Georgetown Charter Township, Michigan Building Permit Guide

Georgetown Charter Township enforces the construction code locally and contracts with Professional Code Inspections (PCI) for permits and inspections. Building applications are filed on paper with the township’s Building/Zoning Department, 1515 Baldwin Street, Jenison ((616) 457-2340), which checks zoning and forwards them to PCI; PCI then calls the applicant to pick up the permit at 1913 Baldwin Street. Electrical, plumbing and mechanical permits go directly to PCI. A new home pays a $200 zoning fee to the township and, in a plat with public utilities, $5,896 in base water and sewer fees.

What requires a building permit in Georgetown Charter Township?

The township publishes a “Do I need a building permit?” sheet that splits common projects into two groups. Anything on the first list needs a building permit, a zoning compliance approval or both; work on the second list needs no paperwork from the township.

Concrete or asphalt poured in the road right of way may still need an Ottawa County Road Commission permit, fences depend on the lot and where the fence goes, and drywall questions go to PCI. A shed of 200 square feet or less, or a 4-foot fence in a front yard, takes the township’s short building zoning compliance form rather than a building permit application.

Fences follow Section 3.8 of the zoning ordinance. No fence may be built in a public right of way; in the front setback area a fence may be up to 3 feet high, or up to 4 feet where the zoning administrator finds it will not block the view of traffic, and elsewhere up to 6 feet. Barbed wire and electric fences are not allowed in the LDR, MDR, LMR and MHP zoning districts, and on a double-frontage residential lot a rear-yard fence of up to 6 feet must sit at least 5 feet from the rear property line.

What the township decides and what the state holds

The construction code is the state’s and cannot be amended locally; builders and trades hold state licenses. Ottawa County runs no building program, so the state’s Statewide Jurisdiction List names Georgetown Township as its own enforcing agency for all four codes, and the township meets that duty through its contract with PCI. The township sets zoning, site plan and water and sewer fees and enforces its own ordinances, which are published online.

Georgetown Charter Township building department: who handles permitting

Two offices on Baldwin Street share the work. The township’s Building/Zoning Department takes building permit applications, reviews them for zoning and collects zoning and utility fees. PCI issues the building permit once zoning is approved, may ask for further documents, issues the trade permits and performs every inspection. The township’s FAQ sends all building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing code questions to PCI.

The township office uses Jenison mailing addresses; its postal address is P.O. Box 769, Jenison, MI 49429-0769, and its fax is (616) 457-3670. Property records are on the township’s BS&A property information pages, and since June 2024 the township’s assessing has been done by Ottawa County.

Georgetown Charter Township permit types

The township posts four building application packets: residential projects (basement finishes, sheds over 200 square feet, decks and similar work), new homes, the short building zoning compliance form, and commercial. PCI’s electrical, plumbing and mechanical forms are posted alongside them but are filed with PCI. Each packet opens with a checklist that the applicant signs, and the applicant named on a residential form must be a person, not a company.

Residential permits

• New homes: the application, a site plan showing setbacks and the required minimum building opening (MBO) elevation, the driveway permit, the soil erosion permit or proof that none is needed, truss data, energy code documents with Manual J and S calculations, two physical plan sets plus a PDF, the $200 zoning fee, and either the water and sewer fee or well and septic approval.
• Modular and mobile homes: a floor plan and the foundation or pier details; a modular home also needs its building system approval slip.
• Additions, decks and remodels: a site plan with setbacks (none for interior work, but a construction plan is still needed), two plan sets and a PDF, and a $100 zoning compliance review fee; interior-only work pays no zoning fee.
• Foundation survey: on a new foundation with poured walls below average grade, a licensed surveyor’s foundation and wall survey must be approved before the foundation inspection and before building continues.

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

Commercial permits

Commercial work starts with the township’s commercial application and, for new development, site plan review: $600 plus escrow for the review, $300 for a revision and $200 for a minor administrative change. A $100 pre-application meeting is credited toward the application fee. Special land uses cost $600 for a new building and $400 in an existing one; short-term rentals are among the uses that need a special land use permit.

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

What comes before the building permit

• Zoning compliance from the township, as part of the application.
• Driveway permit from the Ottawa County Road Commission before the building permit is released; the township’s new-home form gives (616) 669-9075.
• Soil erosion permit from the Ottawa County Water Resources Commissioner ((616) 994-4528 on the township form; the Commissioner’s own page lists (616) 994-4526), or its written confirmation that no permit is needed; additions and egress windows near a watercourse can need one.
• Water and sewer fees paid to the township, or well and septic approval from the Ottawa County Department of Public Health.
• Sidewalks are required in all new developments, to the township’s specifications.

Georgetown Charter Township permit costs and fees

Georgetown’s posted 2025 schedule covers zoning, planning and related charges; it does not list the building permit fee itself, which is charged through PCI. PCI’s trade permit forms for Georgetown do print fees, with checks made payable to Georgetown Township. Starting work without a permit doubles the township application fee.

Worked example from PCI’s electrical form for Georgetown: replacing a house’s service and adding four circuits is $75 (base fee) + $20 (service) + 4 × $5 (circuits) + $60 (final inspection) = $175, plus $60 if the inspector needs a rough-in visit. For a new home in a platted subdivision on public utilities, the township collects the $200 zoning fee and $5,896 in base water and sewer fees with the application; PCI’s building permit fee is separate.

Trade permits and who may pull them

Electrical, plumbing and mechanical permits are submitted directly to PCI at 1913 Baldwin Street; the township’s zoning department does not accept them. Each PCI form asks for the contractor’s state license number and expiry date, federal employer number, workers’ compensation carrier and unemployment number, or the reason for an exemption. An administrative fee is charged when work starts before a permit is issued.

Residential builders, maintenance and alteration contractors and the electrical, mechanical and plumbing trades are licensed by the state. PCI’s forms for Georgetown include a homeowner’s affidavit: the owner certifies that the work will be installed personally in the owner’s single-family home, lived in or about to be occupied, and will not be covered or used until the inspector approves it, with the owner arranging the inspections. On the township’s building applications, the applicant must be a named person rather than a company, with the contractor listed separately.

How to apply for a Georgetown Charter Township building permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

The township will not release a building permit until it has the driveway permit and either the soil erosion permit or the Water Resources Commissioner’s confirmation that none is needed. Site plans must show every structure and all setbacks, and the MBO elevation where the building opening is being lowered. PCI may ask for further documents after the township’s zoning review. The township cannot turn down a commercial building permit because similar businesses already operate nearby: if the use is allowed in the zoning district and meets the zoning rules, it can be built.

Inspections and certificates in Georgetown Charter Township

PCI performs Georgetown’s building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing inspections; call (616) 667-8803 to book one or to speak with an inspector. The township adds one step of its own: for a new foundation with poured walls below the average lot grade, a licensed surveyor must survey the foundation and walls, and the township zoning department must approve that survey before the foundation inspection and before any further construction. Email the survey to building@georgetown-mi.gov.

• Survey contents: measured setbacks from the foundation to every property line, the foundation’s measured dimensions, and the as-built opening elevation against the required MBO.
• Trade visits: PCI’s trade forms charge $60 for each rough-in or final inspection, and the electrical form also $60 for a re-inspection.
• Storm sewer: the township inspects a storm sewer connection for $50.

Appeals of PCI code decisions go to the township’s Construction Board of Appeals, at $500 for a residential appeal and $600 for a commercial or industrial one.

Michigan building code in Georgetown Charter Township

Georgetown takes part in the National Flood Insurance Program as its own community; FEMA lists it in the regular program since July 18, 1985, with a current map date of May 16, 2013. The township’s floodplain page posts its flood map panels, including areas along the Grand River, floodplain management information and elevation certificate instructions.

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

Georgetown Charter Township permit search and official resources

The township’s BS&A property information pages hold parcel and assessing data, and the Building/Zoning Department can make PDF copies of building permits and site plans for $250, or $150 for minor construction. Questions about a permit PCI issued go to PCI at (616) 667-8803.

• Georgetown Township Building/Zoning Department
• Do I need a building permit?
• Building permit application: new home
• Building permit application: residential projects
• 2025 building/zoning fees
• PCI electrical permit form
• PCI mechanical permit form
• PCI plumbing permit form
• Township FAQs
• Fence rules, zoning ordinance Sec. 3.8
• Floodplain information
• Georgetown Township code of ordinances
• Ottawa County soil erosion permits
• Ottawa County well and septic permits
• BCC Statewide Jurisdiction List

Georgetown Charter Township building permit FAQs

Where do I apply for a building permit in Georgetown Township?

At the township office, 1515 Baldwin Street, Jenison, on paper. After zoning review the township sends it to PCI, which issues the permit.

Can I email my building permit application?

No. The township takes physical copies only, though the PDF plan set and the foundation survey can be emailed.

Where do electrical, plumbing and mechanical permits go?

Directly to Professional Code Inspections, 1913 Baldwin Street, Jenison, (616) 667-8803; the township does not accept them.

What does a new home cost in township fees?

A $200 zoning fee and, in a plat with public water and sewer, $5,896 in base water and sewer fees, before PCI’s building permit fee.

Do I need a permit to replace my roof or siding?

No. The township lists roof shingles, siding and same-size windows and doors as needing no paperwork.

Do I need a permit for a shed?

A shed of 200 square feet or less uses the short zoning compliance form with no fee; a larger shed needs the residential building application.

Can a homeowner do their own electrical work?

Yes, in the single-family home the owner lives in or is about to occupy, by signing the homeowner’s affidavit on PCI’s form.

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