Lynnwood, WA Building Safety: Green Building Code (2026)
Key Facts
- Green standard
- LEED Silver (USGBC)
- Governing section
- LMC 3.82.060(D)(7)
- Applies to
- MFTE projects, city center subarea only
- Minimum project size
- 50 new units (or 20 added)
- Exemption length
- 8 or 12 years
- Review timeline
- 90 days by director
- Noncompliance result
- Exemption canceled, back taxes owed
Summary
Lynnwood does not impose a general green building code, but LMC 3.82.060(D)(7) requires any multifamily project seeking the city's property tax exemption in the designated city center residential targeted area to be designed to meet the LEED Silver Standard set by the U.S. Green Building Council, as a condition of the incentive, not of building permit issuance.
D. Project Eligibility. A proposed project must meet the following requirements for consideration for a property tax exemption: ... 7. Leed. The project shall be designed to meet the LEED™ Silver Standard as established by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance 3512, passed May 26, 2026).
Full Breakdown
Chapter 3.82 LMC creates a limited eight- or 12-year property tax exemption for new or rehabilitated multiple-unit housing built under Chapter 84.14 RCW within Lynnwood's designated 'residential targeted area,' the city center subarea. LMC 3.82.060(D) lists the project eligibility conditions a developer must satisfy to qualify, and subsection (D)(7) states plainly that 'the project shall be designed to meet the LEED™ Silver Standard as established by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).' This is the only place in the Lynnwood Municipal Code that ties a specific third-party green building rating to a numbered legal requirement, and it operates as a condition of the tax exemption contract between the developer and the city under LMC 3.82.070 through 3.82.100, not as an amendment to the state-adopted building code that governs ordinary construction citywide.
A project must also meet a minimum size (at least 50 new units, or 20 added to an existing building), avoid displacing existing tenants, and comply with the underlying building, housing and zoning codes in effect when the application is filed. The director of the city's department of development and business services reviews applications within 90 days, and a project that fails to comply with the contract, including the LEED Silver condition, is subject to cancellation of the exemption under LMC 3.82.120, triggering back taxes, interest and penalties imposed by the Snohomish County assessor under state law.
Violations & Fines
There is no separate criminal penalty for missing the LEED Silver Standard; noncompliance is enforced through the tax exemption contract itself. Under LMC 3.82.120, if the director finds a project no longer meets Chapter 3.82's requirements, including the LEED condition set in LMC 3.82.060(D)(7), the exemption is canceled and the Snohomish County assessor imposes additional property taxes, interest and penalties under state law, with a priority lien available against the land.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Lynnwood require LEED certification for all new buildings?
What is the LEED Silver requirement tied to?
What happens if a tax-exempt project does not deliver LEED Silver?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Lynnwood
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Green Building Code in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Snohomish County handle green building code.