State law sets the requirements for things like when you do and don’t need a permit, how the work must be done, what needs to be inspected, and licensing of Inspectors and Code Officials. We interpret the State Law and apply it to your project.

Yes, a permit is required. However, you may begin the work before you actually have a permit in your hand as long as you notify this office by phone or in person prior to commencing the work during normal business hours, and pay for the permit within 5 days of notification.

Yes, but make sure what you are planning is indeed “minor work”. Please contact the Construction Office if you have questions about what might be minor work.

Yes this is considered “ordinary maintenance”. These are usually items that represent ordinary maintenance such as painting and carpeting in residential structures, replacement of storm windows and doors of the same size openings, wall paper, replacement of kitchen cabinets, etc. We strongly encourage you to call the Construction Office and check to see if a permit is needed.

Permit fees are established by Township ordinance in accordance with guidelines from the State. Basically, the permit fee for any new building is based on the volume of the structure plus various per item costs for plumbing, electrical, and fire protection devices. For alterations or renovations, fees are based on a percentage of the normal cost of work plus various per item costs for plumbing, electrical, and fire protection devices. Still other types of work are based on a flat fee.

The type and number of inspections are determined in accordance with the scope and type of work being performed. For “minor work”, only final inspections are required. For other classes of work, once a permit application is reviewed by this office, a “required inspections” sheet will be given to you for your project when you pick up your permit.

If the application for the permit has already received all “prior approvals”, we will review your application within as little as a few days to a maximum of 20 business days, depending on the complexity of the project and, our current workload. If the application is for a simple interior alteration (finishing a basement, moving a wall, etc) the review period will only be a few days; if there are any deficiencies in the application, you will be advised in writing of just what additional or corrected information is needed. If the application is for a new home or is otherwise more complex, the review period is 20 working days maximum.

You will receive a set of plans marked “field copy”. These need to be kept at the jobsite during the project for the inspector(s) to see. We do not carry plans to the site because they need to be on file as public record. The plans are the inspector’s way of verifying that the project is being built as reviewed and approved. You should know that even if you feel that you have built your project as per plan, there is a remote possibility that it can still fail an inspection. We do our best to review plans for code errors but there are times when the plans do not tell the whole story and there are other times when we all just make mistakes. If we have made a mistake in reviewing your plans and it results in a failed inspection, we will do our best to help you resolve the problem.

You may draw your own plans if you sign the part of the application that certifies that you own and live in the house, will perform the work yourself (electrical, plumbing), perform or supervise in the case of building or fire protection. The plan must be, in the opinion of the construction official and appropriate subcode officials, legible and complete for the purpose of ensuring compliance with the regulations.