Residential building permit in Pullman, Washington

When you need this permit

• PCC 2.15.010(2) adopts “the most current edition of the International Residential Code (referred to in this Chapter as the IRC) as adopted by the State of Washington and its additions, deletions, and exceptions noted in WAC 51-51 as now existing and in accordance with any amendments that may hereafter be made thereto.” NO EDITION YEAR IS PRINTED.
• SHED EXEMPTIONS DEPEND ON WHICH CODE YOUR PROJECT FALLS UNDER, AND THE TWO NUMBERS DIFFER BY 80 SQUARE FEET. PCC 2.15.035 amends IBC 105.2 and IRC R105.2 so no building permit is required for “One-story detached accessory buildings used as tool and storage sheds, playhouses, and similar uses, provided the floor area does not exceed 120 square feet (11.15 square meters)(IBC) or 200 square feet (18.58 square meters)(IRC).”
• Other exemptions in the same amendment: fences not over 7 feet high; oil derricks; and retaining walls not over 4 feet measured from the bottom of the footing to the top of the wall, “unless supporting a surcharge or impounding Class I, II, or III-A liquids”. The list continues past the extract read for this entry and is not reproduced in full.
• The amendment opens by preserving the usual rule that an exemption is not a licence: “Exemptions from permit requirements of this code shall not be deemed to grant authorization for any work to be done in any manner in violation of the provisions of this code or any other laws or ordinances of this jurisdiction.”
• BUDGET ROUGHLY DOUBLE THE PERMIT FEE AT THE COUNTER, AND HALF OF IT IS REFUNDABLE. PCC 2.15.070 amends IBC and IRC Section 105 to add: “To the cost of every permit authorized under Section 105 of the IBC and IRC, except a permit issued for purposes that require no earthmoving or transportation of earth or other debris, shall be added a cash deposit equal to the cost of the building permit as provided for in Section 2.15.020.” THIS IS A DEPOSIT, NOT A FEE — it secures removal of “any earth, fresh concrete, rock rubble or debris which is deposited on any portion of public right-of-way … by the permittee”, to be cleared “at the end of the work day” or as the Public Works Director directs. If the right-of-way is damaged or not restored, the Director may order restoration “as often as may be necessary”. The exemption is narrow: only permits requiring NO earthmoving or earth transport escape it. NOTE THAT IT CARRIES NO DOLLAR FIGURE AT ALL — it is defined as a multiple of a fee that is itself set by resolution.
• “THE CONSTRUCTION CODE” IS A DEFINED TERM AND IT REACHES OUTSIDE TITLE 2. PCC 2.10.010 defines it as consisting of “(1) The Washington State Building Code as now existing and in accordance with any amendments that may hereafter be made thereto except as specifically provided otherwise in this Title; (2) The Building Code (Chapter 2.15); (3) The Plumbing Code (Chapter 2.20); (4) The Mechanical Code (Chapter 2.25); (5) The Fire Code (Chapter 3.16); (6) The Energy Code (Chapter 2.30); (7) The Electrical Code (Chapter 2.35)”. The Fire Code sits in Title 3, not Title 2, so reading Title 2 end to end still leaves one component of the Construction Code unread. Chapter 3.16 was NOT opened for this entry.
• PULLMAN PUBLISHES A CONFLICT ORDER AND IT IS NOT THE SAME ORDER AS ITS NEIGHBOURS'. PCC 2.10.050: “In case of a conflict between the provisions of the various codes regulating construction as listed in Section 2.10.010, the first listed code as listed in Section 2.10.010 of this Chapter shall govern unless specifically provided otherwise in Chapter 19.27 RCW, WAC 51-50 or elsewhere in this Title.” The list at 2.10.010 runs: the Washington State Building Code, then the Building Code (2.15), the Plumbing Code (2.20), the Mechanical Code (2.25), the Fire Code (3.16), the Energy Code (2.30) and the Electrical Code (2.35). >>> THE MECHANISM IS SHARED ACROSS CITIES AND THE ORDERING IS NOT. Walla Walla publishes the same first-listed-governs rule with plumbing LAST, behind the IBC, IRC, IMC and IFC; Pullman puts plumbing SECOND, ahead of mechanical, fire, energy and electrical. Wenatchee publishes the same idea again in different words. A reader who learned the rule in one of these cities would get the opposite answer about plumbing in the other.
• THE DELEGATION IS STATED TWICE, IN TWO PLACES, WHICH IS THE OPPOSITE OF THE TRAP THE PREVIOUS CITY SET. Each chapter's own adopting sentence carries both the delegation and the roll — “the most current edition … as adopted by the State of Washington … as now existing and in accordance with any amendments that may hereafter be made thereto” — AND the definition of the Construction Code at PCC 2.10.010 repeats the roll for the Washington State Building Code as a whole. Walla Walla put its roll in a section by itself with no rolling phrase in any adopting sentence; Pullman says it in both places.
• THE CODE DISCLAIMS A DUTY TO YOU SPECIFICALLY. PCC 2.10.020(2): “None of the provisions of this Title or the ‘Construction Code’ are intended to create a cause of action or provide the basis for a claim against the city, its officials, or employees for the performance or failure to perform a duty or obligation running to a specific individual or specific individuals.” Inspection and approval are not a warranty to the permit holder.
• PCC 2.10.030: the “Building Official” means “the Building Official within the protective inspections division of the city of Pullman as set forth in PCC 1.18.050”, and PCC 2.10.040 separately defines the Fire Chief. PCC 1.18.050 was not opened.
• Appeals run to the Hearing Examiner under PCC 2.10.090 through 2.10.130, with separate sections for appeal procedures, the Examiner's determination, failure to obey a final order and appeal of the Examiner's own action. This guide does not summarise those sections, so no deadline or filing requirement is stated here.