By: Mike Clugston
Are you thinking about doing work on, in or around your residence or business? Maybe you need to replace a furnace, remove a tree, or remodel a commercial space? Not all work requires a permit from the City of Edmonds, but many projects do and it’s easy to find out what is required before beginning work by visiting https://www.edmondswa.gov/services/permit_assistance or by reaching out directly to City staff in the Building, Engineering or Planning Divisions.
If you need a permit from Edmonds (and, ok, maybe you’ve muttered under your breath about that fact), you’ll find that all permitting is now done electronically. In the ‘old’ days (i.e. before COVID), all permit processing was done on paper. For applicants, that meant often printing stacks of plans and reports, making a trip to City Hall during business hours (‘why are they only open Monday - Friday, 8 – 4:30?!’), and submitting those documents at the physical permit counter.
Now the process is much easier. If you need to apply for a permit, head to MyBuildingPermit (MBP) and create a login. You will be guided with a “how to” list, step by step at https://mybuildingpermit.com/help. Should you hit a bump in the road, feel free to reach out at
[email protected].
To help make the process seamless, try to avoid these top three mistakes we often see:
1.
Incomplete submittals where not all the requested materials are provided
2.
Illegible or inaccurate hand-drawn plans
3.
Applicants not responding in a timely way to MBP email notifications about the availability of comment letters and invoices
If you are having a hard time applying online, you can bring in your plans on a flash drive, and we can assist in helping you apply online at our kiosk that is available to the public.
Even if you are not applying for a permit, you may want to take the time check out MBP, as it also produces and publishes helpful construction aids such as building tip sheets, inspection checklists, building code interpretations, and code-related training opportunities, all of which benefit both permit customers and City staff.
As with any process or technology, the City always strives to evaluate and make improvements. That’s why we appreciate that the MBP program has staff from participating jurisdictions meeting regularly to share best practices, align on building standards, and develop materials to help citizens, builders, and developers navigate the permitting process.