Bainbridge Island exemptions, grading, and right-of-way rules
The city’s building permit handout, revised May 2023, exempts a retaining wall that rises no more than four feet from the footing’s underside to the top, unless it supports a surcharge. The rockery handout still requires a permit for a shorter wall in an environmentally sensitive area. It lists residential sidewalks with no height condition, and residential decks up to 200 square feet that stand 30 inches or less above grade. Grading under 50 cubic yards needs no building permit under the grading checklist. Larger earthwork needs a building permit application, and the checklist requires the site plan to show the depth of any cut and fill. Its SEPA threshold appears as both 100 or more cubic yards and over 100, so we confirm which applies. Grading above 5,000 cubic yards needs an approved grading plan prepared by a civil engineer who holds a license. Stormwater work follows BIMC 15.20 and the 2019 Western Washington manual. The city’s LID guidance page gives June 30, 2022 as the effective date, while a hearing notice gave July 1, 2022, so we confirm the date for each permit.
Nearby, we also build in Poulsbo, Bremerton, Kingston, and Silverdale, and we serve the rest of western Washington.