What are the current regulations for docks and piers?
Docks and piers are covered by two sets of regulations. King County’s existing Shoreline Master Program, K.C.C. Title 25 (Acrobat file), applies to docks and piers on lakes 20 acres and larger. King County’s Critical Areas Regulations, K.C.C. Chapter 21A.24 (Acrobat file), apply to all lakes, regardless of size, and to wetlands and streams and other critical areas. Under the Shoreline Master Program, a pier or dock for the sole use of a single family residence is not an outright permitted use. Joint use docks or piers or floating moorage buoys are preferred alternatives. However, if circumstances do not allow for a joint use dock or pier or a floating moorage buoy, a dock or pier may be allowed. Under King County’s Critical Areas Regulations, new docks or piers are allowed on lake shorelines only if the lake shoreline has the required zoning and existing density of development, and there is no significant vegetation along the shoreline. This means that whether or not a new dock or pier
