Pursuant to RCW 35A.12.140, the International Residential Code, including Appendix Chapters AA, AB, AC, AF, AWU and AWV published by the International Code Council and as currently amended by the Washington State Building Code Council and published in chapter 51-51 WAC, is adopted by this reference and as modified by SMC § 15.32.020. This adoption by reference shall include any amendments or successive editions hereto, which adoption shall take place immediately upon the effective date issued by the Washington State Building Code Council.
(Ord. 2085 § 7, 2004; Ord. 2220 § 3, 2007; Ord. 2329 § 2, 2010; Ord. 2439 § 2, 2013; Ord. 2568 § 6, 2016; Ord. 2796 § 11, 2021; Ord. 2892 § 1 (Exh. E), 2024)
Section 105.2 Work exempt from permit.
Building:
Add the following Exceptions:
11. Exterior siding replacement where there is no work performed on the existing exterior framing or sheathing or new structural sheathing applied. (Plywood, OSB, T-111 or similar structural sheathings)
12. Window and/or door replacement Like for like, where the opening is not increased or decreased in size, or the opening is otherwise modified. (replacement or modification of King studs, trimmer, sills or other framing repair or modification does not qualify for this exception)
Electrical:
1. As allowed by Labor and Industries:
[A] 105.3 Application of Permit.
Subsection 2. Description of the property which the work is to occur on, the physical building address(s) and parcel number(s) shall be included on the application and the physical building address(s) shall be included on the plans submitted for permit.
[A] 105.3.2 Time limitation of application. An application for a permit for any proposed work shall be deemed to have been abandoned 180 days after the date of filing, unless such application has been pursued in good faith or a permit has been issued; except that the building official is authorized to grant one or more extensions of time for additional periods not exceeding 90 days each. The extension shall be requested in writing and justifiable cause demonstrated. Extensions shall not be granted if an application a has been deemed abandoned for more than 60 days and there has been a new code cycle adopted.
[A] 105.5 Expiration. Every permit issued shall be valid for 3-Calendar years from the date of issuance, provided construction is started within 1 calendar year of the date of issuance and there has been at least 1 inspection scheduled with a result other than cancelled. Additionally, there must be no suspension of work exceeding 180 consecutive days without justifiable cause or the permit shall be deemed expired for no pursuit in good faith.
[A] 105.5.1 Extensions. The Building Official or The Development Services Director are authorized to grant one extension of up to 1 year beyond the 3-year initial permit period, when requested in writing by the project owner or authorized agent provided justifiable cause can be demonstrated and the permit has not been deemed expired under the parameters of section 105.5.
[A] 105.1.2 Restoration of Expired Permits. The Building Official or The Development Services Director are authorized to restore an expired permit to the parameters of section 105.5 provided all of the following apply.
1) Justifiable cause can be demonstrated.
2) The construction began within one calendar year of the date of issuance and has had at least one inspection with a result other than cancelled.
3) The permit has not expired for a period of more than 60 days.
4) There has not been a new code cycle adopted since the date of expiration.
[A] 107.2.1 Information on construction documents. Construction documents shall be dimensioned and drawn on suitable material, legible scanned copies or digitally created drawings and documents shall be submitted electronically. Electronic media documents are to be submitted following the Cities electronic permit application procedures. Construction documents shall be of sufficient clarity to indicate the location by physical building address, nature and extent of the work proposed and show in detail that it will conform to the provisions of this code and relevant laws, ordinances, rules and regulations, as determined by the building official.
[A] Section 113.4 Violations and penalties. It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to erect, construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, improve, remove, convert or demolish, equip, use, occupy or maintain any building or structure or cause or permit the same to be done in violation of this code.
Any person, firm or corporation violating any of the provisions of this code shall be subject to the penalty provisions of SMC § 15.06.070 and § 15.06.110.
Table R301.2(1)
Climatic and Geographic Design Criteria
Ground Snow Load *
Wind Speed (Gust)
Seismic Design Category
Weathering
Frost line depth
Termites
Decay
Winter Design Temp
Ice Shield Underlay
Flood Hazards
Air Freeze Index
Mean Annual Temp
25 lbs/ft
110 mph
D-2
Moderate
12"
Slight to Moderate
Slight to Moderate
17°
No
2017 FIRM
250
50°
Appendix AWU
Dwelling Unit Fire Sprinklers
The Design and Installation of residential fire sprinkler systems shall be in accordance with the International Residential Code Section P2908, Dwelling Unit Fire Sprinkler Systems.
P2904.1.1 Required Sprinkler Locations.
Sprinklers shall be installed to protect all areas of a dwelling unit, where required by Appendix AWV
Exceptions:
1) Sprinklers may be omitted in uninhabitable attics, crawl spaces and normally unoccupied concealed spaces that do not contain fuel-fired appliances. In uninhabitable attics, crawl spaces and unoccupied concealed spaces a Sprinkler shall be provided at fuel fire appliance locations withing such spaces which provide coverage of the appliance.
2) Sprinklers may be omitted in Clothes closets, linen closets and pantries not exceeding 24 square feet (2.2 m2) in area with a least dimension of not greater than 3 feet (915 mm) and having wall and ceiling surfaces of Gypsum board.
3) Sprinklers may be omitted in Bathrooms not more than 55 square feet (5.1 m2) provided wall and ceiling surfaces including the walls and ceilings behind tub or shower enclosures, are of non-combustible or limited combustible materials with a 15-minute thermal barrier rating.
4) Sprinklers may be omitted in Garages; carports; exterior porches; unheated entry areas, such as mud rooms, that are adjacent to an exterior door; and similar areas.
Appendix AWV
Fire Sprinklers
AWV107.1 Fire Sprinklers
An approved automatic fire sprinkler system shall be installed in all new one-family and two-family dwellings and Townhomes in accordance to Appendix AWU.
Exception:
1) Detached single family dwelling units less than 5000 square feet (464.5 m2) shall not be required to provide sprinklers.
AWV107.2 Additions.
An approved automatic sprinkler system shall be installed in the entire structure in compliance with Appendix AWU when an addition is made.
The following Exceptions shall apply to one-family and two-family dwellings and townhomes not already provided with an approved automatic sprinkler system:
1) The addition of interior floor area to a two-family dwelling or townhome of a one-time addition per unit of up to 10% of the total interior square footage as measured before the addition for each unit is allowed. No cumulative allowance over time.
2) Where an addition of interior floor area to a detached one-family dwelling maintains a structure size at or below 5000 square feet (464.5 m2) as measured after the addition.
3) Any addition to a detached one-family dwelling that does not result in more than 5500 square feet total interior floor area.
(Ord. 2085 § 8 (part), 2004; Ord. 2220 § 4 (part), 2007; Ord. 2329 § 3, 2010; Ord. 2892 § 1 (Exh. E), 2024)
Fees for building permits shall be assessed pursuant to Table 1-A, Chapter 1, Volume 1, of the Uniform Building Code, 1997 Edition, published by the International Conference of Building Officials. Fees for the plan review of required construction documents shall be paid by the applicant. Said plan review fee shall be 65 percent of the building permit fee as shown in Table 1-A, except where fire plan review is also required, in which case the plan review fee, at the discretion of the fire marshal, based upon the amount of time spent in reviewing the documents, shall not exceed 35 percent of the building permit fee as shown in Table 1-A.
Where a permit involves only an addition or remodel of a single-family dwelling or single-family accessory structure, where said work is valued at $7,500 or less, the building official may waive the plan review fee.
Plan review fees specified in this section are separate fees from the permit fees specified herein and are in addition to the permit fees.
When submittal documents are incomplete or changed so as to require additional plan review, or when the project involves deferred submittal items as defined in Section 106.3.4.2 of the International Building Code, an additional plan review fee shall be charged at a rate shown in Table 1-A.
(Ord. 2085 § 8 (part), 2004; Ord. 2220 § 4 (part), 2007; Ord. 2892 § 1 (Exh. E), 2024)