The Suncadia Design
Review Process

Every new home, addition, and meaningful exterior change inside Suncadia goes through the Design Review Committee—the DRC—before Kittitas County will issue a building permit. There is no opt-out. The DRC is governed by the Suncadia Residential Owners Association under guidelines most recently revised in May 2019 (1st Revision V3).

This guide explains the Suncadia DRC process in plain terms: submittal stages, what reviewers evaluate, typical turnaround, and the three rejection reasons we see most often. It is written for homeowners comparing builders and for architects preparing their first Suncadia package.

What the Suncadia DRC controls

The DRC evaluates architecture, landscape, materials, color, massing, and site work against the community's Design Guidelines and your homesite's published Homesite Diagram—which defines the Building Envelope and Natural Area boundaries.

Most Suncadia lots are forested. The DRC requires a natural buffer between the home and the street, neighboring homesites, common areas, golf-course frontage, and amenity edges. Tree protection during construction is enforceable.

• Building Envelope vs. Natural Area (from your Homesite Diagram)
• Exterior materials, roof form, color palette, and landscape plan
• Storm water retention and on-site infiltration
• Tree protection and re-vegetation requirements
• Compliance with sub-association overlays (e.g. Tumble Creek)

DRC submittal stages: concept → schematic → final

Most projects move through three formal stages. Smaller scopes may compress stages, but additions and new homes typically require all three.

• Concept: massing, roof form, material direction, site placement within Building Envelope
• Schematic: refined elevations, landscape concept, drainage approach, material specifications
• Final: construction-ready documents, landscape planting plan, tree protection plan, compliance checklist

Typical DRC turnaround and parallel permitting

Turnaround varies by submittal completeness and committee schedule. Incomplete packages restart the clock. We coordinate architect, landscape architect, civil engineer, and structural engineer so nothing in the package contradicts the rest.

County permitting through Kittitas County CDS (411 N Ruby Street, Suite 2, Ellensburg WA 98926) can progress in parallel with DRC— but the county permit will not finalize until DRC compliance is documented.

• Pre-application meeting with DRC staff (strongly recommended for new homes)
• On-site verification: corner stakes, tree zones, cleared Building Envelope
• Parallel county pre-application: water availability, preliminary site analysis
• 4 to 6 months typical for DRC + pre-construction before permit issuance on new homes

Three common DRC rejection reasons—and how to avoid them

Rejections cost weeks, not days. Most are avoidable with upfront coordination.

• Building Envelope violation: home massing or driveway placement extends into Natural Area—resolve with civil and landscape before schematic submittal
• Material palette mismatch: species, stain, or stone selections outside approved resort vernacular—pre-vet with DRC staff at concept stage
• Incomplete drainage package: storm water not shown retained and infiltrated on-site—coordinate civil engineer early on forested lots

Related project

Why Central Washington owners choose Benchmark

• 30+ years as a licensed gc
• 98% client referral rate
• Six-year structural and one-year full coverage warranty
• Budget, schedule, and photos available throughout construction

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