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Administrative Appeals
Your Right to appeal
Per PCC 1.22.090 any person aggrieved by a final order, permit, or decision may file an administrative appeal by submitting a Notice of Appeal, along with the appeal fee, to the Pierce County Development Center within 14 days of the date of issuance.
- Administrative Appeals
Planning and Public Works staff issue decisions on a wide range of issues relating to the administration, interpretation, and application of the Pierce County Code. A permit, order, or final decision may be appealed by an “aggrieved” party. “Aggrieved” means person(s) who are adversely affected by the issuance of the permit, order, or final decision. Click on “Hearing Examiner Information” button above to learn more about the applicable codes and rules that apply to administrative appeals.
- Environmental Appeals
An Environmental Appeal is a type of administrative appeal and refers to decisions issued pursuant to the State Environmental Protection Act (SEPA). In most cases, the deadline for submitting an appeal, along with the applicable appeal fee, is 14 days from the date of the decision. In rare cases where the optional Determination of Nonsignificance (DNS) process is used, the deadline to appeal is 21 days from the date of the decision. The applicable appeal timeline will be included in the SEPA decision issued by the Planning and Public Works Department. - Code Enforcement Appeals
A Code Enforcement Appeal is another type of administrative appeal and refers to appeals of notices, orders, and final decisions in a code enforcement action. A final decision, notice, or order will contain information on the appeal process. In all code enforcement appeals, the deadline to submit an appeal, along with the appeal fee, is 14 days from the date of the final decision, notice, or order.
See “Appeal Fees” section below for more information about the fee amount and appeal fee waivers.
- Reconsideration Requests
An aggrieved person affected by the decision of the Hearing Examiner may, within seven working days of the date of the Examiner’s written decision, submit a written request for reconsideration, along with the required fee, to the Pierce County Development Center. If a reconsideration request is timely submitted, along with the appropriate fee, then the Hearing Examiner’s original decision is not considered final until a decision is issued on the reconsideration request. See PCC 1.22.130 for more information regarding reconsideration requests and the applicable standards of review.
- Appeals
Please refer to PCC 1.22.140 and applicable state laws for more information about appealing a decision issued by the Pierce County Hearing Examiner.
In most cases, an Appellant will need to obtain a transcript of proceedings/hearings before the Pierce County Hearing Examiner. To request a copy of the audio recording of the hearing(s), please contact Stacy Weaver at [email protected] or (253) 798-3292. After you have obtained the audio recording, you will need to hire your own court reporter to prepare the written transcript.
An administrative record, consisting of all materials and exhibits submitted to the Hearing Examiner, may also need to be compiled for transmittal to the court, board, or appellate body. In some cases, this service is performed by Pierce County. If you choose to pursue an appeal, ask your attorney to coordinate their efforts with the attorney representing the County.
How to Submit an Appeal:
There are three different ways to submit an administrative appeal:
Drop off
Development Center
Pierce County Annex, East Entrance
2401 South 35th St., Tacoma, WA 98409
Lobby is open Monday to Friday
9 a.m.-2 p.m. (excluding holidays)
Drop box
Development Center
Accessible Monday to Friday
8:30 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. (excluding holidays)
Online
Submission Form
Appeal Fees:
Per PCC Table 2.05.040-15
| Administrative Appeal of Short Plat/ Large Lot | $2,775 |
| Appeal of Administrative/Environmental Official Decision | $3,360 |
| Appeal of a Code Enforcement Notice, Order, or Decision | $250 |
| Reconsideration Request | $950 |
Per PCC 2.05.020.A, appeal fees are fully refundable to any appellant who successfully appeals a decision of an Administrative Official to the Hearing Examiner.
Per PCC 2.05.020B.4, if the appeal is of a final enforcement order, the fee may be waived if the applicant meets the criteria for indigent status in accordance with Washington Courts GR 34. Find the Appeal Waiver form here.
If you are seeking an appeal fee waiver, submit your waiver application at least 24 hours before the appeal deadline to give staff adequate time to review your waiver request. Fee waivers are available for enforcement appeals only.