Winchendon, Massachusetts Building Permit Guide

In Winchendon, the Building Department at Town Hall, 109 Front Street, issues permits and schedules inspections for all building, plumbing, gas fitting and wiring work, and enforces the zoning bylaw. Applications go to the Land Use Clerk at the same address by mail or by email, and fees, due when you apply, can be paid online. A new one- or two-family home is priced by floor area, from $690 for up to 1,000 square feet, and additions and renovations cost $50 for the first $2,000 of estimated cost plus $5 for each further $1,000.

What requires a building permit in Winchendon?

The Building Department covers all building, plumbing, gas fitting and wiring projects in town. Its fee sheet and application list show the main permit types.

What Winchendon decides and what the state holds

The building code is 780 CMR, the State Building Code issued by the Board of Building Regulations and Standards; the Town enforces it as written. Winchendon sets its own permit fees, approved by the Select Board for the trades, and its own bylaws in the Town Code on eCode360: the Zoning Bylaw (amended December 2023), the wetlands bylaw, the Winchendon Centre Historic District and demolition delay rules, and Chapter 121, which adopted the Stretch Energy Code at the May 20, 2013 Town Meeting.

Winchendon building department: who handles permitting

Rick Germano is the Building Inspector, with Erik Salmi as alternate Building Commissioner; the Town’s plumbing and gas inspector and its wiring inspector each schedule their own inspections. Applications are received by the Land Use Clerk, and the Planning & Development office supports the Zoning Board of Appeals, the Planning Board and the Conservation Commission.

The Building Department page lists 978-297-5401, while the fee page and the printed fee sheets use 978-297-3537; the plumbing and gas inspector (ext. 246) and the wiring inspector (ext. 247) are on the 3537 line.

Winchendon permit types and forms

The Permit Applications page posts fillable forms for one- and two-family structures, other buildings, demolition, driveways, electrical, gas, plumbing, sheet metal and stove permits, a construction debris disposal affidavit and the Department’s permit instructions. Applications are mailed or emailed to the Land Use Clerk, and the fee is due when the application is submitted.

Residential permits

For a new home, structure or addition, the permit instructions ask for the building application signed off by the Tax Collector and the Assessor, full contractor information with license, liability insurance and workers’ compensation, the homeowner affidavit if you hire your own contractors, a signed contract for work over $1,000, detailed plans and payment by check, money order or bank check. Add the Conservation site inspection form and a plot plan showing setbacks and marked wetland buffers, and stake out the building on the ground: the Building Commissioner and the Conservation Agent inspect the site before the permit.

A new house also needs two sets of plans, one signed by the Fire Department, which checks smoke and carbon monoxide detector locations; proof of a recorded ANR plan if the lot was divided; a driveway permit with a Dig Safe number, signed by Conservation and the DPW once the street number is assigned; and DPW notice for any water or sewer tie-in. Where the house will use a well, the well must be installed before the permit, with the driller’s report and a water quality test filed with the Board of Health, which must also sign off the septic plans. A homeowner who pulls the permit signs the Town’s warning that they take personal responsibility for the work and give up their rights to the state Guaranty Fund.

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

Commercial permits

Commercial, industrial and multi-family buildings and commercial pools use the “other than one and two family” application. The fee sheet lists $50 for work under $1,000 of estimated cost and $150 for work over $1,000, then adds $10 per $1,000 of estimated cost up to $1 million and $5 per $1,000 for projects of $1 million or more; ask the Department how those lines combine for your project.

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. If a project does not meet the Zoning Bylaw, the permit is denied in writing and the owner may appeal to the Zoning Board of Appeals; if it needs a special permit, the denial letter sends it to the Planning Board. The ZBA meets on the third Wednesday of the month, and its process takes at least 60 days from application to decision, including the 20-day appeal period.
• Conservation Commission. Structures inside the 100-foot wetland buffer go to the Conservation Commission, which hears the filing for an Order of Conditions. Every new structure or addition starts with a Conservation site inspection form, and Conservation signs off the permit for a new home.
• Board of Health. Septic plans, perc tests and installer permits come from the Board of Health at Department 5, 109 Front Street (978-297-3537), which meets at 10:00 am on the first Monday of the month; the Health Agent sees people by appointment.

The permit instructions state that no permit is issued until every sign-off is complete.

Winchendon permit costs and fees

The building fee sheet now posted by the Land Use Department is dated May 7, 2013; the electrical, plumbing and gas schedules took effect on April 11, 2017 after Select Board approval. Building fees are not refundable, and every building permit fee doubles if construction starts before the permit is granted.

For example, a $30,000 kitchen renovation costs $190 for the building permit: $50 for the first $2,000 plus $5 for each of the remaining 28 thousands. Plumbing and gas fees are not included in the building permit, and starting trade work without a permit can cost up to twice the fee.

New homes often pay other Town fees as well. The Board of Health schedule (effective October 1, 2016) charges $300 for a new-construction septic plan review, $250 for a new-construction perc test and $75 for a septic repair permit covering three inspections. The DPW fee schedule lists a $1,890 water tie-in fee plus a $300 tap fee, a $4,995 sewer tie-in for a single-family home and $100 for each road opening permit.

Trade permits and who may pull them

• Wiring: book inspections with the wiring inspector at 978-297-3537, ext. 247. A service change is $50 for the first meter, a temporary service $50, a residential roof-mounted solar array $150, an in-ground pool $75 and large solar arrays $5 per kilowatt (DC); reinspections and trench inspections are $50.
• Plumbing: book with the plumbing and gas inspector at ext. 246. Renovations are $50 for a single fixture or $125 for the first three plus $10 for each more; a boiler, water heater or storage tank is $50 for a house and $150 for a commercial building.
• Gas: residential renovations are $50 for the first fixture plus $10 for each more; new commercial gas work is $125 plus $10 per fixture, with up to two inspections included and $50 for each extra one.

Each trade application asks for the contractor’s license, liability insurance and workers’ compensation details. A reinspection made because of a violation or unfinished work is $75 for plumbing and gas, and a reinspection of a scheduled inspection is $50.

How to apply for a Winchendon building permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

Under 780 CMR 105.3.1 a building official has 30 days from the filing of an application to grant or deny it. Winchendon will not issue a permit until every sign-off is in, so plan for the joint site inspection by the Building Commissioner and Conservation Agent, an Order of Conditions for work in a wetland buffer, a well report and water test, the Board of Health’s septic approval, or a zoning denial that has to go to the ZBA or Planning Board. A street number for a new house is assigned only after a completed building application is approved.

Inspections in Winchendon

All inspections are by appointment. Building inspections need 24 hours’ notice to the Building Department; plumbing and gas inspections are booked at ext. 246 and wiring inspections at ext. 247 of 978-297-3537. A building reinspection, or an inspection the work is not ready for, costs $50.

The electrical fee for a residential solar system includes up to two visits, and new commercial gas work includes up to two inspections. An occupancy permit for anything other than new construction costs $50. The Board of Health’s septic repair permit covers three inspections, with each extra inspection charged $25.

Building code and local bylaws in Winchendon

Winchendon enforces 780 CMR, 10th edition, with the Stretch Energy Code adopted under Chapter 121 of the Town Code. Chapter 157 sets up the Winchendon Centre Historic District under the state Historic Districts Act and a demolition delay for buildings 50 or more years old: the Building Commissioner sends the application to the Historical Commission within seven days, the Commission decides within 15 days whether the building is significant, holds a hearing within 30 days if it is, and a building it finds preferably preserved faces a 12-month delay before demolition. FEMA lists Winchendon as a participating community in the National Flood Insurance Program, with flood maps effective June 15, 1982.

The local wetlands bylaw, Chapter 275, adopted at the May 2007 Town Meeting, protects vernal pools and other resource areas in addition to those under the state Act. Applications to the Conservation Commission must show the wetland boundaries at a scale of one inch to 40 feet or another readable scale, carry a non-refundable filing fee, and pay for any outside consultant the Commission hires; an applicant who does not pay that consultant fee within 10 business days can have the application denied as incomplete.

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

Winchendon permit search and official resources

Winchendon files permits on paper through the Land Use Clerk, so ask the Building Department at 109 Front Street for records of past permits on a property.

• Winchendon Building Department
• Permit applications and instructions
• Building Department fees
• Building permit fee schedule
• Electrical permit fees (April 11, 2017)
• Plumbing permit fees (April 11, 2017)
• Gas permit fees (April 11, 2017)
• Permit instructions
• Board of Health fee schedule
• Department of Public Works fee schedule
• Board of Health
• Zoning Board of Appeals
• Zoning bylaws
• Wetlands protection bylaw
• Code of the Town of Winchendon (eCode360)
• FEMA Community Status Book, Massachusetts

Winchendon building permit FAQ

How do I submit a building permit application in Winchendon?

Mail it to the Land Use Clerk at 109 Front Street or send it by email, with the sign-offs and the fee. Fees can also be paid online.

How much does a permit for a new house cost?

It depends on floor area: $690 for up to 1,000 square feet, $1,180 for 1,751 to 2,000 square feet, and $120 more for each 250 square feet above 3,000.

Do I need a permit for a shed?

The fee schedule charges nothing for an accessory building under 120 square feet; from 120 to 200 square feet the permit is $50.

Is the Building Department open on Fridays?

No. It is open Monday from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm and Tuesday to Thursday from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm.

Do I need a well before I get a building permit?

Yes, for a new house that will use a well: it must be installed and the driller’s report and water quality test given to the Board of Health first.

Which energy code applies in Winchendon?

The Stretch Energy Code, adopted by the Town in 2013 under Chapter 121 of the Town Code.

How long can a demolition be delayed?

Up to 12 months, if the Historical Commission finds a building 50 or more years old should be preferably preserved.

How much does it cost to connect a new house to town sewer?

The DPW fee schedule lists a $4,995 sewer tie-in fee for a single-family home, plus $100 for the road opening permit.

Simplify Winchendon 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 Winchendon permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.