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Pullman council adopts ordinance to double building-permit damage deposit
Summary
The Pullman City Council adopted Ordinance 25-25 to increase refundable damage deposits on building permits from 50% to 100% of the permit fee, citing repeated cases where existing deposits did not cover right-of-way repairs. Councilors debated impacts on small and commercial builders before passage.
The Pullman City Council on Dec. 16 adopted Ordinance 25-25 to double the refundable damage deposit required for building permits that involve earthwork. Deputy Public Works Director Clayton Forsman told the council the change is intended to ensure the city can cover repairs to curbs, gutters and sidewalks when contractors damage the public right-of-way during construction.
Forsman said the code, originally adopted in 1986, had set the deposit at 50% of the building permit fee and that the city has seen instances where that amount was insufficient. "If approved, the ordinance would essentially double the damage deposit amount. So instead of 50% of the building permit fee, it'd be 100%," Forsman said, giving an illustrative example of an average single-family home moving from about $1,100 to $2,200 in deposit.
Councilors pressed staff for context. Council member Brian McDonald said he was "worried about the idea of doubling the amount" without clearer data about how many permits would be affected and how Pullman's requirements compare with neighboring jurisdictions. Forsman said staff had identified "about half a dozen" recent single-family cases with compliance problems but did not have a consolidated total of all permits in the period and offered to provide follow-up numbers.
Council member Mickey Weller and others argued the change is a reasonable incremental step to discourage bad-faith behavior by a small number of builders and emphasized the deposit is refundable when work is completed properly. Several councilors suggested narrower approaches (for example, limiting the change to residential permits), but the council ultimately voted to adopt the ordinance by voice vote.
The ordinance amends Pullman City Code section 2.15.070 and related code language. The deposit remains refundable; staff said the higher upfront amount is intended as an incentive for proper site care and to reduce the city's administrative burden in recovering costs after repairs. The council asked staff to supply additional data on how often the city has needed to use deposits to cover repairs and to compare the city's approach with neighboring jurisdictions.
