West Richland, Washington Building Permit Guide

The City of West Richland’s Community Development Department issues building, mechanical, plumbing, sign and fire suppression permits and inspects the work through its Building Division, alongside planning, zoning and code enforcement. Fees come from the City’s Master Fee Schedule, posted as effective October 1, 2026, with plan review at 60% of the building permit fee paid when you apply. Electrical permits come from the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries (L&I).

The department is at 3100 Belmont Boulevard, Suite 104, West Richland (509-967-5902); building questions go to permits@westrichland.org and planning questions to planner@westrichland.org. Eric Mendenhall is the Community Development Director. West Richland had 19,257 residents in the Census estimate for 2025; land outside the city is permitted by Benton County.

What requires a building permit in West Richland?

West Richland Municipal Code (WRMC) 15.01.020 writes the City’s own exemption list into both the building and residential codes, and the department’s permit tip sheet sorts common home projects. Fireplaces and inserts, furnaces, air conditioners and heat pumps, tub and shower replacement, water heaters and water softeners, pools and spas, interior remodels, doors and skylights, re-roofing, carports, gas piping, backflow devices, garage conversions and accessory dwelling units all need a permit.

A shed under the exemption still needs paperwork: the tip sheet says a scaled site plan must be submitted to and approved by Community Development before it is built. Sinks and toilets swapped without changing the plumbing lines, and new decking boards with no change to the structure or guardrails, need no permit.

What the city decides and what the state holds

WRMC 15.01.010 adopts every code the state adopts, as amended over time, together with parts of the Wildland Urban Interface Code under RCW 19.27.560. Local additions are substantial: no annual permits, a one-year life for applications, permits that last two years, design professional rules for larger buildings, a certificate of occupancy only after every City department and outside agency signs off, appeals to the Mid-Columbia Board of Appeals shared with Richland, Kennewick, Pasco and Benton and Franklin counties, a ban on cedar shakes and shingles on new construction, and fire code rules on sky lanterns, access roads and second access for larger subdivisions.

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

West Richland building department: who handles permitting

The department’s Building Division handles residential and commercial permits, inspections and code enforcement, and its planning division handles zoning, SEPA, site plan review, variances and the Board of Adjustments. Larger projects go through the Technical Review Committee of planners, Public Works development services staff, the Building Official and the Fire Marshal.

Permit types

Residential permits

Houses use the residential permit application with a submittal checklist and a site plan drawn to an engineer’s scale showing every structure, driveway, well and septic system. The application asks for the lender on any project over $5,000, as RCW 19.27.095 requires, whether the contractor holds a West Richland business license, the floor areas and heating fuel, whether the house is on City sewer or a private septic system, and a dust control plan under WRMC 8.18.020 naming a 24-hour contact. Every subcontractor listed must also hold a City business license. Separate applications exist for mechanical, plumbing, demolition, signs, manufactured homes and miscellaneous building work, and a revision request form covers changes after approval.

Single-family homes and duplexes are generally exempt from the Technical Review Committee pre-application meeting. The department’s handouts cover decks, patio and deck covers, garage conversions, egress windows and window wells, stairs and guards, LPG tanks, residential pools and spas, and demolition with clean air rules.

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

Commercial permits

A pre-application conference with the Technical Review Committee is required for every project that needs a City permit application, apart from most single-family homes and duplexes. Conferences are held on Thursday afternoons and are booked by sending a complete pre-application packet; no meeting is scheduled without one. Plans for commercial buildings, buildings with five or more homes and work over 4,000 sq ft must be prepared or overseen by a Washington-licensed architect or engineer, and the commercial tenant improvement checklist sets out what goes with an interior project. Commercial mechanical and plumbing permits are $100 each to issue.

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

What comes before the building permit

Land use permits come first: floodplain and grading applications, critical areas variances, SEPA checklists, and, in shoreline areas, the City’s Shoreline Master Program (Ordinance 04-21) with shoreline conditional use and variance applications. Parcels with private septic need Benton-Franklin Health District approval before the building permit. Utility hookups are City charges: a water connection for a 3/4-inch or 1-inch meter is $3,510 for the service connection, or $660 where the City only sets a meter in a properly built meter box, with street and sidewalk restoration billed on top (WRMC 13.45.020).

West Richland permit costs and fees

The Master Fee Schedule gathers the fees the Council has set by resolution, though the City notes that some fees are still in the municipal code. The posted copy is headed “Effective October 1, 2026, Resolution No. 56-26”; that resolution, approved on September 15, 2026, amended the concealed pistol license fees, and the building fees below are carried in the same schedule. Transportation impact fees are not in it: they sit in Appendix A of Ordinance 02-10, which the Council amended on October 6, 2026 (Ordinance 25-26). Valuation is the greater of the schedule’s figure and the applicant’s declared value: houses, additions and garages use current ICC building valuation data, basements and patio covers 50% of it, and wood decks 25%.

Worked example. A remodel valued at $45,000 sits in the $25,001 to $50,000 band: $430.30 plus 20 × $11.11 gives a permit fee of $652.50. Plan review at 60% adds $391.50, the 2% technology surcharge on both adds $20.88, and the state fee for an IRC project is $6.50, for $1,071.38 before any mechanical, plumbing or L&I electrical permit. The park impact fee rises each January 1 by the prior August’s consumer price index, and its deferral costs $75.

Grading has its own tables. Moving 49 cubic yards or less needs no plan review fee and a $23.50 permit; 50 to 100 cubic yards pays $23.50 for review and $37 for the permit; and from 101 to 1,000 cubic yards the permit is $37 for the first 100 plus $17.50 for each added 100. Other commercial items are flat: a fuel tank installed or removed is $50 per tank, a permanent commercial coach $600 and a temporary one $250, a food truck $250, and a public-use tent or canopy $150 with review ($75 for private use).

Trade permits and who may pull them

Residential mechanical and plumbing permits are flat $75 City permits; commercial ones carry a $100 issuance fee. Electrical circuits and services are permitted through L&I, as the City’s tip sheet says, because West Richland is not on L&I’s list of cities that run their own electrical program. A stand-alone mechanical or plumbing permit expires 180 days after issue and cannot be extended.

How to apply for a West Richland building permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

Under WRMC 15.01.020, an application expires one year after filing if no permit has been issued, with one extension of up to 180 days on written request, and longer where SEPA review, another City review or litigation is still running. Missing site plan items put an application on hold until they are added. Revisions made after review, or after the permit issues, are billed at $85 an hour.

Inspections in West Richland

The Building Division (509-967-5902, permits@westrichland.org) carries out building, mechanical and plumbing inspections. A re-inspection is $100 when the work is not ready, the approved plans and permit are not on site, or corrections have not been made, and inspections outside business hours are $130 an hour.

Every permit expires two years after it is issued, unless the building official approved a longer schedule before issue. It can be renewed once for one more year at 50% of the original fees if the plans are unchanged and no new code has been adopted, and paid impact fees and utility charges are not charged again; when only the final inspection is left, the City can allow 30 more days at no fee. If a residential permit expires, the fee to resubmit falls with progress, from the full fee if no work was done to 20% when only the final remains. The City will not give permanent utility service until the building has a certificate of occupancy.

West Richland permit search and official resources

For the status of an existing permit or copies of past permits, contact the department at permits@westrichland.org. West Richland is a participating community in the National Flood Insurance Program, and FEMA lists its current flood map as dated September 30, 1981.

• Development services resources: applications, handouts, pre-application
• Community Development Department contacts
• Master Fee Schedule, effective October 1, 2026 (PDF)
• Permit tip sheet (PDF)
• Residential permit application (PDF)
• Site plan checklist (PDF)
• Pre-application meeting (TRC) request
• Floodplain application (PDF)
• Shoreline Master Program, Ordinance 04-21
• WRMC Title 15: building codes and amendments
• Benton-Franklin Health District (on-site sewage)

West Richland building permit FAQ

Who issues building permits in West Richland?

The City’s Community Development Department at 3100 Belmont Boulevard, Suite 104 (509-967-5902). Electrical permits come from L&I.

How much does a permit cost?

It depends on value: a $45,000 remodel pays $652.50 plus $391.50 plan review, a 2% technology surcharge and the $6.50 state fee under the October 2026 schedule.

Do I need a permit to replace windows?

Not in a house when the opening stays the same and egress, safety glazing and energy values are not reduced; otherwise a $75 permit applies.

Do I need a permit for a shed?

Not for a one-story shed up to 200 sq ft, but you must have a scaled site plan approved by Community Development before building it.

Can I use cedar shakes?

Not on new construction. On a house that already has wood roofing, repairs, replacements and additions may use Class C or better fire-retardant-treated shakes or shingles.

How long does a permit last?

Two years from issue, with one renewal of a year at half the original fees if applied for before it expires.

Do I need a pre-application meeting?

For most projects that need a City permit application, yes, with the Technical Review Committee on a Thursday afternoon; single-family homes and duplexes are generally exempt.

Do contractors need a City license?

Yes. Contractors and subcontractors need a West Richland business license and L&I registration before work starts.

Simplify West Richland 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 West Richland permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.