In this Oct. 24, 2016 photo, shipping containers sit at the Port of Baltimore in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

In this Oct. 24, 2016 photo, shipping containers sit at the Port of Baltimore in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

They revolutionized the shipping industry in the 1960s. Then they proved a quick solution for storage problems. And now people are building houses out of them.

“They” are shipping containers, and Walla Walla County officials want to get a handle on the ubiquitous steel boxes, which have a standard width of 8 feet, but range in length from 10 to 40 feet. Heights range from 8.5 feet high to 9.6 feet high.

“They’re popping up all over the county,” Todd Blevins, county building official, told county commissioners on April 16.

County (and state) codes only allow buildings up to 200 square feet to be used for dry storage without a permit, and many shipping containers easily outstrip that footprint.

People who are unaware of the building regulations are buying containers that outstrip that limit and are putting them on their property. Commission Chairman Jim Johnson asked Blevins to research the issue and come back to the board with recommendations of what could be done.

Blevins said in an email that there are six or seven such containers on county properties. And more are likely to show up without owners seeking permits, he said. Officials have started discussions with some owners on what is required to bring their containers into compliance or how to remove them from the property.

To bring a container into compliance, Blevins said, the owner would need a letter from an engineer attesting the structure meets requirements for such things as snow loads, seismic safety and other factors.

In regards to what could be added to county building codes, Blevins said “my idea is to find a couple of engineers who can give us a standard for foundations” that would let people know quickly what was acceptable and what wasn’t.

Blevins has had inquiries from people about converting a shipping container or containers into a home, which is a popular topic on the internet and cable television, but no one has built such an abode in Walla Walla County, he said.

Constructing a house out of shipping containers would be allowed under the heading of “alternative means or methods,” which allows people to explore new building materials or types, Blevins said. But the catch for many people is making sure the finished structure can pass inspection.

“Basically if an engineer can design a house that meets state and county codes, you can build a home out of shipping containers,” Blevins said.

And interest in the big, steel boxes doesn’t appear to be dying down.

“I get 10 calls a month about containers,” he said.

In the city of College Place, Planning Director Jon Ricard said city codes don’t have anything that speaks specifically to shipping containers, but they would be treated no differently than any other outbuilding.

This means the container would have to be placed on a suitable foundation and meet all other requirements, such as setback distances, that apply. As with the county, storage buildings under 200 square feet would not need a permit while those exceeding that size would.

Ricard said the city hasn’t had any inquiries that he was aware of concerning converting a shipping container, or containers, into a living space.

In the city of Walla Walla, a 2005 ordinance restricts shipping containers to industrial, commercial and public-reserve zones within the city limits. Living in them is forbidden outright.

And in Columbia County, code enforcement and building inspector Clint Atteberry said it hasn’t come up.

“A lot of people use them for farm storage and stuff like that,” he said. “But in town, they’re generally not used.”

Containers are used, however, in self-storage facilities in Dayton, Atteberry said. But he was skeptical of the viability of turning them into homes that meet state and county standards.

U-B reporter Andy Monserud contributed to this report. Andy Porter can be reached at andyporter@wwub.com or 526-8318.

Andy Porter can be reached at andyporter@wwub.com or 526-8318.

Andy Porter has been with the Union-Bulletin since October 2000. His beats include Walla Walla County, city of College Place, Washington State Penitentiary, agriculture, environment as well as a wide range of general assignment topics.

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