DDES preferred geotechnical consultant criteria
Criteria for determining geologists and geotechnical engineers that are eligible to be listed as a "preferred consultant" for DDES is outlined below.
Because only individuals are eligible to be listed as preferred consultants, these criteria are not applied to companies, corporations, partnerships, or other business associations.
Criteria (consultant must meet the following):
- Consultant must meet the definition of a geologist or geotechnical engineer as stated in 21A.06* of the King County Code (KCC).
- Consultant must be licensed in the State of Washington.
- All reports, studies, and recommendations submitted by the consultant must be determined to be complete, correct, and in accordance with all restrictions and regulations cited in the King County Zoning Code and all other applicable regulations and public rules. Consultant must properly characterize the geology and the geologic hazard(s) and recommend appropriate mitigation (if necessary) that conforms to all restrictions and regulations. Consultant must use best-available geological and engineering practices in a manner consistent with the level of care and skill ordinarily exercised by other members of the profession practicing under similar conditions.
- All requests for further information or geotechnical review by King County must be addressed completely and correctly (as described above) in the first submittal following the request.
- Consultant may be eligible for inclusion on the preferred consultant list only after having met the criteria listed above for three consecutive building projects.
- A consultant's name shall be removed from the preferred list if they fail to meet any of the above criteria. Reinstatement requirements shall be the same as initial eligibility requirements, except that the three qualifying reports must have been submitted after the consultant was removed from the preferred list.
Establishment of List
A consultant may apply to be on the Preferred Geotechnical Consultants list* by submitting a completed Preferred Consultant list application form available as a PDF* (87KB) or fill-in Word* (90KB) document.
For more information, please see the DDES preferred consultant program.
*Note: To view PDFs, free software from Adobe is required. Fill-in Word documents require Microsoft software. For assistance and fill-in instructions, see helpful hints.
To request information in alternate formats for people with disabilities, call 206-296-6600 or TTY 206-296-7217.