Sunnyside, Washington Building Permit Guide

The City of Sunnyside’s Building Division, part of the Office of Community Development, issues building, plumbing, mechanical, fire code and sign permits and performs the inspections, as a single counter for construction, alteration, demolition and occupancy inside the city. All permit submittals go through the City’s OpenGov (ViewPoint Cloud) portal. Electrical permits come from the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries (L&I), as the City’s own code requires.

The Office of Community Development is in City Hall at 818 E. Edison Avenue, open Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. (509-837-7999); the Building Division and its inspection line answer on 509-837-4229. Sunnyside had 16,430 residents in the Census estimate for 2025, and Yakima County permits the land outside the city.

What requires a building permit in Sunnyside?

A permit is needed before anyone builds, enlarges, alters, repairs, moves or demolishes a building, changes its occupancy, or installs or changes electrical, gas, mechanical or plumbing systems. Sunnyside Municipal Code (SMC) 15.02.010 adopts the state codes as the State Building Code Council publishes them, so the City applies the 2021 editions, in force statewide since March 15, 2024, and the state’s exempt list.

The City’s exemption page is stricter than the adopted state list in places. It says there is no exemption for decks, while the state residential code exempts a deck of no more than 200 sq ft that is no more than 30 inches above grade at any point, is not attached to the house and does not serve the required exit door. It adds setback and slope conditions to the retaining wall exemption, and it keeps fences to 6 feet, which matches SMC 15.62.010. Since the City code adopts the state codes without changing their exempt lists, ask the Building Division before relying on any difference.

What the city decides and what the state holds

Sunnyside’s own rules sit beside the state codes. The Hearing Examiner is the board of appeals for the building, residential, mechanical, plumbing and fire codes. SMC 15.62.010 limits fences to 4 feet in a front or street-side setback, requires a building permit over 6 feet and a use permit over 8 feet within 20 feet of a property line, and bans barbed wire in residential districts. SMC chapter 15.64 sets minimum standards for every single-family home.

Washington has a mandatory statewide building code under chapter 19.27 RCW that every city and county enforces and may make stricter; electrical permits come from the Department of Labor and Industries unless the city runs its own program or Tacoma Power serves the site. Building codes in Washington

Sunnyside building department: who handles permitting

The Office of Community Development combines the Building, Code Enforcement and Planning divisions, so zoning, subdivision and construction questions share one office. Public Works handles street excavation, curb, gutter and sidewalk permits and water and sewer connections, and the Fire Department has its own section of the online portal.

Permit types

Residential permits

Residential applications use the Building Department category in OpenGov, with the City’s residential plan review checklist and design criteria. Every new single-family home must meet SMC 15.64.020: a garage of at least 400 sq ft (not required in an approved manufactured home park), a roof pitched at least 4:12 with eaves of at least 12 inches, a permanent foundation, a one-inch water meter on City water, and entry porches built as part of the house. The chapter also sets minimum rebar in footings, foundation walls and thickened slabs, and limits manufactured homes outside approved parks to new, never-occupied units.

Manufactured homes follow the City’s installation requirements, with permits of $300 for a single-wide, $400 for a double-wide and $500 for a triple-wide.

Building or remodeling a home here? Alliance handles home building permits, so the crew isn't waiting on the counter.

Commercial permits

Commercial, industrial and multifamily permits are also online-only. The City’s requirements list a cover sheet with construction type, use, area and stories; a site plan to engineer’s scale with property lines, setbacks, parking, utilities, slopes, hydrants and street improvements; floor plans, elevations and full structural details; a stormwater disposal plan; the nonresidential energy code checklist; and a geotechnical report. Buildings over 4,000 sq ft must be designed by a Washington-licensed architect, and some projects need a pre-approved site plan before the building application. The City posts the commercial requirements in Spanish as well as English.

For tenant improvements and new commercial builds, Alliance handles commercial permit filing through issuance. More on this: commercial building permits explained.

What comes before the building permit

A site plan review permit ($130) comes first for projects that need one. Critical areas are governed by SMC chapter 18.06, which adopts the Yakima County critical areas ordinance by reference (Ordinance 2016-01), and environmental review by chapter 18.04, with a SEPA threshold determination at $520; conditional use permits and variances ($1,144 each) and other project permits follow the procedures in Title 19. Separate approvals may include a fire safety permit, street excavation and curb, gutter and sidewalk permits, a water meter and water equity fee, a sewer connection and sewer equity fee, a moving permit, and erosion and dust control under the Yakima Regional Clean Air Agency. Septic systems need Yakima Health District approval before they are designed or built.

Title 19 sorts project permits into Types I to V by how much review and notice they need. A pre-application conference is required before the City accepts any Type II to V application, and before a Type I application for a structure of 5,000 sq ft or more; the conference is held within 15 days of the request and explains what the code requires. Type III, IV and V applications get a notice of application, and Type III and V applications go to a public hearing with mailed, posted and published notice, so they take longer than permits decided by staff. The code also lets an applicant ask the Director for a written interpretation of how a regulation applies to a property before a decision is made.

Sunnyside permit costs and fees

SMC chapter 2.02 has the Council adopt a schedule of fees and charges by resolution, and the City Manager may adjust a fee each year by up to 6% without a new Council vote. The current schedule, Resolution 2025-90, was approved on October 27, 2025 for 2026; for building work it says fees are based on the current International Code Council building valuation data, with plan review at 65% of the permit fee. The Building Division’s fee sheet sets out the valuation table:

Worked example. A detached garage and shop valued at $120,000 falls in the $100,001 to $500,000 band: $993.75 plus 20 × $5.60 gives a permit fee of $1,105.75, and plan review at 65% adds $718.74, for $1,824.49 before plumbing, mechanical and L&I electrical permits. Neither the fee sheet nor the resolution’s building lines show the state building code fee that RCW 19.27.085 adds to building permits; it is charged on top.

The fee sheet also covers grading. Its grading permit table charges nothing for 50 cubic yards or less, $23.50 for 51 to 100, $37 for 101 to 1,000 and $49.25 for 1,001 to 10,000 cubic yards, rising by $24.50 for each further 10,000. The grading plan review table starts at $30 for 50 cubic yards or less and $37 for 51 to 100, then adds $17.50 for each 100 cubic yards up to 1,000. Commercial coaches are priced like manufactured homes, at $300, $400 or $500 for single, double or triple units, and moving a structure is billed at actual cost.

Trade permits and who may pull them

Plumbing permits are priced per permit and per fixture, and mechanical permits per permit and per appliance, under Resolution 2025-90. SMC 15.08.030 requires a permit from L&I’s electrical inspection section for all electrical wiring and equipment in the city before work starts, and each installation must pass L&I inspection before the utility connects service; Sunnyside is not on L&I’s list of cities with their own electrical program.

How to apply for a Sunnyside building permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

The City moved inspections to a morning and afternoon system partly to free staff time for plan review and permitting. The plan review fee is paid with the first submittal, and some projects need a pre-approved site plan before the building application goes in. Extra review after changes to approved plans is billed at $81.43 an hour.

Inspections in Sunnyside

Inspections run on an AM/PM system with 24 hours’ notice: call the inspection line at 509-837-4229 and you are offered a morning slot (8:30 to 11:30 a.m.) or an afternoon slot (1:30 to 4:30 p.m.) on the next day, with no exact time. The City’s own example: a contractor who calls on Monday is offered a Tuesday morning or afternoon slot. The only same-day inspections are for roof tear-offs and open trenches. Re-inspections are $81.43 an hour, and inspections outside business hours carry a two-hour minimum at the same rate.

Electrical inspections come from L&I, and service is not connected until L&I approves the installation. A building permit renewal is $150.

Sunnyside permit search and official resources

Applications and their records are kept in the OpenGov portal, and the Office of Community Development (509-837-7999) answers questions on past permits. Sunnyside is a participating community in the National Flood Insurance Program; FEMA’s status book marks the city as having no special flood hazard area on its current map.

• Sunnyside Building Division
• Forms and permits: online portal links and requirements
• OpenGov portal: Building Department permits
• Inspections: AM/PM scheduling
• When a permit is required
• Building Department fee schedule (PDF)
• Resolution 2025-90, 2026 schedule of fees and charges (PDF)
• Commercial building permit requirements (PDF)
• Sunnyside Municipal Code
• Office of Community Development
• Yakima Health District: new septic systems

Sunnyside building permit FAQ

Who issues building permits in Sunnyside?

The City’s Building Division in the Office of Community Development at City Hall, 818 E. Edison Avenue (509-837-4229). Electrical permits come from L&I.

Can I apply in person?

The City says all permit application submittals are online, through its OpenGov portal; the Building Division answers questions on 509-837-4229.

How much is a building permit?

A $120,000 garage and shop pays $1,105.75 plus $718.74 plan review under the City’s fee sheet; a residential re-roof is $125.

Do I need a permit for a deck?

The City’s permit page says there is no exemption for decks. The state residential code the City adopts does exempt a small detached deck that is not over 30 inches above grade and does not serve the exit door, so ask the Building Division before building one without a permit.

How tall can my fence be without a permit?

Up to 6 feet, and no more than 4 feet in a front or street-side setback; taller fences need a building permit.

How do inspections work?

Call 509-837-4229 a day ahead and choose a morning or afternoon slot; exact times are not given.

Who approves a septic system?

The Yakima Health District, at 1210 Ahtanum Ridge Drive in Union Gap (509-575-4040); its approval is needed before a new system is designed or built.

What must a new house include?

A garage of at least 400 sq ft, a 4:12 roof with 12-inch eaves, a permanent foundation and a one-inch water meter, under SMC 15.64.020.

Simplify Sunnyside permitting with Alliance Permitting

Alliance Permitting is a permit documentation and submission company in Washington. 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.

This guide is provided by Alliance Permitting for general information about Sunnyside permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.