Step Four
Plan-check shepherding to permit issued.
We respond to corrections, revise drawings, communicate with reviewers, and shepherd your project to permit issuance. Seattle DCI, Bellevue, Kirkland, Redmond, and the Eastside.
Written by Aaron Elisha, founder of MNBE Construction & Development. WA license MNBECCD770R9. Updated 2026.
Plan-check is where projects stall.
Almost every submittal in Seattle DCI gets at least one round of corrections. Most get two. The drawings come back from the city with a list of clarifications, missing details, or modifications required for code compliance. Each correction has to be addressed in writing, the drawings revised, and the package resubmitted.
Without an experienced shepherd, this is where 3-month projects become 9-month projects. Corrections sit unanswered. Resubmittals come back with new corrections. The pattern repeats. We have cleared hundreds of submittals across King, Snohomish, and Pierce County. The shepherding service exists because the difference between a 3-month and a 9-month plan-check is mostly the responsiveness and code-fluency of the person handling corrections.
The corrections that show up most often.
Energy code compliance
Updated WA Energy Code requires specific U-values, air-sealing, ducts in conditioned space, and ventilation rates. Reviewer often asks for prescriptive-path documentation.
Egress windows
Bedroom egress dimensions, sill height, well requirements. The smallest correction that costs the most rework when missed in the original drawings.
Setback verification
Reviewer may ask for additional dimensions confirming setbacks comply with HB 1337 and local code. Easy fix when drawings are clean.
Stormwater management
If the new structure adds impervious surface above the city threshold, drainage and infiltration design has to be added or amended.
Structural engineering details
Connection details, hold-downs, beam sizes. Resolved by a quick coordination call with the WA-licensed structural engineer.
Tree retention compliance
Seattle and several Eastside cities require root-protection zones during construction. Reviewer asks for tree-retention plan and protection details.
After Issuance
Once the permit clears, the build begins.
Frequently Asked
Plan-check questions Seattle homeowners ask before they sign.
Six practical answers from a builder who clears Seattle and Eastside permits every week. If yours is not here, call us.
Still have questions?
We answer the phone Monday through Saturday. Two minutes on the call usually gets you further than an hour online.
Plan-check is the city's review of your submitted drawings. Multiple reviewers (architectural, structural, mechanical, plumbing, electrical, energy, drainage) work through the package in parallel to confirm code compliance. They issue corrections: requests for clarification, missing details, or modifications needed for compliance. Each correction goes back to your design team for response. Seattle SDCI typically runs 3 to 6 months on ADU plan-check. Eastside cities run 2 to 4 months. The duration depends on backlog and the number of corrections.
Almost every Seattle DCI submittal gets at least one round of corrections. Two rounds is common. Three rounds is not unusual on complex projects. Eastside cities tend to fewer rounds because the queues are shorter. The number depends on submittal quality, project complexity, and any city policy changes that happen during the review. Our typical project clears in two rounds because we draw out anticipated corrections from day one.
We notify you immediately and propose options. Sometimes the correction reflects a real code requirement we missed and we adapt. Sometimes the reviewer is wrong and we appeal with a code citation. Sometimes the correction is technically valid but fixing it requires a design choice that changes the project. In that case we walk through the trade-offs with you before responding.
Plan-check correction response is included in our design and permit engagements within typical scope. Corrections that fall outside the scope (for example, a major redesign you decide to make mid-review, or a critical-area study the original feasibility did not anticipate) are scoped separately and we agree on the cost before the work begins.
Yes, owner-builders and homeowners can respond to corrections directly. Most homeowners delegate it because correction language is technical and requires CAD revisions. The shepherding service is included in our design and build engagements precisely because the failure mode of unresponded or poorly responded corrections is a stalled permit.
We download the issued permit, post the permit card at the job site as required, and begin construction. The build phase has its own inspection schedule (foundation, framing, mechanical, final). Those inspections happen during construction, not during plan-check. Plan-check shepherding ends when the permit is issued. Construction inspections are part of the build engagement.
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