Genesee Charter Township, Michigan Building Permit Guide

The Charter Township of Genesee, a separate unit from Genesee County, issues building permits through its own Building Department at 7244 N. Genesee Road, Genesee (810-640-2000), open Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. It does not handle the trades: the state’s jurisdiction list marks the township LOCAL for building but STATE for electrical, mechanical and plumbing, and the township sends those permits and inspections to the Bureau of Construction Codes in the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA). A building permit costs an $80 base fee plus $6 per $1,000 of value, with value worked out from the township’s per-square-foot table.

What requires a building permit in Genesee Charter Township?

The township’s fee list and form library show the building work it permits: new homes, additions, attached and detached garages, decks, pole barns, sheds over 200 square feet, manufactured home set-ups and piers, residential roofing, demolition, signs and commercial buildings. A smaller group of projects needs only a $50 zoning permit plus the application fee.

The township says the zoning permit list is “including but not limited to” those items, so describe anything else to the office before starting. New wall, ground and pole signs need a sign application.

What the township decides and what the state holds

Genesee Township decides its fees, contractor registration, zoning and site plan approvals, and the building inspections. Electrical, mechanical and plumbing work is a different route: the state Bureau of Construction Codes issues those permits and sends its own inspectors. The technical rules for all four come from the statewide Michigan codes, which the township cannot amend.

Genesee Charter Township building department: who handles permitting

The Building Department is at the township hall and reached through the main township number. Its page gives one instruction for trade work: go to LARA’s Bureau of Construction Codes at michigan.gov/bcc for every electrical, plumbing and mechanical permit and inspection.

Do not confuse the township with Genesee County. The county government issues no building permits anywhere; its Health Department, Drain Commissioner and Road Commission handle septic and well, soil erosion and road permits that sit alongside the township’s building permit.

Genesee Charter Township permit types

The Building page posts separate residential and commercial application forms (version 4), a plan review checklist, a plot plan sheet, a new construction checklist and contractor registration. It also offers sample drawings that owners can follow: residential wall sections, a wood deck guide, a garage wall section, detached garage plans, pole barn plans and a smoke and carbon monoxide alarm sheet.

Residential permits

• New houses pay the $25 application fee for a new home, plan review at 4 cents per square foot ($25 minimum) and the permit fee on a value of $90 per square foot.
• Additions, garages and decks are valued at $75, $50 and $25 per square foot respectively; detached garages and sheds over 200 square feet use $50, and pole barns $20.
• Manufactured homes: $200 plus the application fee for set-up and piers, or $100 for set-up or piers alone.
• Re-roofing: $50 plus the application fee when no wood is replaced.

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

Commercial permits

Commercial jobs use the commercial application, a $25 application fee and a value based on square footage from the state’s construction cost table, which the township attaches to its fee sheet (the table approved by the state Construction Code Commission on February 13, 2013 and effective April 1, 2013). New commercial plans also go through the Planning Commission’s site plan review ($600).

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 and site plans. The Planning Commission meets on the third Wednesday of the month at 6:00 p.m. at the township hall when it has cases; minor site plans cost $300 and a zoning review $150. The Zoning Board of Appeals sits on the third Monday of months with cases, and a published variance costs $550. Zoning questions go to extension 222 at 810-640-2000, and applicants are asked to call extension 232 before a Planning Commission meeting. The Planning and Zoning page also posts the zoning map and Zoning Ordinance 603, and the township asks applicants to call for any amendments not yet posted.
• Soil erosion. The township posts the residential and commercial soil erosion and sedimentation control applications of Genesee County Drain Commissioner Water & Waste Services (G-4610 Beecher Road, 810-732-7870); the county agency issues the permit and wants two complete plan sets before it does. The form is signed by the landowner or a designated agent and asks for the size of the earth change, the distance to the nearest lake, stream or drain, and start and finish dates. An owner of no more than two lots working on a home site may be asked for a security deposit at GCDC-WWS’s discretion; if none is required, the owner gives written permission for the agency to enter and fix any erosion problem.
• Septic and well. Off the public sewer and water lines, the Genesee County Health Department, 324 S. Saginaw Street in Flint, runs the perc test and issues septic permits ($220 per step for a home) and private well permits ($200). The perc test needs a street address from the Road Commission, and you supply the backhoe and operator; a replacement system costs $400, or $100 for a tank only. Well applications must be in three working days before drilling, the well permit expires after two years, and a new well may not be used until the driller’s record and a passing water test are filed.
• Driveway and address. County-road driveways, culverts and new addresses are requested from the Genesee County Road Commission in its Oxcart online permit system, which the commission uses for all work in the county road right-of-way; you pay by card on the Oxcart site once staff approve the request. The commission’s office is at 211 West Oakley Street, Flint (810-767-4920), Monday to Thursday.

Genesee Charter Township permit costs and fees

The building fees on the township’s Building page match its posted “Building Permit Fees 2020” schedule. Value is not the contract price: the township multiplies the floor area by its own figure for each type of work, then applies the permit rate.

Worked example, reading the schedule as an $80 base plus $6 for each $1,000 of value: a 2,000-square-foot new house is valued at 2,000 × $90 = $180,000, so the permit is $80 + (180 × $6) = $1,160; plan review adds 2,000 × $0.04 = $80 and the new-home application fee $25, for $1,265 in township fees. Trade permits are paid to the state on top.

Planning and appeal fees in the same schedule: rezoning or a special exception use $750; site condominiums, plats, manufactured home communities and planned unit developments $600, with $500 for the first Planning Commission meeting and $400 for the Township Board meeting; final site inspection $50; a non-published Zoning Board of Appeals renewal $250 for one case or $125 each for two or more.

Trade permits and who may pull them

In Genesee Charter Township the township does not sell electrical, mechanical or plumbing permits. Under the state’s jurisdiction list those three codes are STATE here, so the Bureau of Construction Codes issues the permits, collects its own fees and inspects the work, and the township page points applicants to michigan.gov/bcc. Plan the trade permits as separate state applications running alongside the township building permit.

• State trade permits: electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits, fees and inspections all come from the Bureau of Construction Codes, not the township office.
• Public utilities: sewer and water connection permits are issued by Genesee County Drain Commissioner Water & Waste Services where it serves the area, separate from the state plumbing permit.
• Contractor registration: builders working in the township register with it for $15, valid for three years.

The result is two permit numbers and two inspection offices on most jobs: the township’s for the structure and the state’s for each trade.

How to apply for a Genesee Charter Township building permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

Plan review is charged by floor area, so give the square footage of every part of the job on the application. A stop work order results in double permit fees. Expired permits can be reinstated for $50 for each 180-day period.

Inspections in Genesee Charter Township

Book building inspections with the Building Department at 810-640-2000 during office hours. Extra visits and re-inspections cost $50 each, and the inspection for a certificate of occupancy costs $60. Electrical, mechanical and plumbing inspections are booked with the state Bureau of Construction Codes under the state permit, not through the township.

The township’s schedule prices one certificate of occupancy inspection per job, so ask for it once the building and every state trade permit are ready for final. Two other inspectors may visit the site: GCDC-WWS checks soil erosion controls under its own permit, and the Health Department must inspect a septic tank and drainfield before they are backfilled.

Michigan building code in Genesee Charter Township

The township is a split-enforcement unit: building code work is local, the trades are the state’s. FEMA’s Community Status Book lists the Township of Genesee (community 260078) as participating in the National Flood Insurance Program with flood maps dated September 25, 2009. Owners in a mapped flood area can ask the Building Department which flood zone the parcel is in before designing.

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

Genesee Charter Township permit search and official resources

Township building permit records are requested under the Freedom of Information Act using the request form on the township’s FOIA page, which also posts its procedures, cost itemization and appeal forms. Records of state electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits are held by the Bureau of Construction Codes.

• Genesee Township Building Department, forms and fees
• Building Permit Fees 2020 (township schedule)
• Planning and Zoning: ordinance, maps and applications
• Residential soil erosion permit application (GCDC-WWS)
• Commercial soil erosion permit application (GCDC-WWS)
• Make a FOIA request
• Genesee County Health Department septic permits
• Genesee County Health Department well permits
• GCDC-WWS permits and construction
• Genesee County Road Commission permits and addresses
• Bureau of Construction Codes Statewide Jurisdiction List
• FEMA Community Status Book, Michigan

Genesee Charter Township building permit FAQs

Is Genesee Charter Township the same as Genesee County?

No. The township is one local unit with its own Building Department; Genesee County issues no building permits.

Who issues electrical permits in Genesee Township?

The state Bureau of Construction Codes. The township is LOCAL only for building; electrical, mechanical and plumbing are STATE.

How much is a building permit for a new house?

An $80 base plus $6 per $1,000 of value at $90 per square foot, plus plan review at 4 cents per square foot and a $25 application fee; about $1,265 for 2,000 square feet.

Do I need a permit for a fence?

Fences over 6 feet tall need a $50 zoning permit plus the application fee.

Does a small shed need a permit?

A shed under 200 square feet needs the zoning permit; one over 200 square feet needs a building permit valued at $50 per square foot.

When does the Planning Commission meet?

On the third Wednesday of the month at 6:00 p.m. at the township hall, when there are cases.

Do contractors register?

Yes. Township contractor registration costs $15 and lasts three years.

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