Stanwood code sections and the state rule
Stanwood’s grading threshold sits in SMC 18.830.020. The zoning grading chapter, SMC 17.154, covers all grading activity, and we confirm which chapter governs each lot before a figure is used. SMC 18.830.020 counts cut and fill separately and adds them together: more than 50 cubic yards within a 12-month period, or a cut or fill deeper than two feet, reaches the section. A retaining wall more than two feet high counts too when its cut and fill are tied to the wall’s construction. Exemptions under SMC 18.830.030 are confirmed for each lot. Work that breaks the surface of the right-of-way falls under SMC 11.06.020, which applies Stanwood’s street and utility standards. Stormwater review runs through SMC 17.140, where the public works director approves a stormwater site plan with a small parcel or large parcel erosion and sediment control plan, or a permanent stormwater quality control plan. For walls, the state rule sets the first screen: a wall that stands four feet or less, measured from footing bottom to top, falls outside the state permit unless a surcharge sits behind it or it holds back a flammable or combustible liquid.
Nearby, we also build in Arlington, Camano Island, Marysville, and Everett, and we serve the rest of western Washington.