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Commercial Building Permit (Use by Special Review) in Unincorporated Washington County, Colorado

Washington County issues commercial building permits through the same general Building Permit Application (Rev. 06-14) used for residential construction, rather than a separate commercial form — but the application's own fee grid carries a distinct, higher fee tier for a commercial-use building approved under Use by Special Review (USBR): $150.00, versus $100.00 for other buildings. Commercial, mixed-use, and industrial USE of the property is a separate zoning gate from the building permit itself: it requires a USBR application, a public-hearing process through the Planning Commission and then the Board of County Commissioners, adopted by Resolution 2004-68 (April 20, 2004), with CMRS/wind-tower uses added by Resolution 2004-142 (September 21, 2004) and site-plan amendments added by Resolution 2004-181 (December 30, 2004), all per the USBR application form's own citation of its adopting resolutions. The USBR form's enumerated 'Principal Permitted Uses' for Community Business, Mixed Use Development, and Industrial Uses establish that commercial and industrial use categories exist in the county's zoning scheme, even though the County has not published its underlying Zoning Resolution online.

Verified 2026-08-26 · Source

When you need this permit

  • Completed Building Permit Application (Rev. 06-14) — the same general form used for residential construction — with 'Total Value of Building' used to calculate the fee, and the fee grid's '(d) OR UBSR (Commercial Use)' line completed instead of the '(b)' line used for other buildings
  • A commercial, mixed-use, or industrial USE of the property (as distinct from the building itself) requires a separate Use by Special Review (USBR) application: legal description, current zoning, evidence of utility availability, and — for Community Business, Mixed Use Development, or Industrial Uses — identification of which enumerated principal permitted use applies
  • USBR requires a public hearing before the Planning Commission and then the Board of County Commissioners, per the process adopted by Resolution 2004-68 and its amending resolutions cited on the USBR application form
  • Sign posting (or newspaper publication in lieu of a posted sign) is required as part of the USBR public-hearing process
  • Well and septic clearance through the Northeast Colorado Health Department, and evidence of a water source/well permit, are required before the County finalizes a building permit, per the same requirement documented for residential construction
  • Property owner and Commissioner Chairman signatures required on the Building Permit Application; applicant and property owner signatures required on the USBR application

Required documents

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Fee schedule

Commercial-Use (Use by Special Review) Building Permit FeeBuilding Permit Application (Rev. 06-14), fee-calculation grid: '(b) Building Permit Fees for all buildings except Use by Special Review: $100.00' and, on the line below it, '(d) OR UBSR (Commercial Use) Building Permit Fee for: Use by Special Review Application - $150.00.'
$150.00 flat
Use Tax
Building Permit Application (Rev. 06-14), same fee-calculation grid: '(2) Value of (1) x 0.48... Show full citationBuilding Permit Application (Rev. 06-14), same fee-calculation grid: '(2) Value of (1) x 0.48... 48% of value of Building' then '(a) Value of (2) x 0.015... (Use Tax: 1.5%).' The use-tax line appears once on the shared worksheet above both the (b) and (d) permit-fee lines; the form does not print a second, separately-labeled use-tax line under the $150.00 commercial tier specifically.
1.5% of 48% of the total declared value of the completed building
Use by Special Review — Administrative Review/Application Fee
Application for Use by Special Review (Revised 3-22-2024): 'Administrative Review/ Application Fee $500.00 =Total Due.' Charged for the zoning-use approval, separately from and in addition to the… Show full citationApplication for Use by Special Review (Revised 3-22-2024): 'Administrative Review/ Application Fee $500.00 =Total Due.' Charged for the zoning-use approval, separately from and in addition to the Building Permit fee above, when the project involves a change to commercial, mixed-use, or industrial use of the property.
$500.00
Use by Special Review — Sign Posting FeeApplication for Use by Special Review (Revised 3-22-2024): '*Sign Posting Fee $150.00.' The form adds that publication charges apply instead if posting sites are published in local newspapers rather than posted on-site.
$150.00
Use by Special Review — Recording FeesApplication for Use by Special Review (Revised 3-22-2024): 'Recording Fees: 1st page $13 and $5 for each additional page due at time of Recording.'
$13.00 for the first page, plus $5.00 for each additional page

Review timeline

Plan review
Not published — contact the department

How long did your Commercial Building Permit (Use by Special Review) permit actually take in Unincorporated Washington County?

Anonymous — one question, no email. Answers are combined and only shown once at least 5 people have reported.

Inspection process

  1. 1

    Commissioner Chairman Review & Approval

    The Building Permit Application is signed by the property owner and approved (or not) by the County Commissioner Chairman; no separate technical plan-review step or contracted third-party building department was found for this permit type

  2. 2

    Fire District / State Review (if applicable)

    A fire sprinkler or suppression system tied to a commercial project routes to the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control by default, since none of the rural fire protection districts serving unincorporated Washington County (Akron Rural, Otis Rural, Southwest Washington County) was found to have DFPC-certified Fire Suppression Systems Inspectors on staff — see Washington County's fire sprinkler/alarm permit for the full sourcing

See the full Unincorporated Washington County inspection guide — scheduling & re-inspection fees →

Tips

  • The Building Permit Application form itself states directly: 'Washington County does not have a building code ordinance. It is the responsibility of the applicant to insure Uniform Building Codes and current state standards are adhered to.' No adopted IBC (or any other model code) edition is published for commercial construction.
  • No commercial-specific plan-review percentage fee (like some cities' 10% plan-check add-on) is published on the Building Permit Application — the $150.00 commercial-use permit fee and the shared use tax are the only figures the form itself states.
  • Budget for two separate fee sets on a project that changes the commercial, mixed-use, or industrial USE of the property: the $150.00 Building Permit fee tier (plus use tax) AND the Use by Special Review zoning-approval set ($500.00 Administrative Review fee, $150.00 Sign Posting fee, and recording fees) — both apply, not one or the other.
  • A straightforward remodel or interior change to an existing commercial building that does not change the underlying land use can be filed as 'Remodel,' one of the four Class of Work checkboxes on the general Building Permit Application, without triggering the Use by Special Review process.

Frequently asked questions

Unincorporated Washington County requires a commercial building permit (use by special review) for: Completed Building Permit Application (Rev. 06-14) — the same general form used for residential construction — with 'Total Value of Building' used to calculate the fee, and the fee grid's '(d) OR UBSR (Commercial Use)' line completed instead of the '(b)' line used for other buildings; A commercial, mixed-use, or industrial USE of the property (as distinct from the building itself) requires a separate Use by Special Review (USBR) application: legal description, current zoning, evidence of utility availability, and — for Community Business, Mixed Use Development, or Industrial Uses — identification of which enumerated principal permitted use applies; USBR requires a public hearing before the Planning Commission and then the Board of County Commissioners, per the process adopted by Resolution 2004-68 and its amending resolutions cited on the USBR application form; Sign posting (or newspaper publication in lieu of a posted sign) is required as part of the USBR public-hearing process; Well and septic clearance through the Northeast Colorado Health Department, and evidence of a water source/well permit, are required before the County finalizes a building permit, per the same requirement documented for residential construction; Property owner and Commissioner Chairman signatures required on the Building Permit Application; applicant and property owner signatures required on the USBR application. If your project isn't listed, confirm with Washington County Land Use Office (Planning & Zoning Department) at (970) 345-2701 ext. 234 (fax (970) 514-7710, per the department's live webpage — resolved as current: a 2020 Wayback capture of the same page shows fax 345-2702 with then-Zoning-Official Denise Chavez named, while the live page today shows no named official ('temporary') and the new fax, indicating the webpage was updated since 2020 and the number changed; the Building Permit Application form (Rev. 06-14, unrevised since 2014) still carries the older 345-2702 and is treated as stale on this one field) before starting work.

In Unincorporated Washington County, the published Commercial-Use (Use by Special Review) Building Permit Fee is: $150.00 flat. Additional published fees: Use Tax — 1.5% of 48% of the total declared value of the completed building; Use by Special Review — Administrative Review/Application Fee — $500.00; Use by Special Review — Sign Posting Fee — $150.00; Use by Special Review — Recording Fees — $13.00 for the first page, plus $5.00 for each additional page. These are the jurisdiction's own published figures — see the fee schedule table and source citations on this page.

Unincorporated Washington County does not publish a plan-review timeline for this permit. Contact Washington County Land Use Office (Planning & Zoning Department) at (970) 345-2701 ext. 234 (fax (970) 514-7710, per the department's live webpage — resolved as current: a 2020 Wayback capture of the same page shows fax 345-2702 with then-Zoning-Official Denise Chavez named, while the live page today shows no named official ('temporary') and the new fax, indicating the webpage was updated since 2020 and the number changed; the Building Permit Application form (Rev. 06-14, unrevised since 2014) still carries the older 345-2702 and is treated as stale on this one field) for current turnaround.

You'll need: Building Permit Application. Depending on your project, Unincorporated Washington County may also ask for: Application for Use by Special Review (USBR). See the required-documents checklist on this page for details on each.

Apply through Washington County Land Use Office (Planning & Zoning Department) at Washington County Courthouse, 150 Ash Avenue, 2nd Floor, Akron, CO 80720. Phone: (970) 345-2701 ext. 234 (fax (970) 514-7710, per the department's live webpage — resolved as current: a 2020 Wayback capture of the same page shows fax 345-2702 with then-Zoning-Official Denise Chavez named, while the live page today shows no named official ('temporary') and the new fax, indicating the webpage was updated since 2020 and the number changed; the Building Permit Application form (Rev. 06-14, unrevised since 2014) still carries the older 345-2702 and is treated as stale on this one field), email: planning@co.washington.co.us (per the Foundation Permit and Mobile/Manufactured Home Permit forms; also matches the address shown for then-Zoning-Official Denise Chavez on a 2020 Wayback capture of the department's own webpage — the current live webpage's visible text does not repeat an email address, but nothing found contradicts this one, so it is carried forward as still-current pending direct confirmation). Office hours: Not published as specific hours for this department; the County's website states only that proposed regulations are available for inspection 'during normal business hours' at 150 Ash Avenue. The Planning Commission's regular meeting is the third Monday of each month at 7:00 p.m. in the old courtroom at the Courthouse (date subject to change).. Official information: https://washingtoncounty.colorado.gov/departments/administration/planning-and-zoning.

The Building Permit Application form states directly: 'Washington County does not have a building code ordinance. It is the responsibility of the applicant to insure Uniform Building Codes and current state standards are adhered to.' No adopted IBC edition, or adopting ordinance section, was found published for commercial construction.

Yes, but there is no separate commercial-only application — commercial construction uses the same general Building Permit Application (Rev. 06-14) as residential work, with its own '(d) OR UBSR (Commercial Use)' fee line: $150.00, versus $100.00 for other buildings. A change to the property's commercial, mixed-use, or industrial USE additionally requires a separate Use by Special Review (USBR) zoning application, with its own $500.00 Administrative Review fee, $150.00 Sign Posting fee, and recording fees.

Yes. A change to a commercial, mixed-use, or industrial USE of the property goes through Use by Special Review (USBR), a public-hearing process before the Planning Commission and then the Board of County Commissioners, adopted by Resolution 2004-68 and its amending resolutions. The USBR form's own enumerated 'Principal Permitted Uses' for Community Business, Mixed Use Development, and Industrial Uses show that commercial and industrial zoning categories exist in the county, even though the underlying Zoning Resolution is not published online.

Sources & verification

Verified against official sources. Last reviewed 2026-08-26.

Applications & forms

Department & other records

Fees, timelines, and adopted codes are researched from each jurisdiction's published records — see how we verify. Requirements change and vary by project, so always confirm the current details with the Unincorporated Washington County building department before you submit. PermitBase is an independent reference and is not affiliated with any government agency.

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