Kittitas County reports rise in single-family permits for 2024; building-code enforcement on hold pending court challenges to Initiative 2066

Kittitas County building officials told county commissioners at a CVS study session that the county issued 1,003 total building permits in 2024, with single-family home permits rising to 326 from 288 the prior year.

The numbers were presented by Jeremy Larson, Kittitas County building official, who said the total includes a range of permit types — mechanical, plumbing and commercial permits among them — and that residential accessory-structure permits were essentially unchanged at 161. Larson also noted a small cluster of permits in the Suncadia area, where totals have held roughly steady at about 76 and 72 in the past two years.

Why it matters: the county’s permit workload could be affected if state-level code rules change. Larson said the legal status of Initiative 2066 — a statewide measure passed by voters that addresses how local governments and utilities treat gas and other fuels in building standards — is unresolved and the county is waiting on court outcomes before changing enforcement.

Larson described the local picture and how the state-level law could affect builders: "Gas appliance users have to basically get three additional credits that a heat pump user wouldn't have to," he said, referring to the energy-credit framework tied to the International Energy Conservation Code used by jurisdictions. "Right now we've been advised to kind of wait and see. … Since at this point nothing has changed, it's still the same."

Larson told commissioners the county has been informing local builders through an email list and upper-county meetings in Cle Elum. He said the state Building Code Council decided to delay emergency rulemaking and to proceed through its regular code cycle, currently scheduled for the 2024 code cycle that will start in 2026. "We have spoken with Hartung about this as well, and our advice was to wait until the law has changed as I am required to enforce the codes of Washington state," Larson said.

Larson recapped the legal activity tied to Initiative 2066: one lawsuit was filed by the Building Industry Association of Washington against the Washington State Building Code Council seeking rule changes it says are necessary to avoid discrimination against gas appliances; a second lawsuit, filed in King County, challenges the initiative on constitutional grounds. Larson said the council and county staff are monitoring the court process and will not implement changes until the courts and the council clarify what, if any, action is required.

Larson also gave a brief operational update: early-2025 permit filings were lower than the prior year at the same point (he said there were about 15 permits filed so far this year compared with about 33 at this point last year) and he said there was no single code-cycle incentive this year that had driven a last-minute rush to file permits, unlike the previous code cycle. He said permit counts for accessory dwelling units (ADUs) appear to have been small after the county’s 2023 ADU code change — Larson and a staff member noted four ADUs recorded last year.

The session included no formal votes. Larson said the county is considering posting a statement on the county website to explain the county’s current position while courts and the code council sort the legal questions.

The county did not provide an exact calendar date for when it will adopt any code changes tied to the initiative; Larson said implementation timing depends on court rulings and the code council’s rulemaking schedule.