Caledonia Township, Michigan Building Permit Guide

The Charter Township of Caledonia in Kent County (2025 Census estimate 17,171) is its own construction code enforcing agency: the Caledonia Township Building Department, 8196 Broadmoor Avenue SE (616-891-0442), issues building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits, and Gary Campbell is the Building Official. Building applications are filed by email, mail, fax or at the counter and routed to planning, zoning, utilities and fire for sign-off before plan approval; trade permits can also be bought online. The Village of Caledonia, inside the township, is listed by the state as running its own program.

What requires a building permit in Caledonia Township?

Caledonia leaves the exempt-work question to its Building Department, whose job, in its own words, is to decide whether a permit is needed and then issue it, so a call to 616-891-0442 settles borderline cases. Its submittal sheet shows the residential projects it routinely permits.

The zoning compliance form adds that a building may be erected, moved, extended or altered only under a permit issued under the township building code, and a site plan must accompany it whenever a footprint changes or a new structure is added.

What Caledonia decides and what the state holds

Ordinance 01-01 adopts the state building, mechanical and plumbing codes by reference and names the township’s Building Inspections Department as the enforcing agency, with an electrical inspector and a plumbing inspector appointed by the Township Board; the state jurisdiction list shows the township enforcing all four codes. The board sets permit fees by resolution, and a violation of the ordinance is a municipal civil infraction carrying $100 to $500 for a first offense and up to $2,500 for repeats. Zoning, outdoor lighting zones, private roads and storm water are township ordinances. The Village of Caledonia has its own line on the state list, so a project inside the village goes to the village rather than to this office.

Caledonia Township building department: who handles permitting

Every application goes first to the Building Department, which sends it to the Planning, Zoning, Utilities and Fire departments as needed; once they sign off, the Building Official approves the plans under the state code. The Planning Department also inspects and reviews every non-residential building permit before a certificate of occupancy is issued.

Caledonia Township permit types

The building permit application (revised May 31, 2024) covers new, remodel, repair and replacement work for homes and businesses, asks whether the parcel lies within 500 feet of a lake, stream or designated wetland, and records the declared value used for the fee. Separate township forms exist for electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits, each in a fillable and a PDF version.

Residential permits

• New homes need two full-size or 11 by 17 inch plan sets drawn to scale plus a digital copy, a site plan with measured setbacks, the new house checklist, the zoning compliance form and a KCRC address assignment or driveway permit.
• Sealed drawings are required only for a home over 3,500 square feet of habitable space.
• Pools need pool drawings, a site plan with side and rear setbacks and the electrical permit in the office before the building permit.
• Roofing and siding need just the application and the signed residential worksheet.
• Demolition needs a debris disposal plan, proof the utilities were disconnected, a performance bond (a check is accepted) and a statement on whether material will be buried on site.

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

Commercial permits

Non-residential projects start with the Planning Department: site plan review, special land uses, planned unit developments and rezonings go through the Planning Commission and the Township Board under a published calendar: in 2026 the commission meets on Mondays, mostly the first and third of the month, and a complete package with fee, escrow and folded plan sets is due by 10 a.m. on the deadline about four weeks earlier. The last 2026 meetings are November 16 and December 7. The building file needs utility plans showing every water and sewer connection and meter size so connection fees can be set, and the Fire Department publishes its own commercial requirements, including an underground piping test certificate and hydrant signage. New permanent signs and outdoor lighting go through the zoning sign and lighting compliance form and lighting spreadsheet, checked against the township’s adopted light zones.

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

What comes before the building permit

• Zoning compliance. A signed form goes with every permit. If the project needs a variance, file the appeal and variance application with the zoning administrator at least four weeks before a Zoning Board of Appeals meeting; the board meets as needed, holds a public hearing with testimony under oath, and must find that the request meets all six standards in the ordinance. Application and escrow fees follow the schedule the Township Board adopted on October 5, 2016.
• Road Commission. Every new building needs a Kent County Road Commission driveway permit whatever the road type; platted lots get a no-fee letter. A private road serving more than one house also needs a recorded driveway maintenance agreement.
• Soil erosion. A KCRC permit, and bond if required, within 500 feet of a lake, stream, river or wetland, or for more than an acre of disturbance.
• Well and septic. Private systems are permitted by the Kent County Health Department, Environmental Health Division, 700 Fuller NE, Grand Rapids (616-632-6900); public water and sewer are township permits.
• Parcel number. A permanent parcel number from Kent County Mapping and Description.

Caledonia Township permit costs and fees

Ordinance 01-01 leaves fees to resolutions of the Township Board, and the Building Department quotes the building permit and plan review charge when it reviews the file. The application explains the basis: the fee follows the declared construction value or the value calculated under the ordinance or the state Bureau of Construction Codes fee schedule, whichever is higher. The electrical application prints its own chart.

Worked example from the electrical chart: upgrading a house to a 200-amp service with four new circuits, inspected at rough-in and final, is $10 + (4 × $5) + (2 × $30) = $90, because the application fee is waived. The building application also has boxes for a plan review fee, a stop work fee and an additional inspection fee, and contractors who skip registration or other rules risk a double permit fee.

Trade permits and who may pull them

Caledonia issues and inspects its own electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits. These three trades can be applied for and paid online through the township’s BS&A Online portal, which the department says does not work in Chrome or Firefox; building permits cannot be filed there.

• Contractors: registration has been required since August 15, 1994, and only registered, licensed contractors can obtain permits. Send the form with a copy of the active license (LARA residential builder or maintenance and alteration license, or the state electrical, plumbing or mechanical license). Renew the copy when the license expires; registration can be revoked if code or ordinance violations go uncorrected for 30 days.
• Homeowners: the registration form allows a homeowner permit for a single-family home the owner lives in, or will occupy for at least one year, and the trade applications carry a homeowner affidavit for work in the owner’s own house.
• Electrical plans must be sealed except for minor alterations and repairs, systems rated 400 amps or less, and homes of not more than 3,500 square feet.

How to apply for a Caledonia Township building permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

Because the file travels through planning, zoning, utilities and fire before the Building Official sees it, a missing signature on the zoning form or missing utility details for a commercial building stops the routing. The township also flags county permits that take time: the Health Department’s well final should be booked early to avoid a certificate of occupancy delay. A permit becomes invalid if work does not start within 180 days, and one with no inspection for 180 days is cancelled without refund.

Inspections and certificates in Caledonia Township

Inspectors will not come out unless the address is posted where it can be seen; the permit must also be visible from the road and the site reachable by emergency vehicles. Each contractor calls in its own inspections, and work covered too early has to be exposed again. The building application lists these stages:

• Footing and formwork before concrete, and post holes for post-and-beam buildings before concrete or backfill.
• Backfill after damp- or waterproofing and foundation drains.
• Rough-in once framing and the trade roughs have passed, then insulation before drywall.
• Trenching for any pipe, gas line or cable laid in a trench.
• Energy code compliance where it applies, once the blower door test is documented and the compliance statement is posted on the electrical panel.
• Final after all trade finals and before anyone occupies or stores property in the building.

A final inspection and certificate of occupancy are required on every project before occupancy. For a partial or temporary occupancy, write to the Building Official with the area, the reason, the completion date, a list of unfinished work and the date wanted, and pay $30 per trade; each trade inspects, and any approval carries special conditions and an expiry date. The Kent County Health Department does its own septic and well finals.

Michigan building code in Caledonia Township

Caledonia enforces the state code for all trades through its Building Inspections Department under Ordinance 01-01. FEMA’s Community Status Book lists the Charter Township of Caledonia (community 260693) as a participating National Flood Insurance Program community since July 2, 1981, with the current flood maps effective February 23, 2023.

Michigan enforces one statewide construction code under the Stille-DeRossett-Hale Single State Construction Code Act (1972 PA 230); local units cannot amend it, and enforcement sits with the city, village or township, a county program or the state Bureau of Construction Codes, sometimes split by trade. Michigan rules

Caledonia Township permit search and official resources

Past permits, plans and inspection records are public records: send the township’s FOIA request form to the FOIA Coordinator at 8196 Broadmoor Avenue SE, and direct questions to the Clerk’s Office at 616-891-0070, ext. 215.

• Building Department and forms
• Building permit submittal requirements
• Building permit checklist for applicants
• Building permit application
• Electrical permit application with fee chart
• Contractor registration form
• Partial and temporary occupancy requirements
• Zoning compliance form
• Compiled general ordinances (June 2026)
• Zoning and other ordinances
• Zoning Department
• Appeal and variance application
• 2026 Planning Commission dates and deadlines
• Planning Department
• FOIA policy and request forms
• BS&A Online trade permits
• Kent County Road Commission permits
• Statewide Jurisdiction List (Bureau of Construction Codes)

Caledonia Township building permit FAQs

Can I apply for a building permit online in Caledonia Township?

Not for building permits; send them by email, mail, fax or in person. Electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits can be applied for and paid online.

Can a homeowner pull a permit?

Yes, for a single-family home the owner lives in or will occupy for at least a year; a homeowner does not register as a contractor.

How much is an electrical permit?

The application fee is waived; items are priced from the chart and each inspection is $30, so a 200-amp service with four circuits and two inspections is $90.

Do I need sealed plans for a new house?

Only if the home has more than 3,500 square feet of habitable space.

Who handles permits in the Village of Caledonia?

The state jurisdiction list shows the village running its own program, separate from the township’s Building Department.

Do I need a driveway permit?

Every new building needs one from the Kent County Road Commission; platted lots get a no-fee letter.

How long is a permit good for?

It lapses if work does not start within 180 days, and it is cancelled if 180 days pass without an inspection.

Simplify Caledonia Township permitting with Alliance Permitting

Alliance Permitting is a permit documentation and submission company in Michigan. 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 Caledonia Township permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.