Walla Walla County, Washington Tri-Cities & Walla Walla

Barndominium Builders in Walla Walla County, Washington

Acreage for a barndominium around Walla Walla usually means unincorporated county land, zoned for agriculture or rural residences rather than city lots. Walla Walla County's Community Development Department issues building permits and applies the zoning there, the County's Department of Community Health permits septic systems, and water almost always comes from a private well. The County's zoning puts four agricultural districts (PA-40, EA-120 and GA-20 plus AR-10) in the category of farmland of long-term commercial significance, and AR-10 alone sets a ten-acre minimum lot; rural residential zones such as RR-5 are aimed at homesites. The City of Walla Walla and the other incorporated towns permit their own land, and parcels in the city's urban growth area may later be annexed. We design and build on county land from start to finish: a custom plan that places the house, shop and well on the parcel, site preparation, the permit set and a turnkey build. If you would rather erect the shell yourself, barndominium kits and pole barn homes are available. Describe the parcel in the survey and we will check its zone, its critical areas and the well rules that apply before any design fee.

Walla Walla County at a glance

County: Walla Walla County
Building permit: County building department
Land use: County rural and resource zoning
Wastewater: Septic permit from the health jurisdiction
Water: Private well

Tell us about your land

Barndominium Builders Near Walla Walla County

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.

Barndominium Kits and Pole Barn Homes in Walla Walla County

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 Walla Walla County: 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 Walla Walla County, taken from the office or document that publishes it. Rules change, so check them again against your parcel before anything is drawn.

Who issues the building permitCounty building department

Walla Walla County Community Development Department

The County's building staff handle permits for new construction, additions, relocated structures and the placement of modular or manufactured homes. Each application gets a completeness check, may be routed for Planning approval, and then goes to reviewers including Public Works, Addressing and the Community Health Department before a permit is issued. The City of Walla Walla and the other incorporated towns issue their own permits.

Source: Building, Walla Walla County Community Development (wwcowa.gov)

Who decides the land useRural and resource zones

Walla Walla County Community Development Department (Planning)

County zoning governs land use in the unincorporated areas and carries out the growth management policies of the Walla Walla Comprehensive Plan. Rural densities are a county decision under the Growth Management Act, and here four agricultural districts (PA-40, EA-120 and GA-20 plus AR-10) are classified as agricultural lands of long-term commercial significance.

Source: Planning/Zoning, Walla Walla County Community Development (wwcowa.gov)

Sewer or septicSeptic: local health jurisdiction

Walla Walla County Department of Community Health

Walla Walla County's own Department of Community Health oversees domestic on-site sewage systems across the county. It reviews permit applications for new, repaired or expanded septic systems, checks that land divisions leave room for one, and certifies installers, maintenance specialists and pumpers.

Source: On-Site Sewage Land Use, Walla Walla County Department of Community Health (dch.wwcowa.gov)

Where the water comes fromPrivate well

Walla Walla County Community Development Department

The permit needs proof of an adequate water supply, usually a well report, and the County points owners to Ecology's well report search. It warns that in unincorporated areas zoned for one or more homes per ten acres, a new well drawing from the shallow gravel aquifer is limited to in-house domestic use, with a daily cap set out in a department packet.

Source: Planning FAQs, Walla Walla County Community Development (wwcowa.gov)

Minimum lot in AR-10: The County's planning FAQ uses the Agriculture Residential 10 (AR-10) zone as its example: the minimum lot area is ten acres, so an 18.5-acre parcel cannot be split because at least twenty acres are needed. Setbacks come from the same density and dimensional table (WWCC 17.18.020); in RR-5 the front yard setback is 30 feet.
Critical areas and shorelines: The County regulates five kinds of critical areas under WWCC chapter 18.08: fish and wildlife habitat, wetlands, geologically hazardous areas (including mapped liquefaction susceptibility), critical aquifer recharge areas and frequently flooded areas. Its current Shoreline Master Program took effect on 23 October 2023.

Building on land near Walla Walla County

Check the zone before the view. The agricultural districts are working farmland first, so a barndominium in AR-10 is a farm home on at least ten acres, while RR-5 and the other rural residential zones are meant for homesites with a shop and a few animals. Look at the County's critical areas and flood maps for any parcel near a creek, and remember that land within 200 feet of a regulated shoreline falls under the shoreline program. Ask which aquifer a well will tap, because a shallow gravel well on a smaller lot is limited to in-house use. Test holes for the septic come early. For land served by City water and sewer, see our Walla Walla page.

Other places in this part of Washington

Tri-Cities & Walla Walla

See every service

Have land in or near Walla Walla County? Tell us about the parcel and what you want on it, and we will check it against the local rules before anything is drawn.

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Building in Walla Walla County: questions

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How much does it cost to build a barndominium in Walla Walla County?

Rural parcels add costs a city lot does not have: a well to the right aquifer, septic test holes and a system sized to the soil, a long driveway and a power run, and grading on sloped ground near the foothills. The shell, the finish level and kit versus turnkey then decide the rest. We quote on your parcel. For the building itself, sourced ranges live in our barndominium cost guide, which we use as the starting point for county budgets.

Do I need a building permit for a barndominium in Walla Walla County?

Yes. On unincorporated land the County's Community Development Department issues building permits, and a home is routed to Public Works, Addressing and the Community Health Department for review before the permit is issued. The septic permit comes from Community Health. Inside the City of Walla Walla or another town, that town's office issues it. Send the parcel through the survey and we will confirm the process.

How much land do I need for a barndominium in Walla Walla County?

The zone sets it, through the County's density and dimensional table. AR-10 requires ten acres per lot, and the other agricultural and rural residential zones each carry their own minimum. An existing legal parcel may already qualify, but splitting AR-10 land needs twenty acres. Septic soils and well placement can also shape where on the parcel the house goes, so we check both before drawing the site plan.

Keep reading

What usually comes next once you know what Walla Walla County allows.

Barndominium Cost Guide

Sourced per-square-foot ranges by tier and size, and what moves the number on your land.

Read it

Is a Barndominium Legal in Washington?

Zoning, rural land, septic, water and who inspects, before you buy the land.

Read it

How Long Does It Take?

From parcel to move-in, and which steps set the clock.

Read it

Sources for this page

The published pages behind the Walla Walla County facts above. Rules change, so check the current version with the office before you rely on it.

Other places near Walla Walla County

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.

Walla Walla

Walla Walla County, Washington

Franklin County

Washington county

Benton County

Washington county

Building in Walla Walla County?

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.

Start the survey