Building Permit Fee Waiver Program

Please email the City’s Housing Administrator at jboado@cityofpa.us. 

You can also schedule an appointment with a planner by calling 360-797-8616 or visiting our website at www.cityofpa.us/BookAMeeting. 

The Fee Waiver Program is designed to incentivize affordable housing and infill development consistent with the housing needs of the City of Port Angeles. The City has identified and exempted 16 different types of housing and 26 unique fees. By offering this exemption, the City is reducing the barrier of entry for new development to increase the rate new housing units are constructed.

Fees will only be waived for developments within the Port Angeles city limits. 

As part of our commitment to promoting infill housing growth, the City of Port Angeles is proud to offer permit fee waivers for qualifying single-household projects using low-income homeownership programs or single-family households experiencing economic hardship. See the "Waived Fees" and "Economic Hardship Fee Waiver" tabs for more information. 

1. Fees will only be waived for developments within the City Limits of Port Angeles.
2. New Single-Family Residences or the Remodel, Addition, or Repair of an Existing Single-Family Residence may be eligible for a permit fee waiver if the following criteria are met:

a. Applicant must own the property or the existing residence.

b. Applicant must be experiencing Economic Hardship, defined under Port Angeles Municipal Code (PAMC) 17.08.030.

c. Owner must submit to Community and Economic Development (CED) a complete Economic Hardship Fee Waiver Application on a form provided by CED.

d. Applicant must be the owner of the property for two years following the issuance of the fee waiver. If the house sells prior to two years, the applicant shall reimburse the City. The applicant shall enter into a contract with the City.

e. This program ends on December 31, 2029.

3. New Projects - Types of housing eligible for a fee waiver:

a. Developed pursuant to Port Angeles Municipal Code (PAMC) Table 17.20.020: Dwelling Units and Supportive Housing in Commercial zones, 17.21 Residential Infill Design Standards,17.22 Commercial and Multifamily Design Standards (Multifamily residential allowed uses only), or 17.46 Property Tax Exemptions for Multi-family housing; AND

b. Are one of the following:

i. Projects utilizing the City Permit Ready Plans

ii. Accessory Dwelling Unit

iii. Duplex

iv. Triplex

v. Fourplex

vi. Cottage Housing

vii. Caretaker Unit

viii. Apartment Complex

ix. Townhomes

x. Multifamily Housing

xi. Group Home

xii. Permanent Supportive Housing

xiii. Transitional Housing

xiv. Emergency Housing,

xv. Adult Family Homes.

xvi. Low-Income Homeownership Programs (LIHP), defined as a single household dwellings constructed through a recognized nonprofit, local, state, or federal self-help or sweat equity program whereby labor participation is required, and whose income at eligibility is 80% or below of the Area Median Income (AMI) for Clallam County as published by the program regulatory body. LIHP projects and affordable housing projects, both rental and homeownership, constructed through a recognized nonprofit, local, state, or federal affordable housing provider shall be exempt from the contract and Notice-To-Title (NTT) provisions of Section 3c and 3d below. Nonprofit, local, State, or federal LIHP projects shallbe exempt from paying the pre-application fee for fee waiver application.

1. Building Permit Fees
2. Review Fees for Building Plans, Fire Plans, Planning Plans, and Public Works Siting Plans
3. Additional hourly rate fees
4. Fire Development Fees
5. Building and Fire permit renewal fees
6. Hearing Examiner Fees for zoning reclassifications, eligible residential and duplex variances, binding site plan improvement plans, multifamily variances, preliminary subdivisions, overlay zones only as they relate to eligible development listed above, and any other hourly hearings as it relates to eligible development subject to Community and Economic Development Director Determination.
7. Archeological review fees
8. Boundary line adjustment fees
9. Conditional use permits fees
10. SEPA Environmental Checklist Review
11. NEPA
12. Adoption of previous NEPA/SEPA Documents
13. Land Use Verification
14. Locate Notice Review
15. Lot Confirmation
16. Overlay Zones
17. Parking Variance
18. Short Plats, Plats, Binding Site Plans
19. Temporary Use Permit
20. Zoning Lot Covenant
21. Electric Utility Service Charges: Electrical residential work permits and fees, including inspections and applicable taxes.
22. Residential new water system development charges*
23. Sewer Connection Permits/charges for eligible development*
24. Storm Sewer/Drain Connection Charges for eligible development*
25. Sewer System Development Charges for eligible development*
26. Electrical Permits for eligible development

*Applicants will still be responsible for utility extensions where applicable.

To qualify for the fee waiver, the Developer must:

1. Submit to the Department of Community & Economic Development (CED) a completed Permit Fee Waiver Application on a form provided by CED.
2. A fee waiver meeting will be required for all new developments with more than six housing units or otherwise determined based on project complexity. If a meeting is required, the applicant will pay the pre-application fee. If the applicant submits the proposal and the project is deemed applicable and approved for the fee waiver, the applicant will be reimbursed the pre-application fee at the time of building permit approval
3. Enter into a contract with the City of Port Angeles, agreeing that the unit(s) will not be used for any Short-Term Rental, Bed and Breakfast, Hotel, Motel, or any similar Lodging Type Use, and on such other terms and conditions as directed by CED.
   1. Execute a Notice-to-Title (NTT) to be filed with the Clallam County Auditor’s Office at the expense of the owner/applicant. The NTT will be valid for 10 years.

At a minimum, the contract provisions will include:

1. A detailed project description for the eligible development, which will be binding via the contract. Changes to the proposal may result in permit fees if the use is no longer eligible. If the use changes to a different eligible development, a revised contract is required.
2. An exhibit to include the preliminary detailed site plan. The contract may be required to be amended if the site plan changes. If the proposed site plan changes to an ineligible development, the contract is void and the applicant must pay any waived permit fees.
3. In the event the owner/applicant requests the restriction to be removed, the applicant will pay 1.5x the permit fee and work with the City to remove the NTT at the owner/applicant's expense.
4. The restriction and NTT will only be removed if the proposed use is consistent with current permitted uses, development, and other applicable regulations.
5. Re-inspection fees for failed/premature inspections may be assessed as additional inspection fees if continued cost by the City occurs for multiple failed inspections.
6. Failure to abide by the contract requirements will result in the owner paying 2x the waived permit fee and daily fines while in violation.