What We Do

PALS Mission Statement

PALS guides the development of better communities by providing quality and timely decisions and information related to land use, building safety, and environmental protection.

Departmental Summary:

The Planning and Land Services Department (PALS) is organized into three functions:

• The Development Process function includes the one step location for the majority of the development applications and information needed to unincorporated Pierce County. Staff from all of the development disciplines are available in this area to provide assistance. The County addressing function is located in this division. The Development Process function also includes the responsibility for reviewing construction projects for compliance with the Washington State Building Code. The responsibility for the review of proposed development's road and storm drainage projects, land use approvals including items such as property division and actions requiring public hearings, administration of the County's environmental regulations, and presentation of public education programs to create awareness of natural resource issues are all located in the Development Process function.

• The Advance Planning team is the second function of PALS. They are responsible for community land use plans and the implementation of the new County-wide Comprehensive Plan as mandated by the Washington State Legislature, through the Growth Management Act.

• The Code Enforcement role is the third function in PALS. This function is responsible to enforce conditions of application approval, and violations of land use and development codes that are under the responsibility of PALS. This responsibility is executed in a reactive, not proactive manner.