Sustainable building
GreenTools for green building
Help for professional builders to reduce waste, save money, and recycle. Earn recognition for adopting green building practices.
Energize! Heat Pump Program
Free and reduced cost heat pumps for residents in urban unincorporated King County areas of North Highline (White Center) and Skyway/West Hill.
King County C-PACER Program
Property assessed financing mechanism to help commercial, industrial, agricultural and multifamily buildings become more efficient and resilient.
Transfer of development rights program
Buy and sell the rights to build homes in certain places to provide important public benefits like farms, forests, open spaces, trails, and lands for wildlife. By transferring the rights to build in one place to another, landowners can make money, and the public can keep these special areas protected forever.
Rural stewardship planningÂ
Free technical help for rural residents to design sites for development while protecting valuable natural resources.
Resource protection incentives
Apply for tax reductions in rural King County in exchange for practices that benefit public interests.
Surface water management fee discounts and cost-sharing program
Reduce your SWM fee by applying sustainable building practices that reduce and cleanse your stormwater.
King County surface water design manual
Help for engineers to design storm drainage systems that cleanse stormwater and reduce flooding problems for downstream neighbors.
Construction Stormwater Pollution Prevention Standards
How to keep your construction site clean in northwest rains.
Stormwater pollution prevention
Look up best practices to apply on business and multifamily lands to help control stormwater pollution to avoid fouling lakes, streams and Puget Sound.
Puget Sound shoreline stewardship guidebook
Informs residents of beach and bluff shorelines about natural shoreline protection, managing runoff, using native plants, controlling aggressive invasive plants and keeping septic systems working.
Flood Elevation Program
Provides help to raise homes above flood level to reduce risk of damage from flooding.
Wetland information
Learn about the importance of wetlands, find maps, development regulations and supportive programs.
Pacific Northwest native plants
Identify native plants, find out how to grow them and where to order native plants that are adapted to thrive in our area.
Featured news
Apr. 23, 2024
King County highlights growing zero-emission fleet, announces $6 million EV charging grant
Apr. 21, 2024
External article, Seattle Times
Eastside’s light rail wait is almost over with ‘Starter Line’
Apr. 15, 2024
External article, Seattle Times
Eastside carbon emissions still below pre-pandemic levels, studies find
Mar. 6, 2024
King County Metro ‘charges toward zero-emissions’ with Interim Base groundbreaking
Feb. 1, 2024
External report, KUOW
Surge of new EV charging stations coming to Washington state
Jan. 17, 2024
External article, Seattle Times
Northwest innovators chase the dream of greener concrete
Strategic Climate Action Plan
Plan to increase resilience to climate damage and reduce climate pollution in King County. Updated every five years.
Shoreline Management Program
Learn about King County's program to protect shorelines, promote public access, and plan for land use along the shorelines of Puget Sound, large rivers and lakes.
Resource recovery
Local efforts to establish a sustainable, circular economy by turning waste into resources.
Green bonds
Investments in sustainability by reducing climate pollution and improving water quality.