Everett’s wall, approach, and sidewalk rules
Everett’s retaining wall handout puts the line at four feet. A wall over four feet, measured from the footing base to the top course, or any wall supporting a surcharge, needs a Public Works permit and an engineer on private land. The exemption sheet for one- and two-family homes keeps walls out of the public right-of-way and calls for land use compliance.
Driveway approaches follow Everett Municipal Code section 13.16.090. On a street with curbs but no sidewalks, a permit can allow the approach to start at the curb line, using matching paving if it is adequate for the traffic. Once sidewalks are built, the approach must be concrete. Without standard curbs, an approach needs at least six feet of space, and one property’s approaches must sit twenty feet apart.
Sidewalk upkeep falls to the abutting owner under section 13.08.010 wherever sidewalks have been built. The city’s stormwater page names the 2019 manual as its adopted version, and in the combined-sewer zone a project adding less than 5,000 square feet of new and replaced hard surface may use a small-project template.
Nearby, we also build in Mukilteo, Marysville, Lynnwood, and Mill Creek, and we serve the rest of western Washington.