Holland Charter Township, Michigan Building Permit Guide

Holland Charter Township, an Ottawa County township of 40,862 people by the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate and a separate government from the City of Holland, runs its own Building department at the Township Offices, 353 North 120th Avenue (616-395-0196). Randy Jarzembowski is the Building Official. Building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits are all township permits, filed on paper and priced from a fee schedule in effect since February 1, 2018: $50 for the first $1,000 of estimated construction cost plus $4.50 for each further $1,000.

What requires a building permit in Holland Charter Township?

The Building department says permits and inspections are required under the Michigan Building and Residential Codes for residential and non-residential buildings, and that electrical, mechanical and plumbing work takes its own permits. Its information packets show the everyday residential jobs it expects to see: new homes, additions, remodels and basement finishes, accessory buildings, decks, swimming pools and hot tubs. Anything that can hold water 24 inches deep, including spas and inflatable pools, counts as a pool.

That short list is examples only, so call (616) 395-0196 about a borderline job. Work that is exempt from a construction permit is not always free of township review: agricultural buildings and other structures that need no construction permit take a $50 zoning compliance permit, and permanent or portable signs need zoning permits too.

What Holland Charter Township decides and what the state holds

The construction code itself is Michigan’s, and the township cannot rewrite it. On the Bureau of Construction Codes’ Statewide Jurisdiction List (revised November 6, 2026), Holland Township is marked as enforcing the building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing codes itself, and Ottawa County is listed as running no county program. Locally, the township sets its permit fees, appoints a four-member Construction Board of Appeals and runs its own zoning through Community Development, the Planning Commission and the Zoning Board of Appeals.

Holland Charter Township building department: who handles permitting

Building handles plan review, permits, inspections and records for every trade; the Building Official signs building permits, issues Certificates of Use and Occupancy and looks into complaints. Zoning sign-off is a separate desk in the same building: the Community Development Department checks construction permits against the zoning ordinance and runs site plan review.

The township and the City of Holland share a name and a Holland mailing address but not a building office; check the parcel’s municipality on the tax bill before filing.

Holland Charter Township permit types

Separate applications are posted for residential building, commercial plan review, mobile home installation, pools and each trade, with owner affidavits, contractor registration, special inspection and cold weather concrete forms.

Residential permits

• New homes need the application, two sets of construction plans, two scaled site plans, an energy compliance report, truss data sheets or drawings, the Ottawa County Road Commission driveway permit and, where they apply, the well and septic permit and the soil erosion permit.
• Additions need the same plan sets, site plans and truss data, plus a soil erosion permit if one applies.
• Remodels and basement finishes need two sets of plans that show the layout of the whole floor or basement being changed, not only the rooms touched.
• Accessory buildings. Under section 8.3 of the zoning ordinance, a lot whose house has an attached garage may have one detached building: up to 240 square feet and 12 feet tall on less than an acre, 480 square feet and 16 feet on 1 to 1.99 acres, and 720 square feet and 16 feet on 2 acres or more. Without an attached garage, two are allowed and the first may reach 832 square feet. Setbacks are 10 feet from another building or deck, 7 feet from a side line and 5 feet from the rear line.
• Pools and hot tubs need two site plans showing lot-line distances, filling and draining, equipment and the barrier, gates and latches.

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 projects use the “Application for Building Permit and Plans Examination”, and incomplete applications are returned. The township’s requirements sheet (revised December 12, 2023) asks for two complete plan sets covering site, floors and mezzanines, elevations, foundation details and the electrical, mechanical and plumbing plans, sealed by an architect or engineer. Every new building and addition also needs a soils engineer’s report, an energy compliance package signed by a licensed design professional, and a special inspections statement approved before the permit issues. A phased job needs a separate application and plan set for each phase.

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 review. A site plan review by the Zoning Administrator or the Planning Commission is required for all new commercial, industrial and multi-family buildings and additions, ideally alongside the building review. Variances and nonconforming-use requests go to the Zoning Board of Appeals.
• Driveways. Any work in a county road right-of-way, including a new driveway approach, needs an Ottawa County Road Commission permit ((616) 842-5400 on the township’s checklist).
• Soil erosion. The Ottawa County Water Resources Commissioner enforces Part 91 here and permits every earth change within 500 feet of a lake, stream or drain, or disturbing an acre or more.
• Well and septic. On lots without public water or sewer, the Ottawa County Department of Public Health issues well and septic permits after evaluating the site under the county Environmental Health Code.

Holland Charter Township permit costs and fees

The fee schedule linked from the Building page took effect on February 1, 2018. It prices building permits on estimated construction cost, which includes everything in the job: excavation, building, electrical, plumbing and mechanical work, architect and engineering fees and, for a factory-built unit, the unit’s cost. Trade fees are printed on each trade application, and zoning fees are on a separate schedule in effect since January 1, 2021.

Worked example from the 2018 schedule: a new house with an estimated construction cost of $250,000 pays $50 for the first $1,000 plus 249 × $4.50 ($1,120.50) for the remaining $249,000, a building permit of $1,170.50. The electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits are added on top. Refund requests go to the Building Official in writing; the $50 base fee is always kept.

County permits are extra: a soil erosion permit for a new single-family home is $100 for up to 1 acre (minor jobs $50), and the Department of Public Health charges $743 for a new septic permit and $555 for a new private well (fees updated October 1, 2026).

Trade permits and who may pull them

Holland Township enforces the electrical, mechanical and plumbing codes itself, so trade permits are township permits reviewed and inspected by the township’s electrical and plumbing-mechanical inspectors. Each trade application asks for the contractor’s state license number and expiry date and workers’ compensation carrier, or the reason for an exemption.

The new-home flat fees include the application and set visits (electrical: service, rough, final; mechanical: rough, final; plumbing: underground, rough, final); extra visits are $50.

• Contractors register with the department on its contractor registration form, attaching a copy of their current license. Residential builders and maintenance and alteration contractors hold LARA licenses, and the trade contractors hold state electrical, mechanical or plumbing licenses.
• Owners. The township keeps a property owner’s affidavit for building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing work. The building affidavit is for work done by the owner, or by licensed contractors, on the single-family dwelling the owner lives in or is about to occupy; the owner arranges the inspections and may not use the building until the inspector gives written approval.
• Pools. The township’s pool packet notes that an electrical permit is nearly always needed for a pool, and asks applicants to name who will do the wiring and build the barrier.

How to apply for a Holland Charter Township building permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

For commercial work the township asks for the whole package at once, with an email address and the full project cost, and for all answers to a plan review letter to come back together. A foundation permit cannot issue until soil report questions are settled, and the special inspections statement must be approved first. For a house, the checklist counts the county permits as part of the application. The township publishes no review time.

Inspections and certificates in Holland Charter Township

All building and trade inspections are scheduled by phone with Building at (616) 395-0196; staff keep the calendar for every trade. The township’s owner affidavit sets the basic rule: no work may be enclosed, backfilled, insulated, drywalled or covered until it has been inspected and approved. The trade flat fees show the usual sequence on a new home:

• Plumbing underground, the first plumbing visit.
• Electrical service inspection, one of the three visits in the electrical flat fee.
• Rough inspections for the electrical, mechanical and plumbing work before anything is insulated or covered.
• Trade finals, then the building inspector’s final approval.

A locked, unready or unaddressed site costs a $50 re-inspection fee. The Building Official issues a Certificate of Use and Occupancy once the finals pass, and an owner-builder may not move belongings in or use the building before that written approval. Disputes the Building Official cannot resolve go to the Construction Board of Appeals ($600), which rules on interpretations and alternative methods but cannot waive a code requirement.

Michigan building code in Holland Charter Township

Holland Charter Township enforces the state construction code for all four trades under the jurisdiction list. FEMA’s Community Status Book lists the Charter Township of Holland (community 260492) among participating communities in the National Flood Insurance Program, with flood maps effective October 21, 2021 and regular-program entry on December 1, 1983.

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

Holland Charter Township permit search and official resources

Permit files and inspection records are kept by the Building department. For copies, use the township’s Freedom of Information Act process: the Clerk’s office handles requests (616-396-2345, extension 6) and posts its FOIA procedures, public summary and a request form for public records.

• Holland Charter Township Building department
• Building permit forms and how to submit them
• Building, plumbing, mechanical and electrical permit fees (effective Feb. 1, 2018)
• Building department forms
• Building information packets
• Basic documents for residential permit applications
• Commercial, industrial and multi-family permit requirements
• Accessory building requirements
• Swimming pool and hot tub permit information
• Zoning
• Planning and zoning application fees (effective Jan. 1, 2021)
• Freedom of Information requests
• Ottawa County soil erosion and sedimentation control permits
• Ottawa County well and septic permits
• Ottawa County Road Commission permits
• Statewide Jurisdiction List (Bureau of Construction Codes)

Holland Charter Township building permit FAQs

How much is a building permit in Holland Charter Township?

$50 for the first $1,000 of estimated construction cost and $4.50 for each additional $1,000 or part of $1,000, so a $250,000 house is $1,170.50 before trade permits.

Is Holland Charter Township the same as the City of Holland?

No. They are separate governments with separate building offices; the township’s is at 353 North 120th Avenue, (616) 395-0196.

Do I need a permit for a shed?

An accessory building of 200 square feet or more needs a building permit, and every shed must meet the zoning size, height and setback limits in section 8.3.

Do I need a permit to re-roof or re-side my house?

The township lists shingle-only re-roofing with no structural work, new siding on a house and same-size window replacement as items that may not need a permit.

Does an inflatable pool or hot tub need a permit?

Yes, if it can hold water 24 inches deep; the township counts it as a swimming pool and asks for a permit with two site plans and barrier details.

Can I pull my own permit as a homeowner?

Yes, for the single-family home you live in or are about to occupy, by signing the township’s property owner’s affidavit for the trade involved and arranging the inspections yourself.

How do I schedule an inspection?

Call Building at (616) 395-0196; a $50 re-inspection fee applies if the work is not ready or the site is locked.

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