Land Surveyors in Shoreline, WA

Light Rail Rewrote the Zoning Map

Two Sound Transit stations opened in Shoreline on August 30, 2024: Shoreline South/148th and Shoreline North/185th, part of the Lynnwood Link extension along I-5. The city planned ahead of them. Rezoning around the 145th station was adopted in September 2016, with capacity studied for roughly 2,200 new homes near each station through 2035, and some blocks are phased so their higher zoning only takes effect in 2033. The result is blocks of 1950s ranch houses now zoned for townhouses and apartments, and a steady stream of lot assemblies and redevelopment around both stations.

The Bluff Above the Railroad

The west side of the city, from Richmond Beach south through Innis Arden and The Highlands, sits on wooded bluffs above Puget Sound with the BNSF main line running along the beach below. Boeing Creek cuts a ravine through that ground before passing under the tracks to the Sound. Shoreline's own hazard planning flags the bluffs as landslide ground, noting that a slide could block the railway. Homes near the edge carry geologic hazard review, and the top of the slope has to be located accurately because buffers and setbacks are measured from it.

Aurora and the Older Plats

Shoreline incorporated in 1995, so most of its housing was platted under King County long before the city existed. Aurora Avenue North (SR 99) runs through the middle as the commercial spine, and its rebuilt corridor is lined with parcels changing from motels and car lots to mixed-use buildings. Behind Aurora, many streets still reflect narrow, mid-century lots with fences and outbuildings that drifted over lines years ago.

What Shoreline Jobs Usually Involve

Station-area redevelopment is where most new work comes from: a boundary survey on each lot being assembled, a topographic survey for design, then a unit lot subdivision to sell townhouses individually. Assemblies of two or three parcels often need a lot line adjustment first. Aurora corridor sales call for an ALTA/NSPS survey, and every new building needs construction staking and an as-built survey. Richmond Beach's low waterfront strip is the main source of elevation certificate requests. South of the line is Seattle; across the lake is Kirkland.

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