Lacey building codes, stormwater manual, and right-of-way rules
Lacey Municipal Code 14.04.010 adopts the 2018 International Building Code and the 2018 International Residential Code, each with the Washington State amendments in Chapters 51-50 and 51-51 WAC. Section 14.04.015 amends the building code’s exempt list for fences, retaining walls, and play equipment. The retaining wall item reaches walls not over 4 feet, measured from the footing’s bottom to the top, but drops out when a surcharge or a Class I, II, or IIIA liquid is involved. The residential amendments in section 14.04.016 were not in the text we reviewed.
Stormwater work follows Lacey Municipal Code Chapter 14.27, which adopts the City of Lacey 2022 Stormwater Design Manual. Ecology’s 2019 Stormwater Management Manual for Western Washington is the base that the city’s manual extends. Its review thresholds sit in a chapter we have not reached, so we ask the city which requirement applies to each parcel.
Work inside the public right-of-way, including driveway approaches, sidewalk, curb, and gutter work, and trenching in the street, needs a right-of-way application with Lacey Public Works under Chapter 12.16. Public Works approves the application before it becomes a permit, and that permit expires 60 days after approval.
Nearby, we also build in Olympia, Tumwater, DuPont, and Yelm, and we serve the rest of western Washington.