Sammamish, WA Building Setbacks & Zoning: Setback Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Lake Sammamish shoreline setback
- 50 feet from OHWM
- Pine/Beaver Lake shoreline setback
- 45 feet from OHWM
- Interior side setback, Lake Sammamish
- 15% of lot width, 5-ft minimum
- Minimum reduced setback
- Never less than 20 feet
- Scope
- Shoreline jurisdiction only, not citywide
Summary
Within Sammamish's shoreline jurisdiction, SMC 25.06.020(9) sets the shoreline setback at 50 feet landward of Lake Sammamish's ordinary high water mark (45 feet on Pine and Beaver Lakes), and SMC 25.07.080(4) adds an interior side setback of 15 percent of lot width, with a 5-foot minimum on each side. This is a shoreline-jurisdiction standard, not the city's general zoning setback schedule.
(9) Shoreline Setback. A shoreline setback is established for Lake Sammamish, Pine Lake, and Beaver Lake. The shoreline setback area for Lake Sammamish is the area extending 50 feet (or as reduced by Table 25.06.020) landward from the OHWM. For Pine and Beaver Lakes, the shoreline setback area is the area extending 45 feet landward from the OHWM. ... (4) Interior Setbacks. (a) Lake Sammamish. Interior setbacks within shoreline jurisdiction shall total 15 percent of the width of the lot, with a minimum setback of five feet on either side of the lot.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance O2026-598, and legislation passed through August 18, 2026).
Full Breakdown
020(9). 080(2)(e) if it stays outside wetlands, streams, and other critical area buffers and does not exceed 10 feet in height. 020(8)), inside which only landscaping, low decks, limited overhangs, impervious surfaces, and trails are allowed. 020, but the resulting setback can never go below 20 feet from the OHWM. 080(4)(a) sets interior side setbacks within shoreline jurisdiction on Lake Sammamish at 15 percent of the lot's width, with a minimum of 5 feet on each side. On Pine and Beaver Lakes the interior setback instead follows the underlying R-4 zoning district standard.
These figures govern only property within shoreline jurisdiction; the city's general, non-shoreline zoning setback schedule for each residential district sits in Title 21A SMC and is not part of this record.
Violations & Fines
Building within the shoreline or interior setback without an approved exemption, variance, or permitted reduction is a shoreline program violation enforced under the WAC 173-27 penalty provisions adopted by SMC 25.08.120, and can also trigger a stop-work order and required removal or relocation of the encroaching structure through the City's Title 23 code compliance process.
Frequently Asked Questions
How close to Lake Sammamish can I build?
What is the side-yard setback for shoreline lots?
Do these setbacks apply to every lot in Sammamish?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Sammamish
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Setback Rules in Nearby Cities
How other cities in King County handle setback rules.