Snoqualmie and North Bend are two cities with two sets of rules, and what a remodel, home addition or new house can be depends on which one the parcel sits in. In Snoqualmie, the residential code caps impervious surface, so the hardscape counts along with the house. In North Bend, the city’s flood, critical area and drainage review sit beside its zone table. I design the project and administer the construction; I do not build. My first basic feasibility check is free and usually takes about a day. An in depth analysis goes further than the first check.
Key takeaways
- The two cities have separate codes. This page keeps them apart and names the city for every rule.
- On a 7,500 square foot lot in Snoqualmie’s R-1-7.5 zone, the adopted code (Ordinance 1234, 2020) lets you pave and build over 40 percent of the lot, which is 3,000 square feet. The house, the driveway and the patio all count toward that.
- The city has begun changing its residential rules in SMC 17.15. Council meetings are listed for 23 November and 14 December 2026, though the city does not say which one covers what. Treat everything here as a snapshot.
- A bit more than a fifth of the city sits in the river floodway or floodplain, according to a 2025 memo in a city packet (22 percent). If your lot is in that area, the city says you need a flood improvement permit before you build anything.
- North Bend’s single family checklist asks the site plan to show impervious surface, critical areas within 200 feet, trees and drainfields.
- The first basic check is free and usually takes about a day. An in depth analysis is $1,500, takes 2 to 3 weeks and goes further.
Who this page is for
This page is for an owner or buyer of a house in Snoqualmie or North Bend, Washington, weighing a remodel, an addition or a new house. No rule is carried from one city to the other. The sources were read on 5 November 2026. Both cities’ code sites (eCode360) sit behind a bot check and were not bypassed, so neither city’s current code text was read. Snoqualmie’s yard and impervious figures come from adopted Ordinance 1234 (8 June 2020), as printed in a city packet. North Bend’s zone table comes from a September 2025 Planning Commission draft and is labeled; its critical area figures come from adopted Ordinance 1827. Later amendments may exist, the city’s current code controls, and every number needs confirming with the city. This is general information, not legal advice.
Request your free feasibility check
Send me the address of your house or the one you are thinking of buying, which city it is in, whether you are considering a remodel, an addition or a new house, the year the house was built, and the date any inspection or feasibility period ends. The first basic feasibility check is free and usually takes about a day. I will reply to you personally.
Prefer to talk? Call 425 753 6452 or message David on WhatsApp.
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Planning a custom home or a remodel of $750,000 or more?
Send me the address and a few lines about what you want. The first feasibility check is free and usually takes about a day.
The permit path in each city
The two cities’ permit pages and checklists point to different routes. Neither city’s building page states a review time, so none is given here.
| Question | Snoqualmie | North Bend |
|---|---|---|
| Where you apply | My Building Permit for select permits (residential repairs, re-roofs, ADUs, decks, mechanical, plumbing). Other types by the city’s fillable form or by email to PermitSubmittal@snoqualmiewa.gov. | The Cloudpermit portal, live 19 October 2026, or email to building@northbendwa.gov. |
| What the fee is based on | Valuation, which the city describes as market labor and material costs. | A rate and fee schedule PDF on the city’s building page; plan review fees are due at submittal. |
| What the checklist adds to the plans | The residential checklist posted is for ADUs (revised 19 August 2026): an energy code form, water and sewer availability forms, a stormwater report at 2,000 square feet or more of new plus replaced hard surface, and a flood improvement permit where it applies. | The single family checklist (12/01/2024): a drainage checklist and site areas worksheet, a water availability certificate, a concurrency application, and where applicable a geotechnical report, a clearing and grading application and an elevation certificate. |
| Heavier land use track | The city’s site plan checklist (revised 3 August 2026) says a site plan permit is required for all new development, and a pre-application meeting is required before a land development proposal. Ask whether a house or addition falls under it. | Not stated on the pages that were read. |
Snoqualmie’s permit page lists (425) 888-5435 for the Building Division; North Bend lists Community & Economic Development at (425) 888-5633. Snoqualmie requires a permit for remodeling, repair and demolition. North Bend’s FAQ says exempt work, such as fences under six feet, is still subject to zoning.
One Snoqualmie lot worked line by line
The lot is hypothetical, not a real property and not a client’s: zone R-1-7.5, an interior lot 75 feet wide and 100 deep (75 x 100 = 7,500 square feet), with no easements, floodplain, critical areas or shoreline. The house is a one story with an attached garage, 1,900 square feet of footprint; the driveway is 520 square feet and the front walk and patio 380. The owner wants a one story addition with a 500 square foot footprint.
The numbers below come from Ordinance 1234, adopted by the City Council on 8 June 2020 (effective 18 June 2020), which amended SMC 17.15.040; its text is printed in a city Planning Commission packet. The existing values in the city’s September 2026 draft code update match it. A later amendment is possible, and the city’s current code controls.
| Rule | What Tables 1 and 2 print for R-1-7.5 | On the hypothetical lot |
|---|---|---|
| Lot area and width | Minimum lot area 7,500 square feet; minimum lot width 60 feet. | 7,500 square feet and 75 feet wide: meets both. |
| Yards | Front 20 feet, rear 20 feet, side 5 feet for principal buildings. | Envelope: width 75 to 5, 5 = 65, depth 100 to 20, 20 = 60, so 65 x 60 = 3,900 square feet. |
| Height | 35 feet (30 feet on lots 40 feet wide or less). | The lot is 75 wide, so 35 feet. |
| Impervious area | 40 percent. Table 2 sets it by lot density: a detached lot of 8,712 to 6,224 square feet falls at 5.0 to under 7.0 units per acre, and that column is 40 percent. | 43,560 / 7,500 = 5.81 units per acre, so 40 percent: 7,500 x 0.40 = 3,000 square feet. |
The setbacks are not the limit: the envelope is 3,900 square feet and the house footprint is 1,900. The impervious cap is. Existing impervious area is 1,900 + 520 + 380 = 2,800 square feet, which leaves 3,000 to 2,800 = 200. The 500 square foot addition brings the total to 2,800 + 500 = 3,300, which is 3,300 / 7,500 = 44.0 percent, or 300 square feet over. A second floor over the existing footprint would add no ground coverage; ask how the city counts it. On these numbers the cap steers a project toward going up, or toward a smaller driveway or patio. The adopted text discounts two track driveways and vegetated roofs at 50 percent and allows some permeable pavement credit; the September 2026 draft marks the permeable pavement paragraph for deletion, so ask how the city counts them.
Tables 1 and 2 print no floor area ratio and no separate building coverage row, and other districts print other numbers. A house built to older yards may be nonconforming; that code text was not read, so ask the city. See my guide to when a remodel counts as a new house and my existing conditions page.
What else decides a Snoqualmie project
The code is changing. The city’s notice of 21 September 2026 says the City Council initiated amendments to the 2044 Comprehensive Plan and to SMC Title 17, including 17.15, the residential districts. The city’s September 2026 draft would merge the R-1-4, R-1-7.5 and R-1-10 sub-zones into one R-1 district using today’s R-1-4 numbers, so a 7,500 square foot lot would print a 15 foot front yard and, as drafted, 55 percent impervious area: 7,500 x 0.55 = 4,125 square feet. That is a draft. The city’s comprehensive plan update page lists a Planning Commission hearing on 5 October 2026 (now past), a Community Development Committee on 16 November and Council meetings on 23 November and 14 December 2026, and does not say what each meeting takes up.
Floodplain. A 2025 consultant memo in a city packet says 22 percent of Snoqualmie lies in the floodway and floodplain of the Snoqualmie River. The city’s 2023 to 2024 flood report says any development in the floodplain, not just buildings, requires a flood improvement permit and possibly an elevation certificate, and that an addition or other improvement whose cost equals or exceeds 50 percent of the building’s market value must meet new building requirements: the cost is compared with 0.50 x the structure’s value before construction starts. The city’s ADU checklist says new residential construction is not permitted in the floodway, and an ADU in the floodplain must be raised one foot above the 100-year base flood elevation (SMC 15.12.160).
Critical areas and shoreline. The city’s clear and grade checklist calls for a critical areas report under SMC 19.12.060, and its pre-application form lists streams, floodplain, floodway, wetlands, steep slopes and seismic hazard areas, plus areas under the Snoqualmie Shoreline Master Program. The consultant memo says the critical areas rules were last updated in 2016 and the flood rules in 2020.
Trees. The city’s clear and grade checklist (revised 22 September 2026) says a permit is required for all clearing and grading unless an exemption in SMC 15.20.030 applies, and asks for a significant tree and tree preservation plan. The tree thresholds were not read.
Historic districts and the Ridge. Ordinance 1262 (2022) defines a regulated improvement, including an addition or remodel, within the downtown or Meadowbrook historic district overlay. The city also posts design guidelines and development standards for Snoqualmie Ridge. Ask which, if any, covers your parcel; my Snoqualmie page is the existing page for this area. For ADUs see my ADU guide.
North Bend: what its own documents decide
The single family checklist (12/01/2024) asks the site plan to show setbacks, existing and proposed structures, 5 foot contours, existing trees to scale with type and size, and total lot size with total impervious surface, new and existing. It also asks for critical areas on the site, adjacent or within 200 feet, surface waters within 200 feet, and utilities including drainfields and reserve drainfield areas. For additions and remodels the floor plan must outline the existing floor area.
The zone table (a draft, not the adopted code). The September 2025 Planning Commission packet reproduces Table 18.10.040 with tracked changes as part of proposed 2025 amendments, and whether the Council adopted them was not confirmed. The untouched rows for a single family dwelling in the LDR district print the figures below, and footnotes add exceptions. The city’s current code controls:
| Standard | LDR, single family dwelling (September 2025 draft) |
|---|---|
| Minimum lot width | 60 feet |
| Front yard | 20 feet |
| Side yards | 5 feet on one side, 15 feet total |
| Rear yard | 25 feet |
| Building height | 35 feet |
The packet’s coverage and impervious rows carry tracked changes, so those percentages are not given here. The adopted table was not read, and other districts (CLDR, MDR, HDR) print other figures.
Critical areas. Ordinance 1827, adopted 6 May 2025 and effective 21 May 2025, lists five kinds: wetlands, aquifer recharge areas, fish and wildlife habitat conservation areas, frequently flooded areas and geologically hazardous areas. The last covers erosion, landslide (including steep slopes), seismic and other hazards. Flood rules use the King County Flood Insurance Study dated 19 August 2020 and its map. If the critical area rules would deny all reasonable use of the property, an owner may ask a hearing examiner for an exception after a public hearing. For a residence in a residential zone, the ordinance defines the minimum reasonable use as the lesser of 40 percent of the lot or 2,550 square feet, counting the first floor, decks, patios, proposed lawn, roof overhangs over two feet, upper floor space or decks that extend past the first floor, and accessory structures. That measure sits in the exception only. The two numbers cross at 2,550 / 0.40 = 6,375 square feet: below that lot size, 40 percent is the lesser.
Drainage. The city’s single family drainage guide (September 2024) follows the 2021 King County Surface Water Design Manual and covers additions that increase impervious surface. No drainage review applies below 2,000 square feet of new or replaced impervious surface and 7,000 of land disturbance, if no large drainage pipe or flood hazard area is involved. A project containing or next to a flood hazard area gets targeted review, and a simplified review project near a steep slope or landslide hazard area may need a civil or geotechnical engineer.
Septic, trees and shoreline. A city SEPA exhibit (Ordinance 1791) says septic systems in the city are regulated by the King County and state health agencies, that Chapter 19.10 NBMC (which it describes both as land disturbance and as tree retention) requires retention of existing trees or replanting, and that Chapter 14.20 NBMC governs shoreline areas. The tree retention numbers were not read.
What to ask any architect here
- Which city’s code governs my parcel, and which portal and permit route will the project use?
- Is the lot in the floodplain, a mapped steep slope or another critical area, and what does that add?
- How will the city count impervious surface, including the driveway, patio and permeable paving?
- If the house has older yards or walls, how will the city treat them in a remodel or addition?
- Who administers construction, and does your firm build?
How it works with me
First comes the free basic feasibility check, usually about a day. If you want more, an in depth analysis is $1,500, takes 2 to 3 weeks and goes further. Then I quote a fixed fee for design and permit, agreed before design starts, and design to permit submission typically takes 2 to 4 months. After the permit I administer construction. I do not build.
What it costs
The first basic check is free, the in depth analysis is $1,500, and my design and permit fee is fixed and agreed before design starts. City fees are separate. I give no per square foot construction price here; my addition cost guide and new house cost guide cover that, and cost depends on the drawings.
I have been an architect since 1996, and I am a member of the AIA (since 1992) and NCARB (since 1996).
Before you hire an architect
Ask for the free first feasibility check
Send me the address and what you are considering through the request form above, or call or message me on WhatsApp. The first basic feasibility check is free and usually takes about a day.
Questions
Which city’s rules apply to my Snoqualmie or North Bend house?
The city whose limits contain the parcel, and each city’s pages and code apply only inside it. Snoqualmie and North Bend have separate codes, permit portals and checklists, so a number from one city cannot be used for the other. A mailing address does not by itself settle which jurisdiction issues permits, so ask the city’s permit staff before you plan anything.
How much of my Snoqualmie lot can I cover?
In Snoqualmie’s code as adopted by Ordinance 1234 in 2020, the limit is on impervious area, not floor area: 40 percent in the R-1-7.5 district, so 3,000 square feet on a 7,500 square foot lot, counting the house, driveway and patio. Other districts print other percentages, and the city has started amending the residential code, so the figure may change. The current code text was not read; confirm with the city.
Is my Snoqualmie house in the floodplain, and what does that change?
A 2025 consultant memo in a city packet says 22 percent of Snoqualmie lies in the floodway and floodplain. Any development in the floodplain needs a flood improvement permit and possibly an elevation certificate. An improvement whose cost equals or exceeds 50 percent of the building’s market value must meet new building requirements, and the city’s ADU checklist says an ADU in the floodplain must sit one foot above the 100-year base flood elevation (SMC 15.12.160). Ask the city to check your parcel.
What does North Bend ask for when I add on or remodel?
The city’s single family checklist (12/01/2024) asks for a drainage checklist and site areas worksheet, a water availability certificate and a concurrency application, plus a geotechnical report, a clearing and grading application and an elevation certificate where they apply. Permits are filed through the Cloudpermit portal, live 19 October 2026, or by email to building@northbendwa.gov.
Do critical areas limit what I can build in North Bend?
They can. Ordinance 1827 (effective 21 May 2025) lists five kinds, including frequently flooded areas and geologically hazardous areas such as steep slopes. If the rules would deny all reasonable use, a hearing examiner may grant an exception, and for a residence the ordinance defines the minimum reasonable use as the lesser of 40 percent of the lot or 2,550 square feet. That measure applies to the exception, not to every project. Ask the city whether your parcel is mapped.
How long does a permit take in Snoqualmie or North Bend?
Neither city’s building permit page states a review time, so no number is given here. Ask each city for its current review times when you apply. On my side, design to permit submission typically takes 2 to 4 months.
Is Snoqualmie changing its residential zoning?
The city’s notice of 21 September 2026 says the City Council initiated amendments to Title 17, including the residential districts in 17.15. The September 2026 draft would merge the R-1 sub-zones, and the city’s comprehensive plan update page lists Council meetings on 23 November and 14 December 2026 without saying what each takes up. A draft is not the adopted code.
Do I need an architect for a remodel or new house here, and do you build?
Washington’s architect licensing law does not require an architect to design a house of up to four dwelling units: RCW 18.08.410(5) exempts design work on such a residential building, including preparing construction contract documents and administering the construction contract. Whether you hire one is your choice. I design the house and administer construction for you; I do not build.
What does the free feasibility check cost, and what comes after it?
The first basic feasibility check is free and usually takes about a day. An in depth analysis is $1,500, takes 2 to 3 weeks and goes further. If you go ahead, I quote a fixed fee for design and permit, agreed before design starts, and design to permit submission typically takes 2 to 4 months.
