Home Remodeling in
Lacey, WA

Residential addition, alteration and remodel plans in Lacey go through a plan review that the city puts at one to two weeks. Reviewers are checking building code compliance, structural work, fire safety and energy code.

Not everything needs that wait. Lacey issues over the counter permits for simpler work, including residential re-roofing and re-siding, replacing a water heater and adding an electrical circuit. If your project is one of those, it does not belong in the plan review queue.

Applications go through the city's online permitting portal, or in person at Community and Economic Development, 420 College St SE.

This is the one worth reading carefully, because the rule on the books and the rule the state requires are currently two different things.

Lacey's published municipal code still allows one accessory dwelling per lot and caps it at 850 square feet, or half the size of the main house, whichever is smaller. That is the older text, written before the state stepped in.

State law now requires more. Under HB 1337, cities planning under the Growth Management Act have to allow two ADUs per lot inside urban growth areas, cannot cap an ADU below 1,000 square feet, and cannot require the owner to live on the property. Those rules have applied in Lacey since 30 June 2026, and where the city's code has not caught up, state law overrides the older limit.

Lacey is doing that work as one combined ordinance covering middle housing, ADUs and unit lot subdivisions. Adoption was anticipated in summer 2026.

What this means for you in practice: the 850 square foot figure should no longer hold you back, because state law overrides it. Still call Community and Economic Development before you design and ask how the city is applying the standard the week you apply. We do this on every Lacey ADU we quote.

Lacey ran the pilot that became the regional pre-approved ADU plan set now shared with Olympia and Tumwater. The three cities partnered in 2020 to share the cost and the distribution rights, and brought in The Artisans Group, an architecture firm based on Capitol Boulevard in Tumwater, to design them.

There are four plans, ranging from a 480 square foot studio or one bedroom up to an 800 square foot two bedroom over two stories. Each set has already been reviewed for building code compliance, which takes a chunk of work out of permit review. All four sit comfortably under both the old and the new size limits.

What the plans do not do is remove the site specific work. Every proposal still has to deal with its own lot, and building permit costs still apply. Tumwater has since taken over as lead on the partnership.