Submitting a Pre-Application DST Meeting Request

Prior to submitting a formal land use application and paying the application fee, the applicant may voluntarily request a conference with the City’s Development Services Team (DST) which is comprised of representatives from City departments, State agencies, and private utility companies. This conference is to review the proposed action, to become familiar with the policies, plans and development requirements of the Yakima Urban Growth Area and to coordinate all necessary permits and procedures. These requests are referred to as Pre-Application meetings; the first meeting is free of charge and must be applied for online through our online permit center: www.buildingyakima.com

For information on submitting a building permit, please visit the Permits page or contact Codes at (509) 575-6126 or codes@yakimawa.gov.

This process is ideal for proposals to develop a vacant lot, redevelop a lot, or subdivide a property.  If you have questions on a proposal that is less complex than those previously listed, your questions may be directly answered by a planner or another city staff member – contact us at (509) 575-6183 or ask.planning@yakimawa.gov.

Online Permit Center


Getting Started

  1. Create an account on the online permit center, or sign-in if you have an existing account.
  2. Go to My Portal and select Apply Online.
  3. Select “Planning” as the application category and “Planning – Pre-Application DST Meeting” as the application type.
  4. Complete all the steps in the permitting wizard and provide a detailed explanation of your proposal when you are instructed to do so under the Permit Details section.
  5. Upload a site plan for your proposal under the Permit Submittals section. Navigate to the “General Site Plan” submittal item. On the far right of that line, select “Upload”. This is where you will upload your site plan. Your request cannot be scheduled for a DST meeting until a site plan has been submitted.

After you’ve successfully submitted your request, if you need to go back into your permit on the portal please make sure you are logged in and that you go to “My Portal” or “My Applications” section to locate your pre-application request.

When all required materials are submitted, a planner will be assigned to review your proposal and schedule it to be reviewed with the DST members. The planner will let you know the time and date of the meeting. DST meetings typically take place every Tuesday at 2:00 p.m. in the Planning Conference Room on the 2nd floor of City Hall (129 N 2nd St). Each Pre-Application meeting will be scheduled at the start of DST and last a maximum of 30 minutes.


Follow-Up Meeting

After your first meeting, you may determine that you would like a follow-up Pre-Application DST meeting. A fee must be paid for a 2nd Pre-Application meeting (view fee schedule). Please let your assigned planner know or contact the Planning Division office to arrange the second meeting. It is not necessary to re-apply for another pre-application meeting request on the online permit center. You can pay the fee online by logging onto the online permit center and going to your original request under “My Applications.” For assistance with using the online permit center, contact us at (509) 575-6183 or ask.planning@yakimawa.gov. You may also pay the fee at the Codes/Permitting counter on the 2nd floor of City Hall (129 N 2nd St, Yakima, WA 98901).

Disclaimer: Any information or opinions expressed by the department staff shall not be binding on the administrative official or constitute approval of the project (YMC 15.11.060).