Concrete Retaining Walls in Kingston, WA

Retaining walls in Kingston: what to know

Revised 12/11/2025, the county’s building permit brochure lets an upland wall up to four feet high skip a permit when no surcharge loads it, provided the wall is not on a shoreline. Roads, buildings, tanks, and combustible or flammable liquids are the surcharges the brochure names. A non-shoreline wall over four feet triggers a permit, and so does any wall that carries one of those surcharges.

Water behind a Kingston wall is drawn on the same sheet as the wall. Runoff gathers at the footing and moves to an outlet. KCC 12.10.030(2) requires a permit for site work that needs a public storm connection, so any tie-in goes to county staff for review before the sheet is released.

Permits and rules in Kingston

Before quoting, we verify each wall’s height from the bottom of its footing to the top, list every surcharge that loads the wall, and check shoreline status. Walls over four feet, walls carrying a load, and walls on shoreline parcels move into the permit package. Outlet decisions go to county staff, and their written answer is filed before any drawing is released.

Rules change and vary by parcel, so we confirm the current requirements with the city before we start.

How we approach it

Start the height reading at the footing base and end it at the crest
Log each surcharge that loads the wall
Verify shoreline status before the figure is quoted
Put any storm tie-in to county staff before drawing it

For the full process, see our Retaining Walls page.

Building in the cold months? See our guide to winter concrete pours.

Our retaining walls work, serving Kingston

Examples of our work. We build retaining walls in Kingston and the cities around it. See all of our work

Questions from Kingston homeowners

What height lets a Kingston wall avoid the county permit?

Upland walls outside the shoreline can skip the permit at four feet or less, provided no surcharge loads them. The brochure names roads, buildings, tanks, and combustible or flammable liquids as surcharges. Shoreline walls get no such allowance.

Would a house or road sitting above a Kingston wall alter its permit?

It can. A structure or load that the wall supports counts as a surcharge under the brochure, so each such load gets checked before an answer is given. A wall carrying a surcharge needs a permit at any height.

Who reviews the outlet on a Kingston retaining wall?

County staff review it. The proposed outlet stays pending on the plan set until they reply, and a tie-in to the public storm system is site work the county code covers at KCC 12.10.030(2).