Snohomish County, WA Building Safety: Green Building Code (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- SCC 30.41C.030(6)
- Applies to
- Rural cluster subdivisions/short subdivisions only
- Certification options
- Built Green or LEED Home
- Triggers before
- Individual lot building permit issuance
- Zones where clustering applies
- F, F&R, RRT-10, R-5, RC, RD
- Last amended
- Ord. 25-052, eff. Sept. 28, 2025
Summary
In unincorporated Snohomish County, new houses built inside a rural cluster subdivision or short subdivision cannot get an individual building permit until the lot is enrolled in a third-party green building certification program: Built Green Single Family/Townhome or LEED Home.
Conditions of approval for the subdivision or short subdivision shall require that all lots containing new buildings provide proof of enrollment in a third party certification program prior to issuance of individual building permits. Options for third-party certification are: (a) Built Green Single Family/Townhome certification for building permits; (b) LEED Home certification for building permits; or (c) Additional third party certification as approved by the director and adopted through administrative rule.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through legislation passed August 12, 2026).
Full Breakdown
030(6) sets a condition of approval on every rural cluster subdivision and short subdivision: before an individual building permit is issued for a lot with a new building, the applicant must show proof of enrollment in a recognized third-party certification program. The code names two by default, Built Green Single Family/Townhome certification and LEED Home certification, and leaves room for the planning and development services director to approve an additional third-party program through administrative rule. S. Green Building Council's building-permit certification program of that name.
020, so this green-certification enrollment requirement only reaches new homes built through that clustering tool, not ordinary rural or urban-area construction. The requirement was added by Amended Ord. 24-021 (effective Sept. 19, 2024) and most recently amended by Ord. 25-052 (effective Sept. 28, 2025), which folded LEED Home in alongside the pre-existing Built Green option. 41B, and enrollment proof is checked by the county's permitting department before the individual lot's building permit is released, on top of the standard rural cluster requirements for fire flow, landscaping and traffic concurrency found elsewhere in the chapter.
Violations & Fines
A lot inside an approved rural cluster subdivision cannot receive its individual building permit until enrollment in Built Green Single Family/Townhome, LEED Home, or a director-approved equivalent is documented. Missing certification enrollment is treated the same as any unmet condition of subdivision approval: the county's permitting counter will hold the building permit application until proof of enrollment is submitted, and the subdivision approval itself can be found out of compliance, jeopardizing further lot releases in the cluster.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does every new home in unincorporated Snohomish County need green certification?
What certification programs satisfy SCC 30.41C.030(6)?
When does the county check for certification enrollment?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Snohomish County
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