Shoreline, WA Building Safety: Building Permits (2026)

The City of Shoreline, Washington adopts the International Building Code, International Residential Code, and related International codes by reference in SMC § 15.05.010, an adoption that covers permits for construction, alteration, removal, demolition, equipment, use and occupancy, location and maintenance of buildings, premises and structures. Because the IBC's default permit trigger is broad, the Planning and Community Development Department administers permitting through the city's own amendments to Section 105.2, Work Exempt from Permit, in SMC § 15.05.030(A). Those amendments narrow, rather than expand, the exemption list: platforms, sidewalks and driveways stay exempt only if they sit no more than 30 inches above grade and are not part of an accessible route; re-roofing is exempt only when no structural elements, including the roof diaphragm, are revised or replaced; and window replacement is exempt only when no structural elements change and the emergency escape and rescue opening size is not reduced.

Everything outside that list, additions, new construction, structural repairs, and larger accessory buildings, needs a permit before work starts. SMC § 15.05.020(A) routes every permit fee through the fee schedule adopted under Chapter 3.01 SMC, and lets the city manager refund up to 80 percent of a paid permit fee if no work has begun, or the full fee if it was collected in error, on a written application filed within 180 days. Under SMC § 15.05.020(B), any code reference to 'building official' or 'code official' means the city manager or a designee, and any reference to 'board of appeals' means the Hearing Examiner, so appeals of a permit denial or a stop-work order go to the Hearing Examiner rather than a separate board.