Walla Walla building permits

Requirements

• WWMC 15.04.013 adopts “The 2021 Edition of the International Residential Code, published by the International Code Council, Inc.” with named appendices, as amended by the applicable Chapter 51-51 WAC layer.
• THE DESIGN CRITERIA ARE IN THE GENERAL PROVISIONS, NOT IN AN AMENDED TABLE R301.2, which is where every other city in this Washington set puts them. WWMC 15.04.005(B) publishes: ground snow load 30 lbs./ft.2 with the note “Minimum roof snow load to be thirty lbs./ft.2 in the city of Walla Walla”; “110 mph ultimate wind speed for Residential/Commercial”; seismic design category D, with no sub-category where SeaTac publishes D2; weathering Severe; frost line depth 24 inches; termites Slight to Moderate; decay None to slight; winter design temperature 10 degrees; ice shield underlayment required; flood hazard given as “2003 1992 FIRM”, two years in one cell, quoted as printed; AIR FREEZE INDEX 1000; mean annual temperature 50.2 degrees.
• THE CODE PUBLISHES ITS OWN TIE-BREAKER, AND THE ORDER IS EXPLICIT. WWMC 15.04.005(A): the general provisions beat any referenced code, and “In the event of conflict between the following identified codes, the code first listed shall have priority over those latter listed: the International Building Code, the International Residential Code, the International Mechanical Code, the International Fire Code, and, then, the Uniform Plumbing Code.” Wenatchee publishes the same idea in different words; the ORDER is what matters and it is specific to each city.
• A THREE-TRIGGER EXPIRY, AND ANY ONE OF THEM VOIDS THE PERMIT. WWMC 15.04.005(G): “All permits shall expire by limitation and be declared void if: 1. Work is not started within one hundred eighty days of obtaining a permit, 2. Work is abandoned for one hundred eighty days or more after beginning work, or 3. After two years from the date of permit issuance, regardless of whether the work is finished.” The third is absolute — steady visible progress does not save a permit at two years. This matches the structure Puyallup and Wenatchee publish, and differs from SeaTac, which times a permit by what it builds rather than by whether work is happening.
• RE-PERMITTING AFTER EXPIRY IS CHEAPER THAN A FRESH PERMIT, AND THE CODE PICKS THE CHEAPER OF TWO MEASURES FOR YOU. WWMC 15.04.005(G): “If a permit is expired for time, a new permit shall be obtained for one-half the permit fee or based on the value of the remainder of the work to finish the original permit, whichever is less.”
• AN APPROVED APPLICATION CAN STILL GO VOID BEFORE YOU HOLD A PERMIT. WWMC 15.04.005(G): “When an applicant has been notified that their permit application has been approved and is ready to purchase, the applicant shall obtain the permit within thirty days of notification or said permit application shall become void.”
• WWMC 15.04.005(F): “City of Walla Walla development permits shall be issued only to the property owner or the property owner's authorized agent.”
• A LICENSED WASHINGTON DESIGN PROFESSIONAL IS REQUIRED ABOVE A SIZE THRESHOLD. WWMC 15.04.005(D) requires a Washington design professional licensed under Chapter 18.08 RCW, 308-12 WAC or 18.43 RCW to prepare or oversee plans for buildings at or above the threshold the subsection sets; the full threshold text runs past the extract read for this entry and the exact cut-off is NOT ASSERTED here.
• WWMC 15.04.005(C): development in a designated flood plain “shall comply with Chapter 21.10 and the construction specifications detailed in Section R322 of the International Residential Code as incorporated by Section 15.04.013, as amended.” WWMC Chapter 21.10 was not opened for this entry.
• THE ROLLING CLAUSE IS NOT IN THE ADOPTING SENTENCE — IT IS ITS OWN SECTION, AND A PHRASE-BASED AUDIT WOULD MISS IT. WWMC 15.04.030: “The amendment, addition or repeal of any section of any of the adopted codes, regulations, or statutes shall be deemed to amend this chapter and the codes, regulations, and statutes contained in this chapter are adopted by reference in conformity with the amendment, addition or repeal, and it shall not be necessary for the legislative authority of this city to take any action with respect to such addition, amendment or repeal as provided by RCW 35A.12.140.” MEASURED, NOT ASSUMED: a regular expression for the usual rolling formulations (“as now or hereafter amended”, “as the same exists”, “may hereafter be amended”, “as now in effect”) returns NOTHING across all 75,567 characters of Chapter 15.04. The years are named and the state layer still rolls; the two facts just live in different sections.

Required documents

• RequiredBuilding permit applicationFiled under WWMC Chapter 15.04. Note two things that decide timing rather than approval: permits issue only to the property owner or their authorized agent (15.04.005(F)), and plan review fees at 65 percent of the permit fee plus any state surcharge are “due and payable upon filing of permit application” (15.04.050(A)(5)) — not at issuance.
• RequiredProject valuation for fee calculationFees are computed from valuation under WWMC 15.04.050(A)(1), and the valuation basis is the ICC building valuation data table adopted at 15.04.005(H), which updates without the city amending its code. For roofing the valuation is defined by area instead: $200.00 per square where the existing roof is torn off, $100.00 per square for roofing over. Those per-square figures are VALUATION INPUTS, not the fee.
• OptionalPlans prepared or overseen by a Washington design professionalRequired by WWMC 15.04.005(D) above the size threshold that subsection sets, for a professional licensed under Chapter 18.08 RCW, 308-12 WAC or 18.43 RCW. The exact threshold runs past the extract read for this entry and is not asserted.

Fee schedule

Requirements

• WWMC 15.04.010: “The 2021 Edition of the International Building Code, published by the International Code Council, Inc., including the following appendices: Appendix A, Employee Qualifications; Appendix E, Supplementary Accessibility Requirements; Appendix F, Rodentproofing; Appendix G, Flood-Resistant Construction; Appendix H, Signs; Appendix I, Patio Covers; Appendix J, Grading; as amended by Chapter 51-50 of the Washington Administrative Code, is hereby adopted by reference and further amended as follows”. SEVEN APPENDICES IS THE LONGEST LIST IN THIS WASHINGTON SET — SeaTac, for comparison, names E and H.
• APPEALS ARE WRITTEN INTO THE CODE ITSELF RATHER THAN LEFT TO A BOARD. WWMC 15.04.010(A) replaces IBC Section 113 so that “an aggrieved party may appeal to a Hearing Examiner” rather than to the Board of Appeals the model code contemplates.
• The city also adopts the International Existing Building Code (15.04.016), the International Fire Code (15.04.017), the International Energy Conservation Code (15.04.018), the International Fuel Gas Code (15.04.019), the International Property Maintenance Code (15.04.020), the International Swimming Pool and Spa Code (15.04.021), the International Wildland-Urban Interface Code (15.04.022), and the Uniform Code for the Abatement of Dangerous Buildings (15.04.015). Their individual adopting sentences were NOT opened for this entry and no edition year is asserted for any of them.
• AN INTERNATIONAL GREEN CONSTRUCTION CODE IS ADOPTED AT WWMC 15.04.014 — no other city in this Washington set names one. Its adopting sentence was not opened and its edition year and scope are not asserted here.
• THE CODE PUBLISHES ITS OWN TIE-BREAKER, AND THE ORDER IS EXPLICIT. WWMC 15.04.005(A): the general provisions beat any referenced code, and “In the event of conflict between the following identified codes, the code first listed shall have priority over those latter listed: the International Building Code, the International Residential Code, the International Mechanical Code, the International Fire Code, and, then, the Uniform Plumbing Code.” Wenatchee publishes the same idea in different words; the ORDER is what matters and it is specific to each city.
• A THREE-TRIGGER EXPIRY, AND ANY ONE OF THEM VOIDS THE PERMIT. WWMC 15.04.005(G): “All permits shall expire by limitation and be declared void if: 1. Work is not started within one hundred eighty days of obtaining a permit, 2. Work is abandoned for one hundred eighty days or more after beginning work, or 3. After two years from the date of permit issuance, regardless of whether the work is finished.” The third is absolute — steady visible progress does not save a permit at two years. This matches the structure Puyallup and Wenatchee publish, and differs from SeaTac, which times a permit by what it builds rather than by whether work is happening.
• RE-PERMITTING AFTER EXPIRY IS CHEAPER THAN A FRESH PERMIT, AND THE CODE PICKS THE CHEAPER OF TWO MEASURES FOR YOU. WWMC 15.04.005(G): “If a permit is expired for time, a new permit shall be obtained for one-half the permit fee or based on the value of the remainder of the work to finish the original permit, whichever is less.”
• AN APPROVED APPLICATION CAN STILL GO VOID BEFORE YOU HOLD A PERMIT. WWMC 15.04.005(G): “When an applicant has been notified that their permit application has been approved and is ready to purchase, the applicant shall obtain the permit within thirty days of notification or said permit application shall become void.”
• WWMC 15.04.005(F): “City of Walla Walla development permits shall be issued only to the property owner or the property owner's authorized agent.”
• A LICENSED WASHINGTON DESIGN PROFESSIONAL IS REQUIRED ABOVE A SIZE THRESHOLD. WWMC 15.04.005(D) requires a Washington design professional licensed under Chapter 18.08 RCW, 308-12 WAC or 18.43 RCW to prepare or oversee plans for buildings at or above the threshold the subsection sets; the full threshold text runs past the extract read for this entry and the exact cut-off is NOT ASSERTED here.
• THE ROLLING CLAUSE IS NOT IN THE ADOPTING SENTENCE — IT IS ITS OWN SECTION, AND A PHRASE-BASED AUDIT WOULD MISS IT. WWMC 15.04.030: “The amendment, addition or repeal of any section of any of the adopted codes, regulations, or statutes shall be deemed to amend this chapter and the codes, regulations, and statutes contained in this chapter are adopted by reference in conformity with the amendment, addition or repeal, and it shall not be necessary for the legislative authority of this city to take any action with respect to such addition, amendment or repeal as provided by RCW 35A.12.140.” MEASURED, NOT ASSUMED: a regular expression for the usual rolling formulations (“as now or hereafter amended”, “as the same exists”, “may hereafter be amended”, “as now in effect”) returns NOTHING across all 75,567 characters of Chapter 15.04. The years are named and the state layer still rolls; the two facts just live in different sections.

Required documents

• RequiredBuilding permit applicationFiled under WWMC Chapter 15.04. Note two things that decide timing rather than approval: permits issue only to the property owner or their authorized agent (15.04.005(F)), and plan review fees at 65 percent of the permit fee plus any state surcharge are “due and payable upon filing of permit application” (15.04.050(A)(5)) — not at issuance.
• RequiredProject valuation for fee calculationFees are computed from valuation under WWMC 15.04.050(A)(1), and the valuation basis is the ICC building valuation data table adopted at 15.04.005(H), which updates without the city amending its code. For roofing the valuation is defined by area instead: $200.00 per square where the existing roof is torn off, $100.00 per square for roofing over. Those per-square figures are VALUATION INPUTS, not the fee.
• OptionalPlans prepared or overseen by a Washington design professionalRequired by WWMC 15.04.005(D) above the size threshold that subsection sets, for a professional licensed under Chapter 18.08 RCW, 308-12 WAC or 18.43 RCW. The exact threshold runs past the extract read for this entry and is not asserted.

Fee schedule

Requirements

• WWMC 15.04.011 adopts “The 2021 Edition of the International Mechanical Code, published by the International Code Council, Inc., except that the standards for liquified petroleum gas installations shall be the 2021 International Fuel Gas Code, and the 2020 Edition of NFPA 58 (Liquefied Petroleum Gas Code) and the 2020 Edition of ANSI Z223.1/NFPA 54 (National Fuel Gas Code), and as amended by Chapter 51-52 of the Washington Administrative Code”.
• >>> FOUR EDITION YEARS SIT IN THAT ONE SENTENCE AND THEY SORT BY PUBLISHER, NOT BY DRAFTING ACCIDENT: the two ICC documents (IMC, IFGC) are both 2021 and the two NFPA documents (NFPA 58, NFPA 54) are both 2020. That is a mechanism a reader can check rather than a typo to explain away — the two houses run separate revision cycles. IT IS RECORDED AS A HYPOTHESIS AND NOT AS A FINDING, because University Place names NFPA 58 at 2021 and so contradicts it directly.
• WWMC 15.04.011(A) replaces IMC Section 109.2 so that “The fees for mechanical work shall be as indicated in subsection 15.04.050(B) of the Walla Walla Municipal Code”, and (B) removes Sections 109.4 and 109.6.
• PUBLISHED AS PRINTED, AND THE TWO HALVES DISAGREE: WWMC 15.04.011(C) says “Amend Section 113 to read as follows” and the text it inserts is headed “SECTION 109 MEANS OF APPEAL” with a body numbered 113.1. The instruction names 113 and the heading names 109. Quoted as published; not corrected here.
• THE CODE PUBLISHES ITS OWN TIE-BREAKER, AND THE ORDER IS EXPLICIT. WWMC 15.04.005(A): the general provisions beat any referenced code, and “In the event of conflict between the following identified codes, the code first listed shall have priority over those latter listed: the International Building Code, the International Residential Code, the International Mechanical Code, the International Fire Code, and, then, the Uniform Plumbing Code.” Wenatchee publishes the same idea in different words; the ORDER is what matters and it is specific to each city.
• A THREE-TRIGGER EXPIRY, AND ANY ONE OF THEM VOIDS THE PERMIT. WWMC 15.04.005(G): “All permits shall expire by limitation and be declared void if: 1. Work is not started within one hundred eighty days of obtaining a permit, 2. Work is abandoned for one hundred eighty days or more after beginning work, or 3. After two years from the date of permit issuance, regardless of whether the work is finished.” The third is absolute — steady visible progress does not save a permit at two years. This matches the structure Puyallup and Wenatchee publish, and differs from SeaTac, which times a permit by what it builds rather than by whether work is happening.
• AN APPROVED APPLICATION CAN STILL GO VOID BEFORE YOU HOLD A PERMIT. WWMC 15.04.005(G): “When an applicant has been notified that their permit application has been approved and is ready to purchase, the applicant shall obtain the permit within thirty days of notification or said permit application shall become void.”
• THE ROLLING CLAUSE IS NOT IN THE ADOPTING SENTENCE — IT IS ITS OWN SECTION, AND A PHRASE-BASED AUDIT WOULD MISS IT. WWMC 15.04.030: “The amendment, addition or repeal of any section of any of the adopted codes, regulations, or statutes shall be deemed to amend this chapter and the codes, regulations, and statutes contained in this chapter are adopted by reference in conformity with the amendment, addition or repeal, and it shall not be necessary for the legislative authority of this city to take any action with respect to such addition, amendment or repeal as provided by RCW 35A.12.140.” MEASURED, NOT ASSUMED: a regular expression for the usual rolling formulations (“as now or hereafter amended”, “as the same exists”, “may hereafter be amended”, “as now in effect”) returns NOTHING across all 75,567 characters of Chapter 15.04. The years are named and the state layer still rolls; the two facts just live in different sections.

Required documents

• RequiredBuilding permit applicationFiled under WWMC Chapter 15.04. Note two things that decide timing rather than approval: permits issue only to the property owner or their authorized agent (15.04.005(F)), and plan review fees at 65 percent of the permit fee plus any state surcharge are “due and payable upon filing of permit application” (15.04.050(A)(5)) — not at issuance.
• RequiredProject valuation for fee calculationFees are computed from valuation under WWMC 15.04.050(A)(1), and the valuation basis is the ICC building valuation data table adopted at 15.04.005(H), which updates without the city amending its code. For roofing the valuation is defined by area instead: $200.00 per square where the existing roof is torn off, $100.00 per square for roofing over. Those per-square figures are VALUATION INPUTS, not the fee.

Fee schedule

Requirements

• WWMC 15.04.012 adopts “The 2021 Edition of the Uniform Plumbing Code, published by the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials”, including named appendices beginning with Appendix A (Recommended Rules for Sizing the Water Supply System) and Appendix B (Explanatory Notes on Combination Waste and Vent Systems).
• The Uniform Plumbing Code is LAST in the city's own conflict-priority order at WWMC 15.04.005(A) — behind the IBC, IRC, IMC and IFC — so where it conflicts with any of those, it yields.
• A THREE-TRIGGER EXPIRY, AND ANY ONE OF THEM VOIDS THE PERMIT. WWMC 15.04.005(G): “All permits shall expire by limitation and be declared void if: 1. Work is not started within one hundred eighty days of obtaining a permit, 2. Work is abandoned for one hundred eighty days or more after beginning work, or 3. After two years from the date of permit issuance, regardless of whether the work is finished.” The third is absolute — steady visible progress does not save a permit at two years. This matches the structure Puyallup and Wenatchee publish, and differs from SeaTac, which times a permit by what it builds rather than by whether work is happening.
• AN APPROVED APPLICATION CAN STILL GO VOID BEFORE YOU HOLD A PERMIT. WWMC 15.04.005(G): “When an applicant has been notified that their permit application has been approved and is ready to purchase, the applicant shall obtain the permit within thirty days of notification or said permit application shall become void.”
• THE ROLLING CLAUSE IS NOT IN THE ADOPTING SENTENCE — IT IS ITS OWN SECTION, AND A PHRASE-BASED AUDIT WOULD MISS IT. WWMC 15.04.030: “The amendment, addition or repeal of any section of any of the adopted codes, regulations, or statutes shall be deemed to amend this chapter and the codes, regulations, and statutes contained in this chapter are adopted by reference in conformity with the amendment, addition or repeal, and it shall not be necessary for the legislative authority of this city to take any action with respect to such addition, amendment or repeal as provided by RCW 35A.12.140.” MEASURED, NOT ASSUMED: a regular expression for the usual rolling formulations (“as now or hereafter amended”, “as the same exists”, “may hereafter be amended”, “as now in effect”) returns NOTHING across all 75,567 characters of Chapter 15.04. The years are named and the state layer still rolls; the two facts just live in different sections.

Required documents

• RequiredBuilding permit applicationFiled under WWMC Chapter 15.04. Note two things that decide timing rather than approval: permits issue only to the property owner or their authorized agent (15.04.005(F)), and plan review fees at 65 percent of the permit fee plus any state surcharge are “due and payable upon filing of permit application” (15.04.050(A)(5)) — not at issuance.
• RequiredProject valuation for fee calculationFees are computed from valuation under WWMC 15.04.050(A)(1), and the valuation basis is the ICC building valuation data table adopted at 15.04.005(H), which updates without the city amending its code. For roofing the valuation is defined by area instead: $200.00 per square where the existing roof is torn off, $100.00 per square for roofing over. Those per-square figures are VALUATION INPUTS, not the fee.

Fee schedule

Requirements

• ROOFING GETS ITS OWN VALUATION RULE RATHER THAN ITS OWN FEE. WWMC 15.04.050(A)(2) applies to “Garage, single-family, duplex, and all other” roofing-only permits: “Fees shall be calculated in accordance with the schedule provided in subsection (A)(1) of this section; however, valuation shall be calculated as follows: Valuation is based upon number of squares (100 sq. ft.). If removal (tear-off) of existing roof is involved, the valuation amount is $200.00 per square or portion thereof. For roofing over an existing roof, the valuation amount is $100.00 per square or portion thereof.”
• THE $200.00 AND $100.00 FIGURES ARE VALUATION INPUTS, NOT FEES. They are what the city deems the job to be worth per 100 square feet; the fee is then read off the tiered table in (A)(1). Treating either as the permit price would misstate the charge in both directions depending on roof size.
• TEARING OFF DOUBLES THE DEEMED VALUATION against roofing over, so the same roof area can fall in different fee tiers depending on method. “Or portion thereof” means partial squares round up.
• A THREE-TRIGGER EXPIRY, AND ANY ONE OF THEM VOIDS THE PERMIT. WWMC 15.04.005(G): “All permits shall expire by limitation and be declared void if: 1. Work is not started within one hundred eighty days of obtaining a permit, 2. Work is abandoned for one hundred eighty days or more after beginning work, or 3. After two years from the date of permit issuance, regardless of whether the work is finished.” The third is absolute — steady visible progress does not save a permit at two years. This matches the structure Puyallup and Wenatchee publish, and differs from SeaTac, which times a permit by what it builds rather than by whether work is happening.
• AN APPROVED APPLICATION CAN STILL GO VOID BEFORE YOU HOLD A PERMIT. WWMC 15.04.005(G): “When an applicant has been notified that their permit application has been approved and is ready to purchase, the applicant shall obtain the permit within thirty days of notification or said permit application shall become void.”
• THE ROLLING CLAUSE IS NOT IN THE ADOPTING SENTENCE — IT IS ITS OWN SECTION, AND A PHRASE-BASED AUDIT WOULD MISS IT. WWMC 15.04.030: “The amendment, addition or repeal of any section of any of the adopted codes, regulations, or statutes shall be deemed to amend this chapter and the codes, regulations, and statutes contained in this chapter are adopted by reference in conformity with the amendment, addition or repeal, and it shall not be necessary for the legislative authority of this city to take any action with respect to such addition, amendment or repeal as provided by RCW 35A.12.140.” MEASURED, NOT ASSUMED: a regular expression for the usual rolling formulations (“as now or hereafter amended”, “as the same exists”, “may hereafter be amended”, “as now in effect”) returns NOTHING across all 75,567 characters of Chapter 15.04. The years are named and the state layer still rolls; the two facts just live in different sections.

Required documents

• RequiredBuilding permit applicationFiled under WWMC Chapter 15.04. Note two things that decide timing rather than approval: permits issue only to the property owner or their authorized agent (15.04.005(F)), and plan review fees at 65 percent of the permit fee plus any state surcharge are “due and payable upon filing of permit application” (15.04.050(A)(5)) — not at issuance.
• RequiredProject valuation for fee calculationFees are computed from valuation under WWMC 15.04.050(A)(1), and the valuation basis is the ICC building valuation data table adopted at 15.04.005(H), which updates without the city amending its code. For roofing the valuation is defined by area instead: $200.00 per square where the existing roof is torn off, $100.00 per square for roofing over. Those per-square figures are VALUATION INPUTS, not the fee.

Fee schedule

Requirements

• WWMC 15.04.050(A)(4), quoted as published and entirely without dollar signs: “A fifty-seven-dollar permit fee shall apply for demolition of each residential or commercial building. A twenty-six-dollar permit fee shall apply for demolition of each outbuilding.”
• THE FEE IS PER BUILDING, NOT PER SITE — “each residential or commercial building” and “each outbuilding”. A site with a house and two sheds is three fees.
• Walla Walla also adopts the Uniform Code for the Abatement of Dangerous Buildings at WWMC 15.04.015. That section was not opened for this entry and nothing here rests on it, but it is the obvious place to look if the demolition is ordered rather than elective.
• A separate chapter, WWMC 15.36 HOUSE AND STRUCTURE RELOCATION, governs moving a structure rather than demolishing it. It was not opened for this entry.
• A THREE-TRIGGER EXPIRY, AND ANY ONE OF THEM VOIDS THE PERMIT. WWMC 15.04.005(G): “All permits shall expire by limitation and be declared void if: 1. Work is not started within one hundred eighty days of obtaining a permit, 2. Work is abandoned for one hundred eighty days or more after beginning work, or 3. After two years from the date of permit issuance, regardless of whether the work is finished.” The third is absolute — steady visible progress does not save a permit at two years. This matches the structure Puyallup and Wenatchee publish, and differs from SeaTac, which times a permit by what it builds rather than by whether work is happening.
• AN APPROVED APPLICATION CAN STILL GO VOID BEFORE YOU HOLD A PERMIT. WWMC 15.04.005(G): “When an applicant has been notified that their permit application has been approved and is ready to purchase, the applicant shall obtain the permit within thirty days of notification or said permit application shall become void.”

Required documents

• RequiredBuilding permit applicationFiled under WWMC Chapter 15.04. Note two things that decide timing rather than approval: permits issue only to the property owner or their authorized agent (15.04.005(F)), and plan review fees at 65 percent of the permit fee plus any state surcharge are “due and payable upon filing of permit application” (15.04.050(A)(5)) — not at issuance.

Fee schedule