FAQs

• First, call the non-emergency line at 360-693-3111. A dispatch operator will contact Animal Control or a police officer to respond to your call.
• You will also want to call the Camas-Washougal Animal Control line at 360-835-8701 (press 1) and leave a message related to your lost dog. Hours of operation are Monday through Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm.
• Call our local shelter, the West Columbia Gorge Humane Society, to report a lost or found dog at 360-335-0941.
• Visit the Washougal Animal Control website to see if your dog has been impounded by Animal Control.

The City of Camas charges $40 to get your dog out of impound along with a $20 boarding fee. The next time your dog is impounded the charge is $55 plus the boarding fee.

A Camas Dog License or replacement tag can be obtained at Camas City Hall, 616 NE Fourth Avenue Camas, WA. Phone 360-834-2462.

You must show proof of current rabies vaccination at that time.

The cost is $34.00 for a lifetime license and $6 for a replacement tag. 

The Washington State Department of Fish & Wildlife trains and licenses Nuisance Wildlife Control Operators (NWCO) to assist with nuisance wildlife problems. For more information, call the Washington State Department of Fish & Wildlife at (360) 696-6211 and stay on the line for a Customer Service Operator. 

For additional information, you may reach the Progressive Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) at (425) 787-2500, visit their web site at www.paws.org, or visit their wildlife page.

All permit fees, plan review, impact fees, and system development charges must be paid prior to permit issuance.

Yes. Please note the following exception: Decks that do not exceed 200 square feet in area; that are not more than 30 inches above grade at any point; that are not attached to a dwelling; and do not serve as an exit door as required by the International Residential Code, Section R311.4.

To obtain the permit you will need to submit two sets of construction drawings, two site plans, and proof of ownership. Check with our staff for residential deck handouts and further information.

The Building Division is open to the public Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 - 5:00 p.m. City staff will not be able to accept applications, issue permits or receipts after 4:00 p.m.

You can access the Knowledge Base here

Submit a completed Statement of Qualifications to Jennifer Hertz, City of Camas, 616 NE 4th Avenue, Camas, WA 98607.

Yes, bids must be submitted in a sealed envelope, clearly marked with the Bidding Company's name, project number and project title, prior to the designated deadline.

Please go to MRSC Rosters at mrscrosters.org to submit an application. 

No, only cash, bid bond, certified check or cashiers check is acceptable for a bid deposit. Failure to submit a bid deposit in the amount of 5% of the bid will be deemed a nonresponsive bid by staff. After the lowest three bidders have been determined, all other bid bonds will be released. After a contract has been executed, all remaining bid security will be released.

We do not suggest purchasing plan sets from a plan center, they may not be up-to-date on project addenda. You must be on the Self-Registered Bidders List managed by BXWA to automatically receive project addendums. All addendums must be signed and submitted with the proposal to be considered a responsible bid.

If you have a concern about your neighbor’s property, talk to them about your concerns. If that is not an option, and their property is in violation of the code, you may take the following action: 

• In the City of Camas: Log on to Camas Service Requestsfrom the City of Camas web site to report a code violation. 
  • Tall Grass/Vacant Lot reports will be routed to the Fire Marshal’s Office and;
  • Tall Grass/With Structure reports will be routed to the code enforcement officer at the Camas Police Dept.
• In the City of Washougal: Log on to Report a Concern from the City of Washougal's website to report a code violation.   
  • Tall Grass/Vacant Lot reports will be routed to the Fire Marshal’s Office and;
  • Tall Grass/With Structure reports will be routed to the Washougal code enforcement officer.

A permit is required from the fire department.  Submit an application through our on-line system to include a scale drawing of the property (indicating tank, piping and structure locations).

Call the Camas-Washougal Fire Department at 360-834-2262.  You may schedule a time to discuss the situation with a department member trained in handling juvenile fire starter problems.

Details regarding Outdoor Burning Regulations can be found in the document section of our Fire Safety and Education page. 

All of our paramedics are also cross-trained as firefighters (they even keep their firefighting gear on the ambulance). Federal standards and state law require that we have a minimum number of personnel on scene before we enter a burning structure or other hazardous incident. If you report a fire incident, it’s common for an ambulance to respond with the fire truck to provide this assistance. This provides safety in numbers and allows us to extinguish your fire more quickly.

The lowest level of trash pickup the City offers is every-other-week pickup. If you are not currently signed up for every-other-week trash service, contact the Finance Department at 360-834-2462 to request the lesser pickup service.

The City will pick up a variety of large items for an additional fee (based on the item's size and weight). If you wish to inquire as to the cost for an extra item pickup and/or arrange for the item to be removed on your next pickup day, please contact the Finance Department at 360-834-2462.

Recycling is picked up weekly at all times. We do ask that you only leave it curbside for pickup when the can is full enough not to topple over on a windy day though.

The only time the City will intentionally skip your trash pickup is if the pickup schedule was altered by inclement weather, a holiday, or construction/maintenance in the area. View the City's holiday pickup schedule. If inclement weather or construction/maintenance are affecting pickup, the crew will return as soon as they are able.

If none of these circumstances apply, the missed pickup was likely just an oversight. You can contact the Finance Department at 360-834-2462 to request a return trip, or the Sanitation Hotline at 360-817-1531 after business hours. If the miss was due to the can not being curbside, or not being out by 6:30 am on pickup day, you may be assessed a return trip fee.

No.  By default, the search results will show matches for any word within the phrase.  In this example, you would receive results for all web pages and documents that contained either the word alarm or the word permit or both.

In order to search on an exact phrase, enclose your search phrase in quotations.  The search results for "alarm permit" will show matches for that exact phrase.

Yes, even though you have a septic tank you are still tied into the City of Camas’ sewer main.

The City of Camas maintains the tank pump control panel and line leaving the tank going to the street.The homeowner maintains the line between the house and the tank. 

Leaks that occur between November and February affect the winter average used for billing in the remainder of the year. To avoid having an abnormally high winter average, customers who have had a leak may apply to the Finance Department for an adjustment to their winter average. Even customers whose leaks did not meet the criteria for a credit to their bill could still be eligible for this winter average adjustment. Customers must submit proof that a leak occurred to qualify for an adjustment.

In the absence of water use history, new owners default to the 13 unit average for a 2-month billing cycle until they've owned the home throughout a full winter averaging period. New owners will not have their water use based on use by the prior owner of the property.

Customers who are large water consumers see direct increases in sewer billing as well. The greater your use of water, the more burden your residence places upon the sewer system, and thus the greater is your portion of sewer maintenance and operations. As always, the City strongly encourages water conservation, and those users who conserve will directly lower both water and sewer charges on their bill.

All underground residential lawn sprinkler systems are required to have a backflow prevention assembly installed on the sprinkler system. Backflow prevention devices on certain residential irrigation systems are mandatory in the City of Camas. Backflow devices protect potable (drinkable) water by preventing water on your property from moving back into the main water supply.  

Stormwater fees are assessments on your bill to help cover the cost of federally-mandated treatment of water runoff. Due to population size, in 2005 the City became large enough to be subject to requirements of the Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Water Act for the treatment of stormwater runoff.

Because of public bidding laws, having the City outsource the maintenance work would likely cost the homeowners more money than if they hired the contractor themselves. In addition, the City does not currently have the resources to pay for the maintenance of all private stormwater facilities up front, or manage the work. However, staff is here and available to provide technical support and assist HOA’s and private owners on the best approach to complete the maintenance.

Please contact Brian Monnin by phone 360.817.7388 or email bmonnin@cityofcamas.us, to obtain maps or record drawings of your stormwater facility.  

There is a list of contractors known to perform maintenance work on stormwater facilities available on the Stormwater Partners of Southwest Washington’s website to assist with HOAs and private owners in search of a vendor. This is not a complete list of contractors, nor is it an endorsement of any particular contractor.

Street crews are in constant contact with both police and fire during an inclement weather event.  Plows will be dispatched to assist emergency vehicle access into neighborhoods for emergency response.

No, by City Ordinance (CMC 12.04.020) it is the homeowner’s responsibility to clear the sidewalk adjacent to their property.

Prior to a storm when the road surface temperature falls below 38 degrees, the City may apply a liquid de-icer (Magnesium Chloride) to the main arterials.This product helps reduce the formation of ice and will speed the melting process after the storm.The City may also apply a solid de-icer on the main arterial hills.  Due to the expense and corrosive nature of salt, this treatment option is used sparingly. As a last resort, the City may also apply sand. All de-icing products can be corrosive to vehicles. We recommend that you wash your vehicle after major storms.The City of Camas works to minimize the amount of product applied while still maintaining effectiveness.  

The City cannot clear individual driveways.  Plow operators make every attempt to minimize the plow impacts but must continue to plow the other neighborhoods

There are many reasons a plow operator may have the blade up. Responding to an emergency call, equipment malfunction, operator judgment that plowing will be ineffective or make things worse, operator safety, using chains to break up the ice coating to allow for future plowing are just a few of the reasons.

Yes. A tree removal and general encroachment permit is required to remove and replace street trees along the roadway.

Measure the diameter of each tree at 4.5 feet above the ground. This is called the diameter at breast height (DBH) and it is measured in inches.

Yes. Trees to be planted must meet the following size specifications.

• Evergreen: 4 foot tall minimum
• Deciduous: 
  • 2.0 inch calliper, branched
  • 2.0 inch DBH
  • Deciduous trees in planter strips to be a minimum 2" caliper and on approved street tree list.

Yes, when you log into your account with our Utility Access Portal, you can opt-in for electronic statements under "Contact Preferences."

If you've sold your property, call the Finance Department at 360-834-2462 at least two days prior to the closing date to prompt a final meter read and the generating of a closing bill. Your billing will cease on the date the deed was legally recorded with Clark County.

If you're a tenant and you will be vacating the property, call the Finance Department at 360-834-2462 at least two days prior to the closing date to prompt a final meter read and the generating of a closing bill.

If you do not contact the City within the required timeframe, you will be responsible for any charges up until the day we are notified of the change in ownership or tenancy.

If you only wish to have services turned off, please call the Finance Department at 360-834-2462 to request that water be turned off. Please keep in mind that billing for service does not stop when service is off, as base fees pay for maintenance of the system that makes service available even when not in use.

The City charges a fee to turn service off to a property; however, there is no fee when you wish to reconnect service. If the turn off is done to allow repairs to be done at the property and is restored on the same day, there is no fee charged. Please keep in mind that there will still be charges accruing at the property that must be paid by the due date to avoid penalties.

The City does not report late payments to a credit agency.

Check your bill and make sure you do not have abnormally high water use. The City strives to monitor for abnormal spikes in water use, and as a courtesy, may send you a letter to alert you of a possible leak; however, being familiar with typical water use at your home may help you spot a leak before City staff. Visit the City's page about Water Leaks & Meter Reads for more information.

The City’s responsibility ends at the water meter. The customer is responsible from the meter to the house including plumbing inside of the house. Some leaks may be easy to fix, while others may require a plumber. Locate your master water supply valve and label it. The master supply-valve can be turned off easily in case of a major leak or broken pipe (DO NOT turn off the City-side curbstop on the meter). The customer is also responsible for keeping the meter box free from landscaping, fences, or any obstruction that could prevent meter reading or emergency access.

If you suspect something is not right with your water quality, please contact the Operations Center at 360-817-1563 or the Finance Department at 360-834-2462 to report your concerns. Someone from the Water Department will be dispatched to test your water for anything abnormal.