Buying land in Washington: what to check

Terranown covers 39 of Washington's 39 counties. Find a parcel on the map.

Washington regulates land more closely than many states, and the rules differ sharply between the wet west side and the dry east. Most of them are mapped by the county, so the planning department is the place to start.

Look up critical areas first

Every county must designate and protect critical areas: wetlands, frequently flooded areas, geologically hazardous areas, critical aquifer recharge areas, and fish and wildlife habitat. Wetlands and streams come with buffers, which can be wide. On a wooded west-side parcel, a stream and its buffer can take up much of what looked like usable land. County critical-areas maps are a first look; a site assessment settles it.

Know where the growth boundary is

Under the Growth Management Act, most growth is directed into designated urban growth areas. Outside them, rural zoning usually sets large minimum lot sizes and limits what can be built, so dividing rural land later may not be possible.

Waterfront means a shoreline permit

Land along marine shores, larger lakes, and rivers falls under the Shoreline Management Act and the county’s shoreline program, with setbacks and permits for most work near the water.

Do not assume you can drill a well

Small domestic wells are exempt from a water-right permit, but in some watersheds new exempt wells face fees and limits under the state’s streamflow restoration law, and in parts of eastern Washington groundwater is closely managed. Check with the county and the Department of Ecology what applies to the parcel.

Check slopes and floods

West-side bluffs and river valleys are prone to landslides; the Department of Natural Resources publishes landslide and geologic hazard maps. Rivers draining the Cascades flood regularly, and some valleys near the volcanoes are in lahar hazard zones. Read the flood zone, then the geology.

Plan septic with the local health jurisdiction

On-site sewage systems are permitted by the county or local health jurisdiction under state rules. Glacial till, shallow water tables, and steep ground can each limit a site.