instead if a construction container is proposed on any arterial street, or on a non-arterial street in an Urban Village or Urban Center. It is also required if the work closes pedestrian, bicycle or vehicle travel.
In a district the Council itself calls an urban center or village, assume the construction permit until SDOT tells you otherwise, and call Street Use permitting on (206) 684-5253 before booking a bin.
- Keep containers 30 feet from intersections, 10 feet from driveways and 15 feet from hydrants.
- In a paid parking area, SDOT requires a temporary No Parking zone for the container.
- Post the No Parking notice at least 72 hours before the container arrives.
Old paving, and what sits under it
Paved streets came early here. HistoryLink records that the Brooklyn Community Club, formed in 1901, pushed for paved streets and sewers, and that 14th Avenue, today's University Way, was graded and given sidewalks in 1903. The same history says that around 1902 the corner of University Way and 45th Street still had a frog pond beside it, and that the source of a pioneer creek can still be found beneath a trapdoor in a bank basement on that corner.
Most of the district is not mapped as a critical area. By our overlay of the City's maps on the University District boundary, about 6% is liquefaction-prone, about 3% peat-settlement-prone and about 4% steep slope. Off those areas, SDCI's standard thresholds apply: a grading permit when the work adds or replaces 750 square feet or more of hard surface, or disturbs 5,000 square feet or more.
Questions about concrete removal in University District
Do you need a permit for a dumpster in the U District?
Yes, if it goes in the street. SDOT requires a Street Use permit before a container is placed in the right-of-way, and a construction container on an arterial or in an Urban Village or Urban Center needs a ROW Construction Use permit. Call (206) 684-5253 to confirm which applies.
Who fixes the sidewalk in front of a rental property?
The property owner. SDOT says the Seattle Municipal Code requires adjacent property owners to keep sidewalks in good repair, and a permit is needed before repairs. A tenant should raise it with the owner.
Do I need a grading permit to replace a parking pad?
SDCI's standard trigger is adding or replacing a combined 750 square feet or more of hard surface, or disturbing 5,000 square feet or more, which includes removing pavement. Smaller pads usually fall under both, unless the lot is in a mapped critical area.
Near University District
Sources
- Seattle City Council Blog, University District Rezone Adopted by Council
- Sound Transit, Link light rail reaches Seattle's University District
- SDOT, Storage Container and Residential Dumpster Permits
- HistoryLink, University District - Thumbnail History
- SDOT, Sidewalk Repair Program
- SDCI, Grading Permit
- City of Seattle GIS, ECA Liquefaction Prone Area
- City of Seattle GIS, Neighborhood Map Atlas Neighborhoods
- City of Seattle, Neighborhood ACS data
Get a price for University District
Send a few details and photos if you have them. We come back with a price range, then pass your details to one local concrete removal company. It costs you nothing.