Downtown Zoning
Downtown carries the city’s most intense zoning — office cores, the retail district, and residential towers between Elliott Bay and I-5.
- Homes & Small Shops
- Midsize Residential & Shops
- Large Buildings
- Downtown & Highrise
- Institutions
- Industrial
At a Glance
- Predominant Zoning
- DOC1/DOC2, DMC, DMR, DRC, PMM
- Commercial Corridors
- 3rd Ave, Pike/Pine, 1st Ave
- Transit
- Downtown Link stations, regional bus hub, ferries
Downtown Office Core zones (DOC1, DOC2) allow Seattle’s tallest buildings, ringed by Downtown Mixed Commercial (DMC) and Downtown Mixed Residential (DMR) zones and the Downtown Retail Core (DRC). Pike Place Market has its own protective zoning (PMM) that keeps the market’s scale and character intact.
Link stations thread the downtown transit tunnel, buses converge from across the region, and ferries dock at Colman Dock. Unlike most of the city, downtown zones generally regulate height and floor area rather than unit counts — there is no residential density limit in much of the core.
See It on the Map
Open the interactive map centered on Downtownto see every parcel's zoning, click for allowed uses and nearby permits, and toggle transit and bike layers. New to zone codes? Start with the guide to Seattle zoning.
More Neighborhoods
Seattle Atlas is not affiliated with the City of Seattle. Zoning data is sourced from official city datasets but may not reflect the most recent changes — verify with official sources for legal determinations.