Services

Does the land you want to purchase meet your development needs? Knowing what you can build and where can you build it is critical to the success of your project. Most properties on the market have some kind of challenge.  A land purchase is a big decision as land is expensive and prices are only going up. SVC can help you get the information you need to make a wise investment.  Land and water resources, zoning codes, and local, state and federal regulations determine the potential uses of a site, whether it be commercial, residential, industrial/manufacturing, recreational, or agricultural.  SVC can guide you through land use and regulatory codes, site planning and design, to the development options that make the best use of your land.

SVC will create a permitting and documentation strategy for your project. This may include creation of GIS maps to identify wetlands, wetland boundaries, jurisdictional water bodies and protected habitat features, and research of local, state and federal code.

Your local ISA certified tree experts. We handle the needs of both residential and commercial customers throughout Western Washington, providing Tree Risk Assessments, Tree Inventories, Tree Retention Plans, Tree Construction Monitoring, and Planting Plans. If you’re in need of some tree help or consultation, we’d love to work with you!

Soundview’s fish protection, exclusion & removal service is the process of safely removing fish from in-water work areas and relocating them elsewhere, out of harm’s way. Projects such as culvert replacement, pipeline burial/reburial, or in-water stream restoration/enhancement will likely require fish exclusion if located in fish-bearing waters.

From streams and shorelines to remote locations and precarious terrain, many environments present logistical difficulties and safety hazards to traditional mapping solutions.  Fortunately, SVC’s drones can fly where larger aircraft can’t, as well as to sites where it’s unsafe to send people. Drone-based aerial imaging provides more comprehensive insight into your assets and projects.  Our drone pilots are FAA UAS Certified.

SVC can provide complete shoreline development planning, permitting support, and regulatory coordination for docks, boat ramps, bulkheads, dredging, drege and disposal, and other shoreline projects requiring in-water work.  We are highly experienced in shoreline exemptions, variances, and Substantial Development Permits. We provide careful analysis, interpretation, and guidance regarding relevant codes, regulations, and policy to develop solutions to a variety of client challenges.

Establishing the absence or presence of wetlands and their related boundaries, buffers, and setbacks is one of the most critical factors in the development of any site, whether it is for a single-family residence or a large commercial development.  SVC offers increasingly detailed levels of critical areas assessments tailored to your project needs.

• A site reconnaissance provides prospective buyers with an overview of critical areas and the development potential of a land parcel with the approximate location and size of critical areas.
• A wetland or ordinary high water (OHW) delineation and habitat assessment identifies the boundaries, buffers, and setbacks of wetlands, shorelines and streams and potentially-regulated fish and wildlife habitat features.
• A Wetland and Fish and Wildlife Habitat Assessment Report is a detailed assessment of the existing site features and the effects that proposed development may have on them. An assessment report is usually required when building on parcels that contain wetlands, streams, shorelines or other potentially regulated critical areas.
• SVC can also provide a review of prior delineations done by other consultants or provide re-delineation services if prior wetland work is outdated or expired.

Development near wetlands and streams can negatively impact water quality, hydrologic, and habitat functions. SVC offers well-planned mitigation designs that can help offset unavoidable impacts of a proposed project on these sensitive natural resources.  Our mitigation designs help protect water quality, improve wildlife forage and cover, restore fish habitat, control invasive vegetation, and encourage the establishment of native grasses, shrubs, and trees to support a greater range of plant diversity and habitat structure. Our innovative mitigation approach is proven to satisfy strict regulatory requirements while facilitating the project-specific goals of our clients.

Landscape architecture is more than the eye-pleasing placement of decorative flowers and plants. Many of SVC’s projects include landscape architecture and mitigation design. Including these services in a project can help restore, protect and enhance wetlands, control stormwater runoff, restore and encourage the growth of native plant and tree species, and provide valuable habitat and food supplies for wildlife. SVC can provide expert site analysis and landscape architecture design services that add these valuable improvements to your project.

SVC utilizes GIS to gather, manage, analyze, and visualize data found on site. GIS is widely used in many jurisdictions as a way to share visual data. Harnessing the power of GIS, SVC is able to assess findings with a deeper insight in the data by revealing spatial patterns, site history, and relationships. SVC can provide you with highly accurate site assessments, expert data analysis, and visualization services of your site findings to help you achieve your project goals.

SVC performs dive surveys to identify the location and extent of protected aquatic features within the project area.  Such features may include eelgrass, kelp, or macroalgae.  The dive survey results are used to assess project impacts on sensitive species and associated habitat within the project area.  If done early in the process, a dive survey will help locate and design the project in a manner that avoids environmental impacts as much as possible. A carefully planned project is likely to result in the need for less mitigation planning, a reduction in conditions of approval, and more streamlined permitting.  The information generated by a dive survey is critical for projects like docks, piers, and bulkheads where in-water work is necessary.

Our focus and understanding of aquatic projects is particularly beneficial for the environmental review process to make sure your project complies with local, state or federal regulations.  We have extensive experience in successfully supporting SEPA and NEPA processes for Federally-approved projects.  We understand the current application format and how each section is addressed to ensure efficient regulatory review and successful permit processing.

SVC has supported many Water Quality Certifications and CZM Consistency determinations for aquatic and wetland projects and has excellent working relationships with Department of Ecology staff.

Our team has multiple Biological Evaluation authors certified to Washington Department of Transportation standards to ensure ESA (Endangered Species Act) compliance.  SVC can thoroughly and efficiently analyze potential ESA impacts and provide supporting documentation. We have strong working relationships with NOAA Fisheries and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and work diligently to ensure ESA compliance.

We provide careful analysis, interpretation, and guidance regarding relevant codes, regulations, and policy to develop solutions to a variety of client challenges.  In the last 10 years, SVC has supported over 50 waterfront projects through the shoreline review processes from simple Shoreline Exemptions to highly complicated Conditional Use permits and Substantial Development Permits.