Belchertown, Massachusetts Building Permit Guide

In Belchertown, the Inspection Services Department at 2 Jabish Street, headed by the Inspector of Buildings, issues building, wiring, plumbing and gas permits; the same official is the Zoning Enforcement Officer. The department posts its applications as downloadable forms, and its fee schedule, effective January 1, 2024, charges new houses $0.75 per square foot of gross floor area and lets sheds of 200 square feet or less go without a permit. The town adopted the Stretch energy code in 2010.

What work requires a building permit in Belchertown?

Belchertown’s 2024 fee schedule lists the building permits the department issues, and it states one exemption plainly: sheds of 200 square feet or less need no permit, though setbacks still apply. Work the schedule does not list is priced by the Building Inspector, with a $20 minimum on any building permit.

Sheds that do need a permit, pools and solar panels also need an electrical permit at $55 per inspection where wiring is involved. The department publishes information sheets for pools and woodstoves, a guide to accessory apartments, and a home occupation zoning permit for businesses run from a house.

What Belchertown decides and what the state holds

780 CMR is the state Board of Building Regulations and Standards’ code and applies in Belchertown as written. Town Meeting adopted the Stretch energy code (Chapter 116), the Belchertown Center Historic District (Chapter 51), the wetlands bylaw (Chapter 139) and the stormwater bylaw (Chapter 112); the Board of Health adds its own septic and private well rules; and the department sets its fee schedules.

Belchertown building department: who handles permitting

The Inspector of Buildings is the department head, with the title Director of Inspection Services, and also serves as Zoning Enforcement Officer, Sealer of Weights and Measures, the town’s enhanced 911 database liaison and chair of the Americans with Disabilities Act Committee. The rest of the department is part-time: an assistant inspector of buildings, two inspectors of wiring and three inspectors of plumbing and gas fitting, with one full-time technician and secretary running the office. The department page links an email address for the Inspector, and the town’s staff directory lists the rest of the team.

Belchertown permit types and application documents

Residential permits

The residential building permit application, the electrical, plumbing and gas permit forms (posted as image files), the trench permit and the workers’ compensation affidavit are all on the Inspection Services page. For a new house, the department’s single-family flow chart lists what to bring to the Building Inspector: an approved well permit and well completion report, or a town water permit; a stormwater permit if more than 10,000 square feet will be disturbed; an approved septic or sewer permit; a curb cut application through the DPW; a surveyed plot plan, usually prepared with the septic design; energy code compliance, including a HERS rater review for new homes; the trench permit; two sets of house plans; and the Conservation Commission’s order of conditions where wetlands are involved. Plans should show the site, foundation, floor plans with fire protection and heating locations, elevations, framing, schedules for doors and windows, and energy information.

Building or remodeling a home here? Alliance handles residential permit filing, so the crew isn't waiting on the counter.

Commercial permits

Commercial buildings use a separate commercial building application. New business buildings are $0.75 per square foot; commercial alterations, repairs and renovations are $75 plus $7 per $1,000 of renovation cost with a $250 minimum; business solar is $75 plus $7 per $1,000; signs are $5 per square foot; a new cell tower is $1,000 and an antenna swap or upgrade $250. Wiring and plumbing permits for new business, commercial, industrial and educational buildings are $200 plus $3 per $1,000 of the estimated cost of that trade’s work.

For tenant improvements and new commercial builds, Alliance handles commercial permit expediting through issuance. More on this: commercial building permits explained.

What comes before the building permit

• Zoning: the Building Inspector enforces zoning; variances and special permits go to the Zoning Board of Appeals on the posted application.
• Wetlands: the flow chart sends anyone with possible wetlands within 150 feet of the work to the Conservation Commission, which decides jurisdiction (usually about 3 weeks for a Request for Determination) and issues wetland permits (about 6 weeks for a Notice of Intent).
• Stormwater: the Commission is also the Stormwater Authority under Chapter 112; disturbing more than 10,000 square feet needs a stormwater permit.
• Septic and wells: perc tests are done in March, April and May; well plans usually take 1 to 3 days (up to 21) and septic plans about 3 weeks (up to 45 days).
• Historic district: visible exterior changes in the Belchertown Center Historic District need Historic District Commission approval first.

Belchertown building permit fees

The Building Permit Fee Schedule took effect January 1, 2024. New buildings and additions are priced per square foot of gross floor area, counted on every level but leaving out unfinished basements and attics; renovations are a base fee plus a rate on cost.

Worked example. A two-story house with 1,200 square feet on each floor, an unfinished basement and a 500-square-foot attached garage pays 2,400 × $0.75 = $1,800 for the house and 500 × $0.50 = $250 for the garage, or $2,050 in building fees; the basement is not counted. A $30,000 kitchen renovation is $75 plus 30 × $7, or $285.

Trade permits and who may pull them

The department’s part-time wiring and plumbing and gas inspectors issue and inspect trade permits. State-licensed electricians, plumbers and gas fitters file them, and house construction needs a licensed construction supervisor (with home improvement contractor registration for work on existing owner-occupied homes) unless the owner does the work under the homeowner exemption. Trade fees follow two schedules effective January 1, 2024:

How to apply for a Belchertown building permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

780 CMR 105.3.1 gives the building official 30 days after filing to issue or deny a permit. For a new Belchertown house, most of the calendar is spent before that clock starts: the department’s chart allows about 3 weeks for a wetland determination, 6 weeks for a Notice of Intent, up to 45 days for septic plan approval, and perc testing limited to the spring months. A missing HERS rater review or a second set of plans holds up an otherwise complete application.

Inspections in Belchertown

Inspectors go out on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 1 to 4 p.m. and on Tuesday and Thursday from 10 a.m. to noon; the office takes calls at 413-323-0402 during its morning hours and the Tuesday and Thursday afternoon window. A new house’s electrical permit covers the trench, service, rough and final inspections, while other wiring and pool work is billed at $55 per inspection, and every failed or repeated trade inspection is another $55. Septic systems are inspected under the Board of Health, and past septic, well and Title 5 inspection reports can be looked up on the town’s AxisGIS map.

Energy code and local bylaws in Belchertown

Belchertown has used the Stretch code since 2010: the Annual Town Meeting of May 10, 2010 (Article 22) adopted the Stretch Energy Code “as may be amended from time to time” in Chapter 116, as a more energy-efficient alternative to the base code. Chapter 51 created the Belchertown Center Historic District, with the same boundaries as the 1982 National Register district; its Historic District Commission controls new construction, alterations, moving and demolition of exterior features visible from any public street, way or park in the district, and treats stone walls, fences, driveways, walks, steps, signs and lights as structures. The 2020 wetlands bylaw (Chapter 139) covers resource areas and the land within 100 feet of them, and the Board of Health’s 2023 septic regulation keeps leach fields at least 100 feet from watercourses and wetlands.

The Board of Health’s private well regulation (Chapter 285, rewritten October 12, 2022) ties the well to the building permit: a water supply certificate must be issued before a building permit for new construction served by a well, and before an occupancy permit for an existing building that relies on one. A Massachusetts-certified well driller obtains the well permit before drilling; it must be on site during work and expires after one year, with one six-month extension available on written request. The regulation sets minimum distances for a new well: 10 feet from the property line, 25 feet from a road, 15 feet from a right-of-way, 50 feet from a building sewer or septic tank, 100 feet from a leaching field, drywell, privy, stable or manure storage, and 250 feet from underground fuel or pesticide storage.

Massachusetts has one State Building Code, 780 CMR, for every city and town; towns cannot rewrite it, though many opt into a stricter energy code. The trades run under their own state codes. Massachusetts rules

Belchertown building permit FAQ

How much does a building permit for a new house cost in Belchertown?

$0.75 per square foot of gross floor area on each level, not counting an unfinished basement or attic, plus $0.50 per square foot for an attached garage. A 2,400-square-foot house with a 500-square-foot garage pays $2,050. If the house will use a private well, the Board of Health must first issue a water supply certificate.

Do I need a permit for a shed?

Not for a shed of 200 square feet or less, but it must still meet setbacks. Larger sheds are $0.40 per square foot with a $100 minimum.

Can I apply online?

The Inspection Services page offers downloadable application forms rather than an online portal; completed forms go to the office at 2 Jabish Street.

When are inspections done?

Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 1 to 4 p.m., and Tuesday and Thursday from 10 a.m. to noon.

Which energy code applies in Belchertown?

The Stretch energy code, adopted by Town Meeting on May 10, 2010; new homes need a HERS rater review.

When can I do a perc test?

The department’s flow chart schedules perc tests with the Health Department in March, April and May.

Is my property in the historic district?

The Belchertown Center Historic District follows the 1982 National Register district boundaries. Visible exterior changes there, including fences, walls and signs, need Historic District Commission approval.

What does a pool permit cost?

$100 for an above-ground pool or $200 for an in-ground pool, plus an electrical permit at $55 per inspection. FEMA lists Belchertown (community 250157) as participating in the National Flood Insurance Program, with current flood maps effective September 2, 1981.

Belchertown permit search and official resources

For copies of past building permits and plans, contact Inspection Services at 413-323-0402. Septic, well and Title 5 inspection reports are attached to parcels on the town’s AxisGIS map, and the town’s bylaws are on eCode360. Health services are provided through the Quabbin Health District, which serves Belchertown, Pelham and Ware.

• Belchertown Inspection Services
• Inspection Services staff directory
• Residential building permit application
• Commercial building application
• Building permit fee schedule (January 1, 2024)
• Electrical permit fees
• Plumbing and gas permit fees
• Single-family construction flow chart
• Pool information sheet
• Variance or special permit application
• Workers’ compensation affidavit
• Conservation Department
• Board of Health
• AxisGIS septic, well and Title 5 reports
• Town bylaws (eCode360)
• Chapter 116 Stretch Energy Code
• Chapter 51 Historic District
• Chapter 285 private wells
• Official 2020 municipal census
• Massachusetts municipal energy code list
• Massachusetts State Building Code
• FEMA Community Status Book, Massachusetts

Simplify Belchertown permitting with Alliance Permitting

Alliance Permitting is a permit documentation and submission company in Massachusetts. We prepare your paperwork, file it correctly and coordinate with the permitting authority through issuance. We are not a contractor and we do not perform licensed plan review or inspections; that work stays with your licensed team and the jurisdiction.

This guide is provided by Alliance Permitting for general information about Belchertown permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.