Concrete removal on Beacon Hill
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Beacon Hill is a long ridge between the Duwamish valley and the Rainier Valley, rising to 350 feet. Interstate 5 was cut along its west slope and completed in 1967. On our overlay of the City's critical-area maps, about 10% of the Beacon Hill district is mapped steep slope and about 12% sits inside a mapped potential slide area.
For a homeowner the useful question on a slope is simple: are you replacing concrete where concrete already is, or adding more? The City treats those two jobs differently. Tell us what you have, and we will pass your details to one local concrete removal company. You pay nothing for that.
Local facts for Beacon Hill
- I-5 on the west slope
- Interstate 5 was completed between Seattle and Tacoma in 1967, cutting along the west slope of Beacon Hill. The ridge rises to 350 feet. Source: HistoryLink, Seattle Neighborhoods: Beacon Hill - Thumbnail History
- Deep-seated slides on West Beacon Hill
- Seattle OEM lists West Beacon Hill among the locations of deep-seated landslides and records slides along Beacon Hill during I-5 construction. Source: Seattle Office of Emergency Management, Seattle Hazard Identification and Vulnerability Analysis: Landslides
- Share of the ridge that is mapped
- Our overlay of the City's ECA layers on the Beacon Hill district boundary (measured 13 October 2026): about 10% steep slope, 12% potential slide area, 15% liquefaction-prone. Source: City of Seattle GIS, ECA Steep Slope layer (with Potential Slide Areas and Liquefaction layers)
- Relief where pavement already exists
- SDCI may allow work in a steep slope or buffer where legal structures or pavement already exist and there is no increase in impact. Source: SDCI, ECA Steep Slope Development Relief
What the slide record says about this ridge
Seattle's Office of Emergency Management lists West Beacon Hill among the places where the city's deep-seated landslides occur, the larger and more destructive type. It notes that newspapers documented several slides along Beacon and Capitol Hills during the construction of Interstate 5, and that I-5 and I-90 both run through a large slide area around Beacon Hill.
The same report found the slope along the west side of Beacon Hill having fewer landslides in recent decades. It also notes that Seattle water supply lines cross landslide-prone ground at the north end of Beacon Hill, and that about 4% of reported slides citywide were associated with water leaks. On a sloping lot, where runoff goes once a slab is gone matters as much as the break-out.
Replacing in place is the easier path
SDCI does not allow development on steep slopes or in their buffers, which are typically 15 feet wide, unless a project qualifies for relief. The first kind of project it lists is development located where legal structures or pavement already are, not counting landscaped or graded areas, with no increase in impact to the slope or buffer.
So breaking out an old driveway and pouring a new one in the same footprint is a very different conversation from widening it toward the slope. SDCI aims to finish its initial review of a relief application within 2 weeks, and charges an hourly fee for it.
Separately, SDCI lists routine repair and maintenance among the project types that may qualify for an exemption from the critical-area rules.
- Steep slope, per SDCI: rising at least 10 feet over 25 horizontal feet or less.
- On a mapped slope, a grading permit is needed once excavation, fill and disturbance pass 25 cubic yards.
- SDCI offers 20 minutes of free coaching for drainage and geotechnical questions.
Two different Beacon Hills
The north end and the rest of the ridge have different housing. In the City's North Beacon Hill/Jefferson Park community reporting area, 38.9% of housing units are single detached homes. In the area the City labels Beacon Hill, it is 88.9%, per the 2020-2024 American Community Survey figures the City publishes. On the north end, the slab in question is as likely to belong to an apartment building's landlord as to a homeowner.
About 15% of the district is also mapped liquefaction-prone on the City's layer. SDCI's grading page applies the standard citywide thresholds there, not the lower slope threshold.
Questions about concrete removal in Beacon Hill
What is the steep slope buffer in Seattle?
SDCI says development is not allowed in steep slope areas or their buffers, which are typically 15 feet wide, unless the project qualifies for relief, such as work where legal pavement already exists with no increase in impact.
Can I replace a driveway on a mapped steep slope?
Replacing it in the same footprint is the case SDCI's relief rule describes: development where legal structures or pavement already exist and no increase in impact to the slope or buffer. Expanding toward the slope is not covered by that rule. Ask SDCI's free coaching service about your lot before you start.
Do I need a permit to remove concrete on Beacon Hill?
It depends on whether your lot is mapped. Where it is, the grading permit line drops to 25 cubic yards of combined excavation, fill and disturbance, and SDCI treats taking out pavement as disturbance. Off the mapped areas, the citywide thresholds apply. Sidewalk or street work always needs an SDOT Street Use permit.
Near Beacon Hill
Sources
- HistoryLink, Beacon Hill - Thumbnail History
- Seattle OEM, Landslides hazard analysis
- SDCI, ECA Steep Slope Development Relief
- SDCI, Environmentally Critical Areas Exemptions
- SDCI, Grading Permit
- City of Seattle GIS, ECA Steep Slope
- City of Seattle GIS, ECA Potential Slide Areas
- City of Seattle GIS, ECA Liquefaction Prone Area
- City of Seattle, Neighborhood ACS data
Get a price for Beacon Hill
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