Pre-Demolition Abatement & Demolition in Spokane, WA
Demolition in Spokane runs on a chain of documents, and the order is fixed. The City of Spokane demolition permit guidesheet says to obtain a Notice of Intent from the Spokane Regional Clean Air Agency for demolition and removal of asbestos before the demolition permit is issued. The NOI requires an asbestos survey by an AHERA-certified Building Inspector, and for a demolition it must be submitted at least 10 days before the work. Any demolition is a 10-day notice at $250. After the Spokane Complex Fires of August 2026, the same sequence applies to burned structures, plus the county's debris rules.
Spokane Clean Air's definition of demolition is broad: wrecking, leveling or dismantling a structure thereby making it permanently uninhabitable, or wrecking or taking out any load-supporting structural member of a facility. The AHERA survey is done, any asbestos found is removed by L&I-certified workers under its own NOI tier, then the demolition NOI is filed: 10-day notice, $250. The city permit application then cites the NOI number. For a single-family house or duplex the demolition permit guidesheet lists a $35.00 application fee per structure, a $6.50 State Building Code fee, and a $25.00 processing fee. Sewer cap and water cap permits must be purchased before the permit issues, and the city runs a mandatory 10-day neighborhood review and comment period after accepting the application. The survey rule guide walks the sequence.
Interior demolition for a remodel or a commercial tenant improvement falls under the same survey rule, with the NOI tier set by the quantity removed; taking out a load-supporting member makes it demolition, with the 10-day notice. Spokane County's fire debris page states that hazardous waste such as asbestos-containing material or heavy metals like lead can be present among the debris, and that the transfer stations cannot accept any demolition building materials from the fires without a clean asbestos test. The rebuild sequence the city describes has four steps: hazardous material removal through EPA at no cost, an asbestos survey and NOI to Spokane Clean Air before demolition, a demolition permit at a reduced $35 fee, and reconstruction. The testing page covers the survey; the cost page lists the fees.
Projects that count as demolition under Spokane's rules
Demolition is defined by what happens to the structure, not the size of the equipment. These fall under the 10-day NOI and the city permit.
- A teardown of a house, garage, or commercial building ahead of a new build.
- A structure wrecked, leveled, or dismantled after fire or water damage.
- A remodel that removes any load-supporting structural member: a bearing wall, a beam, floor framing.
- An outbuilding with a projected roof area greater than 120 square feet; smaller ones need no NOI.
- A burned structure from the Spokane Complex Fires, where the county requires a clean asbestos test before debris reaches a transfer station.
The survey comes first and the NOI number opens the permit; neither can be filled in after the structure is down.
The permit chain in Spokane: survey, NOI number, then the City permit
The chain has three links, and each needs the one before it. First, the AHERA survey. Spokane Clean Air requires it before renovation or demolition activities, and a copy must be posted in a readily accessible and visible area at the work site at all times, so it stays up while the abatement runs and while the building comes down. Second, the Notice of Intent. Fees typically start at $250 and increase based on the amount of asbestos being removed, and the demolition notice is submitted at least 10 days prior. Third, the City permit.
The application asks for the SRCAA NOI number, and the City's guidesheet says to obtain the NOI before the demolition permit is issued. Two details are easy to miss. The City's guidesheet describes the Spokane Clean Air notice as a 3-day or 10-day period depending on the scope of the demolition work; on Spokane Clean Air's own fee sheet any demolition is the 10-day line, and the 3-day tier belongs to the removal of 10 to 259 linear feet or 48 to 159 square feet that may come first. Paying the NOI online adds a non-refundable convenience fee, currently 2.5% or a $2.00 minimum. The City's fees differ by building type. A single-family house or duplex pays the $35.00, $6.50 and $25.00 listed above; a multi-family building pays $35.00 per 1,000 square feet, plus a $25.00 state fee and $25.00 processing. Spokane Clean Air's definition of demolition even includes using a structure for fire training, so the survey and the NOI apply there too.
Selective and interior demolition for remodels and tenant improvements
Most demolition in Spokane is not a teardown. It is a kitchen taken to the studs, a basement finished in the 1970s coming out, or a tenant improvement that strips a suite to the slab. Spokane Clean Air's renovation examples cover all of it: remodeling a residence or other building, inside or out; replacing, repairing, or disturbing flooring, wall, ceiling, siding or roofing materials. The NOI tier follows the quantity removed. The line into demolition proper is structural: wrecking or taking out any load-supporting structural member of a facility puts the job on the 10-day notice. Walls are the material most often underestimated.
The EPA lists textured paint and patching compounds used on walls and ceilings among the places asbestos turns up, so the joint compound on a 1960s partition can be the positive sample in an otherwise clean survey. Published national ranges for walls and drywall run $8 to $13.50 per square foot (Angi, updated August 2026) and $7 to $14+ (HomeGuide). The abatement and removal page describes the containment for that work. Commercial and rental buildings carry two extra rules: any work at a rental property must be performed by a certified abatement contractor, and contractors must still submit a Notice of Intent. The thresholds count per structure, per calendar year, so the second tenant improvement of the year in the same building is counted with the first. Spokane Clean Air's compliance staff visited 43 asbestos-related project sites in 2025; the posted survey is what the rule requires to be visible at each one.
Fire-damaged structures: the county's debris rules and the rebuild sequence
For a structure burned in the Spokane Complex Fires, the City describes a four-step sequence. Step one is hazardous material removal through the EPA at no cost. Step two is the asbestos survey and a Notice of Intent to Spokane Clean Air, required before demolition. Step three is the demolition permit, at a reduced $35 fee with the processing and technology fees waived. Step four is reconstruction; homes built after February 1, 2021 may reuse their original approved plans. The first rebuild permit was issued on August 27, 2026, two days after the application arrived, for a single-family home originally built in 2023. Where the debris goes is set by the county and the City. The county's fire debris page states that hazardous waste such as asbestos-containing material or heavy metals like lead can be present among the debris, and that the transfer stations cannot accept any demolition building materials from the fires without a clean asbestos test.
The North County Transfer Station and the Valley Transfer Station accept recognizable fire debris that is not ash-coated. Ash and demolition debris go to the Graham Road Landfill. The City's Waste to Energy Facility at 2900 S. Geiger Blvd. accepts fire-damaged materials that are recognizable and free of ash if accompanied by an asbestos survey. The county's advice is to hire a certified cleanup contractor prior to proceeding with any type of cleanup. That is the same order as any demolition in Spokane: survey, abatement, NOI, permit, then the structure comes down and each load goes where its paperwork allows.
Outbuildings, garages and the 120 square foot line
Spokane Clean Air draws the demolition filing line at roof area. A Notice of Intent is required for demolition of a structure with a projected roof area greater than 120 square feet; a structure with a roof area of 120 square feet or less is on the list of projects that need no filing. Projected roof area is the footprint of the roof as seen from above, not the length of its slope. Below the line there is no NOI and no 10-day wait; above it, the same 10-day, $250 demolition notice applies as for a house. The line is about the filing, not the survey. For contractor work, Spokane Clean Air's rule is that anything other than bare wood, metal or glass calls for an AHERA survey.
A pole shed of bare framing and metal roofing may fall outside that rule; a garage with cement siding, a shingle roof or a finished ceiling does not. The EPA's list of where asbestos turns up includes roofing and siding shingles and, for what garages hold, automobile clutches and brakes. The owner-occupied exemption covers removal done by the resident owner at an owner-occupied single-family residence; a garage behind a rental is part of a rental, where any work must be performed by a certified abatement contractor. Whether the City's demolition permit applies to a given outbuilding is a question for the permit desk. The county's debris page names the Graham Road Landfill as the destination for demolition debris, and the cost page has the fee ladder for the NOI and the permit.
Selective, whole-structure, fire-damaged, or deconstruction
Four kinds of demolition run through Spokane's permit chain. The survey and abatement steps are the same; what changes is the scope and the debris.
Selective or interior demolition
Kitchens, baths, basement finishes, and commercial tenant improvements. The survey rule applies, and the NOI tier follows the quantity removed: a 3-day notice at $250 from 10 linear feet or 48 square feet.
Whole-structure demolition
Survey, abatement, a demolition NOI with 10 days notice at $250, then the city permit with its $35 application, $6.50 state and $25 processing fees for a single-family house, sewer and water cap permits, and the 10-day neighborhood review. Debris goes to the Graham Road Landfill.
Fire-damaged structure
The four-step sequence the city describes for Spokane Complex rebuilds: hazardous material removal through EPA at no cost, asbestos survey and NOI to Spokane Clean Air, demolition permit at the reduced $35 fee, then reconstruction.
Deconstruction and salvage with abatement first
Taking a building apart for its lumber, brick, or fixtures is still demolition under the Spokane definition, so the survey and the 10-day NOI are the same. Abatement clears the asbestos materials before salvage begins, so reusable material never mixes with regulated waste.
The written scope should name the survey, the abatement quantities and NOI tier, the demolition NOI, the permit fees, and the disposal destination.
Pre-Demolition Abatement & Demolition FAQs
Do I need an asbestos survey to demolish a burned house in Spokane?
Yes. Spokane County's fire debris rules state that the transfer stations cannot accept any demolition building materials from the fires without a clean asbestos test, and the city's rebuild sequence lists an asbestos survey and a Notice of Intent to Spokane Clean Air as the step before demolition. The reduced $35 fire-rebuild demolition permit still needs the NOI number, and the NOI needs the survey.
How long before demolition can start in Spokane?
Plan on the survey, any abatement, then two 10-day periods. The Notice of Intent for a demolition must be submitted to Spokane Clean Air at least 10 days before demolition, and the City of Spokane runs a mandatory 10-day neighborhood review period after it accepts the permit application. Removal of anything the survey finds runs on its own NOI tier before the structure comes down.
Do I need a Notice of Intent to demolish a garage or shed in Spokane?
Only if its projected roof area is greater than 120 square feet. Spokane Clean Air requires a Notice of Intent for demolition of a structure with a projected roof area greater than 120 square feet, submitted at least 10 days before the work at the $250 demolition rate; a structure with a roof area of 120 square feet or less is on the list of projects that need no filing. The survey rule is separate. For contractor work, anything other than bare wood, metal or glass calls for an AHERA survey first, whatever the roof size.
How much is a demolition permit in Spokane?
For a single-family house or duplex, the City of Spokane demolition permit guidesheet lists a $35.00 application fee per structure, a $6.50 State Building Code fee and a $25.00 processing fee. For multi-family buildings the application fee is $35.00 per 1,000 square feet, plus a $25.00 state fee and $25.00 processing. A sewer cap permit and a water cap permit must be purchased before the demolition permit issues, and the application needs a Spokane Clean Air NOI number, which carries its own $250 fee for any demolition. For Spokane Complex Fire rebuilds the City reduced the permit fee to $35, with processing and technology fees waived.