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Phase 3 · Permits · Step 3.5

Respond to SDCI correction letters (2-4 cycles typical)

Your designer turns SDCI's review comments into revised drawings and a response letter. Each cycle takes 4-6 weeks, and 2-4 cycles is typical for a custom DADU.

Who
Designer, Architect, SDCI
How long
4-6 weeks per cycle, 2-4 cycles typical
Cost
Included in design fee; SDCI hourly $292/hr if review goes long
You end up with
Issued construction permit

What a correction letter looks like

After first review, SDCI sends a single correction letter consolidating comments from each reviewing discipline:

  • Zoning — setbacks, lot coverage, FAR, design standards.
  • Structural — engineer's calc clarifications, load path questions, retaining wall conditions.
  • Energy — envelope assemblies, equipment sizing, ventilation.
  • Drainage — BMP sizing, infiltration test results.
  • ECA (if applicable) — buffer compliance, geotech recommendations follow-through.
  • Arborist (sometimes) — protection plan revisions.

Each comment needs a written response and (usually) a drawing revision.

How long this takes

  • First review: 4–8 weeks after intake.
  • Each correction round: 4–6 weeks (your turnaround + SDCI re-review).
  • Total cycles: 2–4 is typical for a custom DADU. Sometimes 1 if everything is clean and the designer is experienced; sometimes 5+ if the project keeps surfacing new issues.

How to keep this short

  1. Use a designer with recent Seattle DADU permits. Their previous correction letters tell them what current SDCI reviewers ask for. The Microhouse "two DADUs" retrospective showed a custom plan from an experienced architect issuing in 38 days vs. a pre-approved plan taking 61 days — experience beats the path.

  2. Turn corrections around fast. SDCI's clock is on them; yours is on you. Two-week turnarounds keep the project moving; six-week turnarounds add months to the total timeline.

  3. Address every comment, even the minor ones. Skipping a comment guarantees it comes back next round.

  4. Don't argue, except when it matters. Reviewers aren't adversaries; they're working a checklist. Pick the one or two comments worth pushing back on and accept the rest.

When this ends

When the correction letter comes back with no comments, SDCI issues the construction permit. From there you can pay sub-permit fees, sign the GC contract, and mobilize.

Go deeper

Optional reading. Skip if you only need the headline.

›How to structure a correction response so the next cycle is shorterThe response-letter format Seattle designers use to close corrections in one round instead of three.

The response letter format

When the reviewer re-opens your project, they read the correction letter and then look for the response. If the response is scattered across email threads or buried in sheet notes, the reviewer re-issues the comment. The file should contain a single correction response letter that mirrors the structure of the SDCI comment letter exactly.

For each numbered comment, include three things in order:

  1. The original comment, verbatim. Don't paraphrase — reviewers look for their own wording first.
  2. The response. One of four stock framings:
    • "Revised — see sheet A2.1, detail 4, revision cloud 3." (Most comments.)
    • "Acknowledged — the condition does not apply because [narrow, specific reason]." (Use sparingly; every one of these is a fight you're choosing.)
    • "Clarification added — see general note on A0.0." (For anything a reviewer flagged as "ambiguous.")
    • "See attached calc / memo from [engineer], dated [date]." (For structural or energy comments that need a discipline response.)
  3. A direct pointer to where the change lives: sheet number, detail number, revision cloud number. Never "see revised drawings" — always the exact location.

Revision clouds and deltas

Every drawing change goes inside a revision cloud, with a delta triangle pointing to the revision number in the title block. The title block revision log should match the response letter's revision number. Reviewers scan for that match first; if the delta doesn't match the response, the comment reopens.

What experienced designers do differently

  • They close corrections in one round, not two. Common-cause comments (missing energy path on the mechanical sheet, missing BMP sizing calc, missing fire-rated assembly detail at a shared wall) are predictable. An experienced designer heads them off in the first submittal so there's nothing to correct.
  • They front-load structural coordination. Structural corrections are the single biggest source of a second round — the engineer needs to answer a comment, the architect has to redraw the assembly, and that's a 3-week internal loop before SDCI ever sees it again. Getting structural drawings into the first submittal at 95% resolution (not 70%) cuts a full cycle off the project.
  • They pick their fights. One or two pushback comments in the response letter is normal. Five is adversarial and usually costs a cycle. If a reviewer has misread a condition, call it out narrowly and move on — don't bundle it with a general objection.

What to hand the reviewer on resubmittal

  • Revised drawings (full set), with revision clouds and the revision log updated.
  • The correction response letter (PDF).
  • Any new supporting calcs, memos, or product data as separate PDFs (referenced from the response letter by filename).
  • A cover note confirming no scope changes outside the correction comments — reviewers re-scope if they find changes they didn't ask for.

Where this information came from

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