In the City of West Linn, the Building Division issues structural, mechanical, plumbing and manufactured dwelling permits, and Clackamas County issues all electrical permits. Licensed contractors start their permits in Oregon ePermitting; homeowners email the City’s forms with plans and a site plan. Under the fee schedule adopted on June 9, 2026, the building permit minimum is $185, residential plan review is 65% of the permit fee, and a development services fee of 0.25% of the project value applies to every job that needs plan review.
The division works from the first floor of West Linn City Hall, 22500 Salamo Road, and is led by Building Official Alisha Bloomfield. Its counter is open only Monday to Thursday, 9 a.m. to noon, and is closed every Friday; outside those hours staff answer at 503-742-6055 or contactbuilding@westlinnoregon.gov. The city, all of it in Clackamas County, had 26,567 residents in the Census estimate for 2025.
Land outside West Linn’s city limits goes to Clackamas County for building permits.
What requires a building permit in West Linn?
West Linn publishes its own answers for the projects homeowners ask about most; where its older wording differs, the lists below follow chapter 1 of the 2026 Oregon Residential Specialty Code, mandatory since October 1, 2026. The City stresses that an exempt project still has to meet the Community Development Code and may still need a mechanical, plumbing or electrical permit.
Building permit required
- Swimming pools: the City’s page says any pool needs a building permit. Under the 2026 state residential code a pool barrier always needs a permit, while above-ground and in-ground pools at a house need one only where a city ordinance requires it, so ask the Building Division (503-742-6055)
- A deck more than 30 inches above grade at any point within 3 feet of it, new or rebuilt
- An accessory structure over 200 sq ft or more than 15 feet high
- A deck, patio or porch cover over 200 sq ft or closer than 3 feet to a lot line
- New houses, additions, remodels and commercial and industrial work under the state codes
- Manufactured dwelling placements
No building permit (2026 ORSC)
- A one-story detached nonhabitable accessory structure of 200 sq ft or less and no more than 15 feet high to the average roof height
- A deck, patio or porch cover of 200 sq ft or less, at least 3 feet from lot lines
- A deck no more than 30 inches above grade within 3 feet of its edge
What the city decides and what the state holds
The construction code and its exemptions are the state’s. West Linn sets its fee schedule, the paperless submittal rules, the hub and tack survey, the erosion control and stormwater conditions, the subcontractor list, its flood and water resource overlays and the planning review of every site plan; Clackamas County handles the electrical side.
Oregon’s building code and its exemptions are the same in West Linn as everywhere in the state, and an exemption from the building permit is not an exemption from zoning, land use or a trade permit. Site snow, wind and seismic values come from the state’s Oregon Design Criteria Hub. How Oregon’s statewide code works
Short on time to read all of this?
Get a free quote →West Linn building department: who handles permitting
The Building Division reviews plans and inspects structural, mechanical and plumbing work. Planning reviews the planning site plan with each building permit and runs land use, flood and water resource permits. Engineering in Public Works reviews the engineering site plan, stormwater and erosion control. Parks and Recreation reviews the tree information on the site plan. Clackamas County Building Codes issues electrical permits and does every electrical inspection, including the electrical final.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Building Division | West Linn City Hall, 22500 Salamo Road, first floor, West Linn, OR 97068 |
| Phone and email | 503-742-6055; contactbuilding@westlinnoregon.gov (homeowner applications and questions) |
| Counter hours | Monday to Thursday, 9 a.m. to noon; closed every Friday and on holidays |
| Online portal | Oregon ePermitting (Accela) for contractor applications and all inspection requests |
| Electrical permits | Clackamas County, 503-742-4240 |
| Planning | 503-656-3535; contactplanning@westlinnoregon.gov; counter Monday to Thursday, 9 a.m. to noon |
Permit types
Residential permits
The City publishes residential building, plumbing and mechanical application forms (revised July 2026), a property owner statement regarding construction responsibilities, a subcontractor list, a special inspections agreement and prescriptive solar checklists. The ePermitting system asks for a professional license to start a new application, so a homeowner emails the form, construction plans and site plan to contactbuilding@westlinnoregon.gov and staff reply by email; a homeowner doing the work also files the property owner statement for each project. A prescriptive solar permit needs the solar checklist, or a plan review fee may be added.
The December 2025 checklist asks for three plan sets in one submittal: building plans (foundation, floor, elevation and framing plans, truss package, energy details, bracing), an engineering site plan with utilities, impervious area, driveway and grading within 50 feet, and a planning site plan showing lot coverage, height, floor area ratio, setbacks, slopes and overlays. A soils report is needed when the design assumes more than 1,500 psf bearing, and lots steeper than one vertical in three horizontal need the code clearances or a geotechnical analysis.
Building or remodeling a home here? Alliance handles residential permit applications, so the crew isn't waiting on the counter.
Commercial permits
Commercial and industrial structural work is filed in ePermitting by the licensed professional. Commercial structural plan review is 75% of the permit fee and fire and life safety review adds 45% where it applies; commercial mechanical and plumbing plan review are each 40% of their permit fee. Phased plan review costs a $388 minimum plus 10% of the total building permit fee, up to $1,500 a phase, and deferred submittals are reviewed at 65% of the fee for the deferred portion, $298 minimum.
Not sure this scope needs a permit?
Get a free quote →For tenant improvements and new commercial builds, Alliance handles commercial building permits through issuance. More on this: commercial building permits explained.
What comes before the building permit
Planning’s review is built into every application, and the Planning Department charges its own building permit review fee of $160 for residential and $325 for commercial work. A hub and tack survey by a licensed surveyor, done once the foundation forms are up and before the footing inspection, is required for every new home and commercial building, and for additions within 10 feet of a front or rear setback or 5 feet of a side setback, accessory structures or ADUs within 10 feet of a setback, and anything within 10 feet of a Water Resource Area setback or an easement. Projects that disturb more than 1,000 sq ft need an erosion prevention and sediment control permit, and 1,000 sq ft or more of new or replaced hard surface needs a permanent stormwater facility. If an existing house still has a septic tank or well, the City wants proof of proper decommissioning from Clackamas County, DEQ or the Oregon Water Resources Department.
West Linn permit costs and fees
Building fees are in section 10 of the City’s Master Fees and Charges for fiscal year 2027, adopted on June 9, 2026 and effective July 1, 2026; the version posted on October 6, 2026 changed only the pass-through sewer SDC rates. The City’s notice to the state put the building increase at about 5%, following the previous increase on July 1, 2025. Valuation for new structures uses the ICC valuation table in force on April 1 each year. The booklet lists its fees before the state surcharge: it marks the residential demolition fee as not subject to the state surcharge and investigation fees as surchargeable.
| Item | Fee or rule |
|---|---|
| Building permit, valuation up to $2,000 (structural minimum) | $185 |
| $2,001 to $25,000 | $185 plus $25 per added $1,000 or part |
| $25,001 to $50,000 | $760 plus $20 per added $1,000 or part |
| $50,001 to $100,000 | $1,260 plus $13 per added $1,000 or part |
| Over $100,000 | $1,910 plus $9 per added $1,000 or part |
| Plan review | 65% residential structural, 75% commercial structural; two rounds included, then $185 an hour |
| Development services administration fee | 0.25% of project valuation, on every project that needs plan review |
| New house plumbing permit | $727 for one bath and one kitchen, $964 for two baths, $1,175 for three |
| Mechanical or plumbing minimum | $185 each; heat pump $46 |
| Prescriptive solar permit | $275, plan review included |
| Residential demolition (complete) | $185, not subject to the state surcharge |
| Reinspection | $185 each |
| Temporary certificate of occupancy | $557 for 30 days |
| Work without a permit | Investigation fee of $185 an hour, two-hour minimum |
Rather talk it over?
Call 1-855-478-4290 →Worked example. A home remodel valued at $80,000 is in the $50,001 to $100,000 band: $1,260 plus 30 × $13 ($390) makes a building permit fee of $1,650. Residential plan review at 65% is $1,072.50 and the development services fee at 0.25% of $80,000 is $200, for $2,922.50 before the state surcharge, Planning’s $160 building permit review fee and any separate plumbing, mechanical or Clackamas County electrical permits.
A new house also pays system development charges when the permit is issued. The fee booklet’s single-family summary puts the City’s own street, bike and pedestrian, water, surface water, park and sewer SDCs at $42,389, before the South Fork Water Board water SDC, the Tri-City Service District sewer SDC and the school and Metro construction excise taxes. Metro’s tax is 0.12% of the construction value, does not apply to projects under $100,000 and stops at $12,000.
Trade permits and who may pull them
West Linn issues plumbing and mechanical permits itself, on the City’s homeowner forms or in ePermitting for licensed contractors. The City’s checklist expects licensed subcontractors to pull their own trade permits online. Electrical work is different: the City does not issue electrical permits at all, and every electrical inspection, rough and final, is done by Clackamas County, so electrical permits are bought from the County at 503-742-4240.
West Linn rules
- A homeowner doing any part of the work files the property owner statement regarding construction responsibilities
- A subcontractor list must be turned in before the final building inspection
- Anyone working in the city needs a West Linn business license, unless the business holds a Metro business license as state law allows
- All contractors and subcontractors need a Construction Contractors Board license, as the application notice says
Where to file
- Structural, plumbing, mechanical, solar: West Linn, through ePermitting or by email
- Electrical: Clackamas County
- Floodplain, water resource and greenway permits: West Linn Planning
- Street, sewer tap or water line work: Public Works permits
Rather not deal with the building department?
Get a free quote →How to apply for a West Linn building permit
Look up the lot on the City’s zoning map and ask Planning about setbacks, height, floor area ratio, Water Resource Areas, Habitat Conservation Areas and the floodplain before drawing plans.
Follow the Building Permit and Site Development Application Checklist: building plans, an engineering site plan with an erosion control plan where needed, and a planning site plan with tree locations marked kept or removed.
Licensed contractors create the permit in Oregon ePermitting; homeowners email the West Linn form, plans and site plan to contactbuilding@westlinnoregon.gov, with the property owner statement if they will do the work. The division is paperless, so every document goes in as a digital copy.
Apply to Clackamas County separately for any electrical work.
Each department emails its results. Resubmit with revisions clouded, a response letter and revision dates, and upload them to every permit tied to the project.
Pay the fees and SDCs at issuance, set up erosion control before excavation, and where required have the hub and tack survey done before the footing inspection.
Review, corrections and what causes delay
The City’s checklist says resubmittals are reviewed as time is available and strongly suggests a complete application at the start; plan review covers two rounds, and more rounds or revisions after approval are billed at $185 an hour. An application expires if the permit is not obtained within 180 days after it was accepted as complete. Site plan changes must be uploaded to every permit tied to the project, and no building inspection is done until erosion control has been installed and approved.
Inspections in West Linn
Inspections can be requested only in the Oregon ePermitting portal; emailed requests are not accepted. Inspectors work Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., and City Hall is closed every other Friday. A request in the portal before 7 a.m. is handled the same day, but the division no longer takes morning or afternoon preferences; put any special request in the notes, which the inspector reads that morning.
Want this handled start to finish?
Get a free quote →The City’s required inspections list starts with erosion control and tree protection and runs through excavation, floodplain, footing, foundation, post and beam, slabs, plumbing top-out, shear wall, framing and mechanical, insulation, rain drains, sewer and water service and drywall, ending with final engineering, final planning, final plumbing and the final building and mechanical inspection; electrical rough and final inspections are the County’s. Erosion control must be approved before the footing and foundation inspection, and the final erosion control inspection must pass before the final building inspection. Construction noise is allowed from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at weekends.
West Linn permit search and official resources
West Linn permits are kept in Oregon ePermitting, which has a public permit search; once a permit is in the system, anyone with it can use the portal to act on it. For older records and plans, ask the Building Division at 503-742-6055 or contactbuilding@westlinnoregon.gov. Floodplain rules are in chapter 27 of the Community Development Code: the regulated floodplain is FEMA’s special flood hazard area plus the area flooded in February 1996, no work of any kind may start there before a floodplain development permit is issued, and improvements worth 50% or more of a structure’s market value make it a substantial improvement. The Planning fee for a floodplain management area permit is $3,050. West Linn is a participating community in the National Flood Insurance Program, and FEMA’s status book gives June 17, 2008 as the date of its current map.
- West Linn Building Division
- How to apply and building permit forms
- Building Division hours, intake and inspection times
- How to request an inspection
- Permit exemptions and FAQs: decks, patio covers, pools, sheds
- 2026 Oregon Residential Specialty Code, chapter 1 (permits and exemptions)
- Building permit checklists and required inspections
- Hub and tack survey requirements
- Building permit holder requirements
- Floodplain development application and elevation certificate
- Master Fees and Charges, effective July 1, 2026
- West Linn Planning Department
- Oregon ePermitting
- Oregon Construction Contractors Board
Inspections are where schedules slip.
Get a free quote →West Linn building permit FAQ
Who issues building permits in West Linn?
The City’s Building Division at City Hall, 22500 Salamo Road, for structural, mechanical, plumbing and manufactured dwelling permits. Electrical permits come from Clackamas County.
How much is a building permit in West Linn?
From July 1, 2026 the minimum is $185 and an $80,000 remodel pays $1,650, plus 65% plan review and a development services fee of 0.25% of the value, before the state surcharge.
Can a homeowner apply without an ePermitting license?
Yes. Email the City’s building, plumbing or mechanical form with the plans and site plan to contactbuilding@westlinnoregon.gov, plus the property owner statement if you will do the work yourself.
Do I need a permit for a shed?
Not if it is detached, one story, nonhabitable, 200 sq ft or less and no more than 15 feet high. Anything larger needs a permit, and zoning setbacks still apply.
Is the counter open on Fridays?
No. The Building Division counter is open Monday to Thursday, 9 a.m. to noon, and closed every Friday; inspections run Monday to Friday, except the Fridays City Hall is closed.
How do I schedule an inspection?
Only through Oregon ePermitting. Requests placed before 7 a.m. are handled that day, and electrical inspections are booked with Clackamas County.
Simplify West Linn permitting with Alliance Permitting
Alliance Permitting is a permit documentation and submission company in Oregon. We prepare your paperwork, file it correctly and coordinate with the permitting authority through issuance. We are not a contractor and we do not perform licensed plan review or inspections; that work stays with your licensed team and the jurisdiction.
Ready to break ground in West Linn sooner?
Let Alliance prepare, file, and track your West Linn permits while your crew stays on the job.
More Oregon permitting guides
Clackamas County
Read guide →Happy Valley
Read guide →Lake Oswego
Read guide →Wilsonville Building Permit Guide
Read guide →Woodburn Building Permit Guide
Read guide →Yamhill County Building Permit Guide
Read guide →This guide is provided by Alliance Permitting for general information about West Linn permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.