Lacey, WA Building Safety: Building Permits (2026)

Lacey Municipal Code § 14.04.010 adopts the International Building Code, 2021 Edition, as amended by Chapter 51-50 WAC, including Appendix Chapters E, G, I, J, Q, and T, and the International Residential Code, 2021 Edition, as amended by Chapter 51-51 WAC, as the building code of the City of Lacey, Thurston County. Section 14.04.015 then amends the International Building Code, and Section 14.04.016 amends the Residential Code. Violating either code is a misdemeanor under Section 14.04.020.

The Lacey amendments to the Section 105.2 list of work exempt from permit are specific. Item 4 exempts retaining walls not over 4 feet in height measured from the bottom of the footing to the top of the wall, but only if the wall is set back from adjacent property lines or structures a distance at least equal to the wall's height and the retained material slopes 1 vertical to 2 horizontal or less up and away from the wall, unless it supports a surcharge or impounds Class I, II or IIIA liquids. Item 11 exempts swings and other playground equipment accessory to detached one and two-family dwellings. Fences have their own item, covered on the fence permit page. For houses, Section 14.04.016 amends item 1 of R 105.2 to exempt one-story detached accessory structures used as tool and storage sheds, playhouses, and similar uses provided the floor area does not exceed two hundred square feet.

The building official examines applications within a reasonable time after filing and, if the application does not conform, rejects it in writing stating the reasons. A permit issues when the work conforms to the code and applicable laws and the specified fees are paid. Section 105.3.1.1 then lists seventeen prerequisites the building official checks before issuance, including conditions of any land use approval, Site Plan Review Committee approval of the site plan, approved landscaping plans, installed fire apparatus access roads and fire protection water supplies, an address assigned under LMC 12.04, sidewalk plans submitted to public works, design review under Chapter 14.23, SEPA compliance under Chapter 14.24, flood management compliance under Chapter 14.34, and geologically sensitive areas compliance under Chapter 14.37.

Other printed permit rules: plans for buildings or structures of 4,000 square feet or over must be designed, prepared and stamped by an architect licensed by the state of Washington, and plans not designed to prescriptive structural methods need a design stamped by a Washington-licensed engineer. The value for commonly built structures is determined from a valuation table adopted by the building official by policy.