Burien ground, weather, and permits
USGS mapping of the Des Moines quadrangle, the sheet around Sea-Tac Airport, describes much of the ground there as a rolling mantle of glacial till. Burien’s edges are steeper. The county’s hazard plan names Puget Sound coastal properties, large ravines, and steep slopes as the city’s landslide ground, and says a significant share of homes sit on or beside steep slopes. A December 2015 slide north of Seahurst Park led to five houses being evacuated.
The Permit Center, staffed by Planning, Building, and Public Works, takes applications through the MyBuildingPermit portal. Community Development runs the critical areas rules, and Public Works handles right-of-way use permits and stormwater under the 2021 King County Surface Water Design Manual. The shoreline program reaches 200 feet inland from the water. Burien’s wall and driveway exemptions fall away on steep slopes, in landslide hazard areas, and on shoreline lots. Before pricing, we look up what your parcel’s mapping triggers.
Nearby, we also build in Normandy Park, White Center, West Seattle, Tukwila, and Des Moines, and we serve the rest of Pierce and South King County.