Fraser, Michigan Building Permit Guide

Building permits in the City of Fraser come from the Building, Zoning & Code Enforcement department at City Hall, 33000 Garfield Road (586-293-3100, option 1), which enforces the building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing codes; Bob Logan is the Building Department Manager. Applications go in through BS&A Online, not by mail. Under the FY 2026–2027 fee schedule (amended September 11, 2026), a new building valued over $10,000 costs $250 plus $7 per $1,000 above $10,000, plus 20% of that fee for plan review.

What requires a building permit in Fraser?

The department’s own list of projects it inspects is the best guide: all new construction, additions, structural alterations, fire suppression systems, demolition, swimming pools, signs, sheds and decks. Electrical, mechanical and plumbing work each need a separate permit on top of any building permit. The fee schedule adds roofs, concrete, private garages, windows, siding, fences, generators, waterproofing and work in the street right-of-way to the list of items the city charges for.

A separate building application is needed for each structure or tenant space. Work started before a permit is issued costs an extra $75 on a home or $150 on a commercial job, in each trade.

What Fraser decides and what the state holds

The state’s Statewide Jurisdiction List shows Fraser enforcing all four codes — building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing — through its own program; Macomb County has no county building department. Within that state code, the city sets its fee schedule, runs zoning through its Planning Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals, handles floodplain paperwork such as elevation certificates and FEMA map-change requests, and inspects non-owner-occupied rental housing. Soil erosion permits are no longer a city service: the fee schedule sends applicants to Macomb County.

Fraser building department: who handles permitting

Building, Zoning & Code Enforcement handles permits, inspections, zoning permits and code enforcement from City Hall. The city uses an outside reviewer for fire protection: no fire inspection is booked until Fire Savvy has received and reviewed the plans (800-515-8464). Rental inspections run Tuesday to Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., and owners of vacant or abandoned buildings register them for $25 plus a $10 monthly monitoring fee.

Fraser permit types

The city’s apply page links downloadable forms for building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits, sign review, certificates of occupancy or compliance, zoning permits and fences, and separate forms for site plans, special land use, ZBA cases and rezoning. The same work is filed online through BS&A, and the city says questions about payment or the application come back by email. Contractors register with the city ($15) and give their state license details; the building application asks for the residential builder license number, workers’ compensation carrier and employer numbers, or the reason for an exemption.

Residential permits

• New houses are charged on the “new build” scale with plan review at 20% of the permit fee and a $1,000 escrow for residential structures and additions.
• Roofs, siding, windows, decks, sheds, private garages and concrete fall under “utility uses”: $50 up to $1,000 of value, then $100 plus $3 per $1,000.
• Pools are flat fees ($50 above-ground, $110 in-ground, $100 to remove an in-ground pool), with a $500 escrow on in-ground pools and $100 on above-ground ones.
• Fences cost $190 for a home, a figure the schedule says covers every review and inspection.

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

Commercial permits

Commercial and industrial buildings use the same new-build scale and 20% plan review; a job sent to an outside consultant is billed at the consultant’s cost plus 5%. Escrow is $10,000 for a new commercial or industrial building and $1,000 for alterations. Fire suppression work needs its own $250 permit plus a $250 plan review and $250 system inspection, and certificates of compliance or occupancy are priced by floor area, from $200 under 5,000 square feet to a $625 cap at 100,000 square feet or more. Signs cost $55 up to $1,000 of value and $110 above, and the city engineer’s plan review of storm, sanitary, water and paving work is 5% of the approved estimated construction cost.

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

• Planning Commission site plan review. Multiple-family projects pay $1,200 plus $15 a unit and individual commercial or industrial sites $1,700 plus $75 an acre; a preliminary engineering review before the Planning Commission is $250, and the first meeting with city staff is free.
• Zoning Board of Appeals. A variance request is $900 for a single-family home or $1,200 for other property, plus a $1,000 escrow.
• Soil erosion. Apply to Macomb County Public Works, whose 2026 fees start at $431 for a minor permit of up to three months and $1,016 for a two-year single-family permit.
• Water and sewer. A 1-inch water tap is $1,800, a sewer tap $1,200, and new buildings pay a sewer system benefit fee of $900 per capacity unit.
• Roads. A city right-of-way, approach or sidewalk permit is $75; county roads need a Macomb County Department of Roads permit filed on paper with four sets of plans.

Fraser permit costs and fees

Fees come from the City of Fraser Fee Schedule for FY 2026–2027, amended September 11, 2026. Every building permit also carries a $30 non-refundable application fee, and a zoning review and inspection fee of $1 per $1,000 of estimated cost applies to new construction and land improvements, capped at $75.

Worked example from the schedule: a new house valued at $200,000 falls in the top band, so the permit is $250 plus 190 × $7 ($1,330), or $1,580. Plan review adds 20% ($316), the application fee $30 and the zoning fee its $75 cap, for $2,001 before trade permits and the $1,000 escrow. The bands do not join up: the middle band reaches $185 at $10,000 while the top band starts at $250, so ask the department how a job right at $10,000 is priced.

Trade permits and who may pull them

Electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits are issued and inspected by the city, and each trade form carries a $30 application fee and a $15 contractor registration. Trade inspections are held on Tuesdays and Thursdays between 9 a.m. and noon.

• Electrical. Charged per item and per inspection; pool wiring is a flat $120 (in-ground), $90 (above-ground) or $60 (hot tub), and a standby generator up to 30 kilowatts is $75.
• Mechanical. A residential furnace, boiler or pool heater up to 500,000 BTU is $35, and the schedule notes that a furnace also needs an electrical reconnect; gas piping must be pressure tested ($40 per meter).
• Plumbing. Digging outside or in the right-of-way needs a $2,500 escrow, and roadway digging $10,000.
• Owners. The building application lets the owner, a contractor or another party apply, and asks a contractor for the residential builder license number. The city’s pages do not set out a homeowner rule for trade work, so ask the department before an owner applies for an electrical, mechanical or plumbing permit.

How to apply for a Fraser building permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

Staff plan review is charged at 20% of the permit fee; if the city sends plans to a consultant, the consultant’s cost plus 5% is billed instead, and any third-party review is charged the same way. Fire protection work waits until Fire Savvy has the plans. A permit becomes invalid if work does not start within six months of issue or stops for six months, and renewing it costs $50.

Inspections and certificates in Fraser

Only the applicant may schedule inspections, and the city holds the permit holder responsible for calling them in on time; missed inspections can cost the bond or lead to ordinance violations. Building inspections run Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to noon. A failed or extra inspection is billed under each trade’s schedule (for example, an electrical or mechanical re-inspection is $35).

• New homes: footing; crock-to-iron plumbing and DPW outfall; backfill after waterproofing and drainage; rough plumbing, electrical and mechanical; basement stone and garage sand before concrete; rough building; insulation; drywall before taping; final building for the certificate of occupancy.
• Remodels and additions: footings, rough trades, rough building, insulation, drywall, final trades, then final building for bond release.
• Garages and sheds: rat wall and footings, electrical if any, then rough and final building.
• Demolition: utility clearances and a certificate of insurance before the permit, a footing-removal inspection before filling, and a final to release the bond.
• Commercial: the sequence adds sand and forms for slabs, interior partitions, site completion and the fire marshal’s requirements before the final.

Michigan building code in Fraser

Fraser enforces the state code itself in all four trades. FEMA’s Community Status Book lists Fraser (community 260122) as a participating National Flood Insurance Program community with flood maps dated September 29, 2006, and the city’s floodplain page provides the elevation certificate application, a community acknowledgement form and the forms for MT-1 map amendment requests.

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

Fraser permit search and official resources

Fraser takes permit applications and inspection requests through BS&A Online. For older permit files or plans, ask the Building Department first; written Freedom of Information Act requests are handled by the City Clerk’s office, and the fee schedule charges 10 cents a printed page, $15 for files sent by email and $15 on a USB drive or disc.

• Fraser Building, Zoning & Code Enforcement
• Apply for a permit or begin the development process
• Fraser on BS&A Online
• City of Fraser FY 2026–2027 fee schedule (amended Sept. 11, 2026)
• Building permit application
• Building inspection sequences
• Fraser floodplain forms
• Macomb County soil erosion program
• Macomb County 2026 soil erosion permit fees
• Macomb County Department of Roads permits
• Michigan Statewide Jurisdiction List
• FEMA Community Status Book, Michigan

Fraser building permit FAQs

Can I mail a permit application to Fraser?

No. The city does not accept permit applications by mail; apply through BS&A Online, and call 586-293-3100, option 1, for help.

How much is a permit for a new house?

$250 plus $7 per $1,000 of value over $10,000, plus 20% for plan review, a $30 application fee and a zoning fee capped at $75; a $200,000 house comes to $2,001 before trade permits and escrow.

What does a roof or siding permit cost?

Roofs, siding, windows and similar jobs are “utility uses”: $50 up to $1,000 of value, then $100 plus $3 per $1,000, plus the $30 application fee.

Who issues soil erosion permits for Fraser sites?

Macomb County Public Works. The city’s fee schedule says Fraser no longer performs soil erosion permitting.

When are trade inspections held?

Electrical, mechanical and plumbing inspections run Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to noon; building inspections run Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to noon.

Who reviews fire protection plans?

Fire Savvy, on the city’s behalf. No fire inspection is scheduled until it has received and reviewed the plans.

Does a demolition need a bond?

Yes. Every demolition permit needs a $5,000 cash escrow or performance bond, utility clearances and a certificate of insurance; the permit itself is $400 for a house.

How much is a fence permit?

$190 for a home and $235 for a commercial property, covering all reviews and inspections.

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