Barndominium Builders in Spokane Valley, Washington
Spokane Valley is its own city, incorporated separately from Spokane, with its own Permit Center, zoning code and comprehensive plan, so a parcel here never runs through Spokane's permit office. Most of the city is built out in subdivisions and commercial corridors, and the City is planning for thousands more housing units by 2046, which means a full-size barndominium with a shop bay usually needs one of the larger residential lots rather than a typical house lot. Buyers who want five acres or more generally end up in unincorporated Spokane County, where rural zoning and private wells take over. Inside the city, a pole barn home or a steel-framed living quarters is permitted like any new single-family house, with a site plan, construction plans and a copy of the sewer permit. Barndominium kits make sense if you plan to erect the shell yourself; if you would rather hand over the whole job, our turnkey builds cover site work through final inspection. Send us the parcel number and we will check its zoning, floodplain status and sewer availability before any drawings start.
Spokane Valley at a glance
- Principal county
- Spokane County
- Building permit
- City building department
- Land use
- City zoning, inside an urban growth area
- Wastewater
- Public sewer
- Water
- Public water system
Barndominium Builders Near Spokane Valley
From a turnkey build to a shell you finish yourself, the work starts with the parcel: the access, the building pad, the route to sewer or septic, and the water source. The parcel decides the budget more than the floor area does, so each option is priced against your land rather than a rate card.
Turnkey Builds
Turnkey barndominiums in Washington State: one team from land and permits to the finished, inspected house, with water, septic and energy code planned in.
Custom Plans
Custom barndominium plans for Washington State: floor plans and permit drawings with the energy code credits and your site's design values built in.
Site Preparation
Barndominium site preparation in Washington State: clearing, grading, drainage and pads, planned around the well, septic area, wetlands and the climate.
Permitting
Barndominium permits in Washington State: city or county building permit, water supply evidence, septic permit, energy code credits and rural zoning.
Pole Barn Homes in Spokane Valley
A kit suits an owner who wants to raise the shell with their own crew. A pole barn home sets its frame on posts and trusses (the engineering term is post-frame construction) and suits a wide, simple layout with a shop bay under the same roof; a metal building home uses a bolted steel frame. Which one fits your parcel comes down to the zoning, the site and the design values the local building office publishes, covered below.
Barndominium Kits
Barndominium kits and shell kits for Washington State land: frame, panels and drawings, sized to the design values your city or county sets for the site.
Pole Barn Homes
Pole barn homes and pole barn house kits for Washington State: post-frame buildings with a shop and living space, designed to your county's snow load.
Metal Homes
Metal building homes in Washington State: steel-clad houses finished to the state energy code, with the insulation and condensation details done right.
Building a Barndominium in Spokane Valley: Permits, Zoning, Septic and Water
On rural land the zoning, septic and water answers often come before the building answer. Here is who decides each part in Spokane Valley, taken from the office or document that publishes it. Rules change, so check them again against your parcel before anything is drawn.
City of Spokane Valley Permit Center
The City of Spokane Valley Permit Center issues residential building permits inside city limits, including new single-family homes and new garages or pole buildings. A new home application needs a site plan, construction plans and a copy of the sewer permit. Spokane Valley is a separate city from Spokane, so the City of Spokane's permit office does not handle land here.
Source: Residential Building Permits, City of Spokane Valley (spokanevalleywa.gov)
City of Spokane Valley Planning and Zoning Division
The City's Planning and Zoning Division administers Spokane Valley's zoning ordinance and subdivision code and maintains its comprehensive plan. The plan now being updated must accommodate 128,313 residents and 16,661 new housing units by 2046, so land inside the city is planned for growth rather than acreage living.
Source: Comprehensive Plan, City of Spokane Valley (spokanevalleywa.gov)
Spokane County (sewer permits); Spokane Regional Health District for on-site systems
Spokane Valley's sewer is a Spokane County utility, and the City's permit checklist asks for a copy of the County sewer permit with the building application. Where no sewer reaches a lot, Spokane Regional Health District's Liquid Waste program permits and inspects the on-site septic system, working with local building and planning departments.
Source: Septic Systems, Spokane Regional Health District (srhd.org)
Local water and irrigation districts (varies by address)
The City does not run a water utility. Water in Spokane Valley comes from independent districts, and the property's location decides which one serves it; the City points owners to the County's map of water district service areas. All of the regional water purveyors belong to the Spokane Aquifer Joint Board. A lot beyond a district's mains would need its own well.
Source: Utilities, City of Spokane Valley (spokanevalleywa.gov)
- Pole buildings need engineered drawings
- The City of Spokane Valley's residential permit checklist says that if the proposed construction is a pole building, engineered drawings are required, and one set must carry an original signature and stamp. Garages and pole buildings need a permit here just as a new house does.
- Floodplain permit
- Spokane Valley takes part in the National Flood Insurance Program and regulates floodplain development under chapter 21.30 of its municipal code. Any development on a parcel inside a FEMA special flood hazard area requires a separate Floodplain Permit from the City.
Source: Residential Building Permits, City of Spokane Valley (spokanevalleywa.gov)
Source: Floodplain Permit, City of Spokane Valley (spokanevalleywa.gov)
Building on land near Spokane Valley
Start with the utilities, because in Spokane Valley they are split among several providers. Confirm which water district serves the parcel and whether the County sewer line reaches it, since the building permit application needs the sewer permit in hand. Then check the FEMA flood map, as land in a special flood hazard area adds a floodplain permit. A post-frame or steel building of real size usually fits only the larger residential lots, and the pole-building rule means paying for stamped engineering. Slopes of 30 percent or more are treated as geologically hazardous under the City's critical areas rules. Outside the urban growth area, Spokane County says minimum lot sizes generally run 5 acres or larger, so for acreage, a private well and room for a big shop, look at unincorporated Spokane County instead.
Other places in this part of Washington
Spokane & the Inland Northwest
- Spokane
- Spokane Valley
- Spokane County
- Stevens County
- Whitman County
Have land in or near Spokane Valley? Tell us about the parcel and what you want on it, and we will check it against the local rules before anything is drawn.
Building in Spokane Valley: questions
Start the surveyHow much does it cost to build a barndominium in Spokane Valley?
Do I need a building permit for a barndominium in Spokane Valley?
Is there acreage for a barndominium in Spokane Valley?
Who supplies water to a new home in Spokane Valley?
Keep reading
What usually comes next once you know what Spokane Valley allows.
Barndominium Cost Guide
Sourced per-square-foot ranges by tier and size, and what moves the number on your land.
Read itIs a Barndominium Legal in Washington?
Zoning, rural land, septic, water and who inspects, before you buy the land.
Read itHow Long Does It Take?
From parcel to move-in, and which steps set the clock.
Read itSources for this page
The published pages behind the Spokane Valley facts above. Rules change, so check the current version with the office before you rely on it.
- Residential Building Permits, City of Spokane ValleyBuilding permit authority; Pole buildings need engineered drawingsspokanevalleywa.gov
- Comprehensive Plan, City of Spokane ValleyLand use and zoningspokanevalleywa.gov
- Septic Systems, Spokane Regional Health DistrictSewer or septicsrhd.org
- Utilities, City of Spokane ValleyWater supplyspokanevalleywa.gov
- Floodplain Permit, City of Spokane ValleyFloodplain permitspokanevalleywa.gov
Other places near Spokane Valley
Nearby places with their own pages. Across a city limit or a county line the permit office, the zoning, the septic program and the water rules can change, so each is covered separately.
Building in Spokane Valley?
Start with the survey. Tell us where the land is and what you want on it, and we will come back with which offices decide it, what the zoning allows, and a plan to fit.