If you've thought about buying waterfront property in King County and developing the land, you may think about buying an existing structure after reading further. While building a new home, dock/pier, or any other structure on the waterfront can create a beautiful property, there are a variety of regulatory agencies that must be traversed before having the opportunity to receive the desired permits.
Moreover, a new structure loses out on one of the greatest assets of existings structures-"grandfathered" real estate. There are bulkheads, docks, boathouses, and near-shore houses all over the Lake Washington, Lake Union, Lake Sammamish, and Puget Sound that couldn't be built today, but can be maintained and restored in their current position.
Some grandfathered structures that you could buy in an existing property but not build today:
Covered moorage and boathouses
Docks/piers over 80 feet long
Docks with more than 600 square feet of surface area
Bulkheads/Retaining walls built below the Ordinary High Water Mark (OWHM)
Docks closer than 15 feet from adjacent property lines
Docks in water deeper than 13 feet
Building a home near the waterfront can be even more restrictive and confusing, and most cities have their own covenants. From water line setbacks to building heights, you may find your home can be built 35 feet high in King County, but only 33 feet in Medina, or just 25 feet in Yarrow Point, depending on the grading of the lot. These heights are reviewed and revised yearly in some municipalities. One agency may only require a 20 foot setback from the water, while another supercedes that with a 115 foot buffer. You'll deal with city ordinances, King County DDES, the Shoreline Management Program, and possibly the Army Corps of Engineers. Now go take a look at a home in Seattle or Bellevue built right on the waterline with a deep bulkhead, two large docks, and a boathouse with a deep water buoy for large watercraft moorage. You can't build it again, but you can definitely remodel it if needed. The headaches involved in waterfront remodeling can be much less than building new construction. "They don't make 'em like they used to."
Sam DeBord is a Realtor and real estate broker with SeattleHome.com, a division of Washington State Realty, LLC. He is a member of the Seattle-King County Association of Realtors and a Green-Certified Pro.
Sam can be contacted at (206) 658-3225 or Sam(at)SeattleHome.com. 
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