Sammamish Heights, Bellevue WA
Sammamish Heights Owners Association Fence Guide: What to Know Before You Build
A plain-English guide to planning a fence inside the Sammamish Heights Owners Association, built from the association's own public documents and the City of Bellevue's fence rules.
SeattleFence is an independent contractor. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or an approved vendor of the association. Last checked against the public pages on October 27, 2026. Rules and forms change, so use the current versions.
What the Sammamish Heights Owners Association is
The association's About page says the Sammamish Heights Owners Association (SHOA) consists of 54 homes bordered by West Lake Sammamish Parkway and 168th Avenue SE on the east and west, and by Weowna Park and SE 26th on the north and south. The City of Bellevue lists Sammamish Heights among the registered neighborhood associations for the West Lake Sammamish area.
This is not just a social club. The association's recorded declaration describes a Washington non-profit corporation acting under the Washington Homeowners' Associations Act (RCW 64.38), and says the covenants run with the land and bind current and later owners. Its history page says the covenants establish an architectural board covering buildings, alterations, and landscaping.
What the association publishes about fences
Short version: the association publishes a review process and a chart, but we did not find a fence design standard such as a required height, color, or approved style list. Here is what is public.
| Topic | What the public documents say | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Typical new fence | The application chart lists a fence as not needing SHOA review approval, but needing SHOA notification, with a City permit "possibly" needed. | Application chart |
| Like-for-like repair | Fence repair with similar panels and height is listed as needing neither approval nor notification, and no City permit. | Application chart |
| Views | The covenants say no improvement that may impact other residents' views, including a fence, may be built without prior committee approval. The rules repeat this. | Covenants, Article 5 |
| Board may look closer | A chart footnote recommends reviewing notification items with the board for CC&R and view-protection compliance, and says the board may request a full review. | Application chart |
| Lead time | Submit at least 30 days before construction starts. | Application |
| Maintenance | Owners maintain, repair, or replace shared fences and fencing visible from the streets within Sammamish Heights, 26th Street, and West Lake Sammamish Parkway. | Covenants, Article 17 |
Fence styles to consider
The association does not publish an approved-style list that we could find. The table below is general planning advice from SeattleFence, not association rules, and the committee or board decides what it accepts.
| Style | Look | Privacy | Planning note (SeattleFence suggestion) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Picture frame cedar | Boards framed by a top rail and side trim | High | A tidy, finished look from both sides. Describe the stain on your application. |
| Solid cedar privacy | Vertical cedar boards, clean and simple | High | Straightforward to describe and draw. Check height against your neighbors' views first. |
| Horizontal cedar | Horizontal boards for a contemporary line | High | Suits remodeled homes. Give board size and color in the application. |
| Picket or open style | Lower, with gaps between pickets | Low to medium | Keeps sightlines more open, which may matter on a view-sensitive lot. Ask the association. |
Photos show SeattleFence projects elsewhere in the area and are not images of any Sammamish Heights home or fence.
Approval and permit steps
Plan on two separate checks, the association first and the City second. SeattleFence does not issue either one.
Confirm your lot is covered
The association says it covers the homes bordered by West Lake Sammamish Parkway and 168th Avenue SE (east and west) and Weowna Park and SE 26th (north and south). Check your title documents and ask the association if you are unsure.
Read the covenants and rules
Read the recorded covenants and the Rules and Regulations, especially the articles on architectural approval and views.
Decide: notification or review?
Use the chart on the architectural application. If the chart is unclear for your fence, email the board at board@sammamishheights.com and ask. The form itself says to email if your project is not on the list.
Gather the fence details
Height, width, treatment (paint, stain, coating), and construction material are the fence fields on the form. A written SeattleFence quote and sketch can supply them.
Submit at least 30 days ahead
The form and chart ask for review or notification at least 30 days before construction starts. Where approval is required, the form also includes a neighbor advisement section.
Wait for written approval when it applies
The owner acknowledgements on the form say no work should start until written approval is received, and that any change from the application must be resubmitted.
Check Bellevue's rules and any permit
The form says permits are the owner's responsibility. Confirm height, setbacks, and permit triggers with the City, covered below.
Build within the approved window
The form notes an eight-month window to finish work approved by an association request, with an extension request if needed.
Bellevue's fence rules
Bellevue publishes residential fence rules on its Fences page, based on Land Use Code 20.20.400. Fences in a required front-yard setback may not exceed 4 feet 6 inches, with limited exceptions. The setback is measured from the property line, not the pavement, and the city notes the right of way can extend beyond the paved street or sidewalk.
The city says you do not need a permit unless the fence exceeds 8 feet, will be in a critical area or critical area buffer such as a wetland, stream, or steep slope, or is built of concrete block or similar material. Height is measured from finished grade on the outside of the fence, and on sloping ground the fence must follow or step with the slope. Fences must also respect sight-obstruction rules at intersections and driveways.
Sammamish Heights fence-guide questions
Is the Sammamish Heights Owners Association a mandatory HOA?
It appears to be. Its recorded Amended and Restated Declaration of Protective Covenants and Restrictions, posted on its website, says it is a Washington non-profit corporation acting under the Washington Homeowners' Associations Act (RCW 64.38) and that the declaration runs with the land and binds current and later owners of the lots. We are not attorneys, so confirm with the association and your title documents that your lot is covered. SeattleFence is not affiliated with the association.
Do I need Sammamish Heights Owners Association approval to build a fence?
Check before you build. The association's application chart lists a fence as needing notification to the association and not a full review, and lists a like-for-like fence repair as needing neither. But the recorded covenants also say that no improvement that may impact other residents' views, and they name fences, may be built without prior committee approval. The chart's own footnote adds that the board may request a full review. If there is any chance your fence height could affect a neighbor's view, ask the association before you build.
How far ahead do I need to submit to the association?
The association's architectural application and its chart both say requests for review or notification must be submitted at least 30 days before construction starts, and the form says no work should begin until written approval is received when approval is required. Dates and forms can change, so use the association's current instructions.
What does the association's fence application ask for?
The fencing section of the application asks for the fence height and width, the treatment (paint, stain, coating, and so on), and the construction material. Where SHOA approval is required, the form also asks for signatures from adjacent neighbors showing they were made aware of the plan. Those signatures do not mean approval; only the Architectural Committee can approve.
Does Bellevue require a permit for a fence in Sammamish Heights?
Bellevue's fence page says you do not need a permit unless the fence exceeds 8 feet, will be within a critical area or critical area buffer, or is built of concrete block or similar material. Fences in a required front-yard setback generally may not exceed 4 feet 6 inches, with limited exceptions. Confirm your address with Bellevue Development Services.
What fence styles usually fit HOA review in Sammamish Heights?
The association does not publish an approved-style list or fence design standard that we could find. In general, review boards tend to respond well to clean cedar styles with a finished side facing out, natural or neutral treatments, and heights that stay within city limits. Because the covenants protect certain views, a lower or more open design may be easier to justify on a view-sensitive lot. These are SeattleFence planning suggestions, not association rules.
Who maintains a fence in Sammamish Heights?
The covenants say owners will maintain, repair, or replace fences shared between residential lots and fencing visible from the streets within Sammamish Heights, 26th Street, and West Lake Sammamish Parkway. Ask the association how that applies to your lot.
Get a quote for your Sammamish Heights lot
Tell us the address, approximate length, the style you have in mind, and anything you know about the association's answer. We will price the fence and help you prepare a clear height, material, and treatment description for the association and, when needed, the city.
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Sources
Every association and city claim on this page comes from one of these public pages. Rules change. Read the current association documents and your recorded covenants, and confirm city rules before you build.
- Sammamish Heights — About
The association's name (Sammamish Heights Owners Association, SHOA); that it consists of 54 homes bordered by West Lake Sammamish Parkway and 168th Avenue SE on the east and west and by Weowna Park and SE 26th on the north and south.
- Sammamish Heights — History of Sammamish Heights and the SHCA
That the association's bylaws and covenants were drafted in the early 1970s; that the covenants establish an architectural board covering buildings, alterations and landscaping; that the neighborhood was annexed into the City of Bellevue.
- Amended and Restated Sammamish Heights Declaration of Protective Covenants and Restrictions
That the association is a Washington non-profit corporation acting under RCW 64.38 and the declaration runs with the land and binds owners (preamble); Article 4 (Architectural Committee, appeal to the membership); Article 5 (written approval before construction or alteration, plans submitted at least 30 days before the start, committee considers views, and no improvement including a fence that may impact residents' views without prior committee approval); Article 16 (Views); Article 17 (owners maintain, repair or replace shared fences and fencing visible from the streets within Sammamish Heights, 26th Street and West Lake Sammamish Parkway).
- SHOA Rules and Regulations (PDF)
Rule 6: owners must obtain board or committee approval for improvements or alterations that may impact other residents' views, including fences; Rule 7: approval is requested through the architectural application; fence maintenance wording matching Article 17.
- SHOA Application for Architectural Review (PDF)
Fencing fields (height, width, treatment, construction material); submission at least 30 days before construction; owner acknowledgements (no work until written approval; permits are the owner's responsibility; variations must be resubmitted); the neighbor advisement section and its note that neighbor signatures do not imply approval; the eight-month completion window with extension request; the chart listing Fence (SHOA approval: No; notification: Yes; City permit: Possibly), Fence repair with similar panels/height (approval No; notification none; City permit No), the footnote that SHOA recommends reviewing these items with the board for CC&R and view-protection compliance and that the board may request a full review, and the footnote that the City permit column is provided as a convenience; and the board email address.
- City of Bellevue — Neighborhood Associations
Lists Sammamish Heights among the registered neighborhood associations under West Lake Sammamish.
- City of Bellevue — Fences
The 4-foot-6-inch limit in a required front-yard setback and its exceptions; that a residential fence needs no permit unless it exceeds 8 feet, is in a critical area or buffer, or is built of concrete block or similar material; how height is measured; that on sloping ground a fence must follow or step with the slope; sight-obstruction rules at intersections and driveways; and that a land use planner in Development Services decides whether a front-yard fence qualifies for increased height.
- Bellevue Land Use Code 20.20.400 — Fences
Front-setback height limit, the 8-foot building-permit threshold, height measured from finished grade at the exterior side of the fence, and sight-obstruction restrictions at street intersections.