Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Building Demolition topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Tumwater planning commission recommends council approve ordinance requiring foundation removal in demolitions
Summary
On June 23, 2026, the City of Tumwater Planning Commission voted unanimously to forward Ordinance O2026-00008 to the City Council. The draft amends municipal code chapter 1550 to add “foundation” to demolition requirements, require removal of slabs and foundations unless the building official approves otherwise, and update application and site-plan requirements.
The City of Tumwater Planning Commission on June 23 voted to recommend that the City Council adopt Ordinance O2026-00008, a code amendment that explicitly brings building foundations into the city’s demolition requirements.
Brad Medrude, the city’s community development director, told the commission the code change adds a definition of “foundation” (taken from the International Building Code as “the structural element that transfers weight of a building to the underlying earth”) and expands demolition application requirements to show how foundations, final grading and erosion control will be handled. Medrude said the change responds to recurring code-enforcement problems where building shells were removed but foundations remained in ways that created safety hazards and left sites incompletely restored.
Under the draft language, when a structure is completely demolished all foundations and slabs must be removed unless the building official approves that portions may remain. The ordinance also clarifies valuation for demolition permits when a permanent replacement structure will reuse an existing foundation so that permit valuation reflects the intended reuse.
Medrude described how the proposed requirements would give the building official discretion to allow very costly or non-impactful elements (for example, deep pilings) to remain, while otherwise requiring removal or clearly documented plans to address final grading and erosion control. He gave a localized example of a site near a Fred Meyer where a prior project left a foundation in place after the owner failed to complete promised cleanup.
The staff report notes the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) review steps have been completed for the draft; Medrude said the SEPA appeal period closed June 11 and the ordinance is scheduled for the General Government committee on July 15 and for full council consideration on July 21.
Public comment was solicited during the hearing; an online participant identified as Erin Lawrence appeared on the participant list but was muted and no oral testimony was received. Commissioner Roundsley moved to forward the ordinance to council with a recommendation of approval; Commissioner Kpetric seconded. By voice vote the commission approved forwarding O2026-00008 to the City Council.
The Planning Commission’s recommendation is advisory; the City Council will make the final decision at its scheduled meeting. If the council adopts the ordinance as drafted, demolition permit applicants will need to show foundation-removal plans or documentation of building official approval for retention as part of their demolition submittals.
