Lenox Township, Michigan Building Permit Guide

In Lenox Township, the Building Department at the township hall, 63775 Gratiot Avenue (586-727-2085), issues building permits and separate electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits; Kurt Sengstock is the Building Official. The township’s fee schedule, updated in April 2026, lists flat fees such as $175 plus $25 plan review for a deck or porch, and new homes are priced by square footage. Every new building project must be submitted with a USB drive holding PDF copies of all documents.

What requires a building permit in Lenox Township?

Chapter 707 of the township’s code adopts the Michigan construction code by reference, so work the state code covers needs a township permit. The Building Department’s fee schedule names the jobs it handles most often and how many inspections each one carries.

The schedule adds two conditions on pools: an above-ground pool must have a locking ladder and an in-ground pool must be fenced. Work in a regulated wetland needs a separate township wetland permit (see below), and starting any job before the permit is issued adds a $150 penalty.

What Lenox Township decides and what the state holds

Under Section 707.3 the township administers and enforces the state construction code within its boundaries, and the state’s Statewide Jurisdiction List agrees, showing Lenox Township as the local enforcing agency for building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing work. The Village of New Haven, which the township’s 2026 master plan places in the south-central part of the township, appears on that list as a separate unit with its own program, so check which government an address falls under before filing. The township sets its fees by Township Board resolution (Section 707.8), runs zoning and a wetland ordinance, and has its own Construction Board of Appeals of three members appointed by the Township Board for two-year terms.

Lenox Township building department: who handles permitting

The Building Department staff includes the Building Official and Inspector, a Building Department Manager and an assistant. Zoning matters start at the Township Clerk’s office, which also prepares Planning Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals agendas and handles public records requests. The township’s website gives no separate counter hours for the Building Department, so call ahead before visiting.

Lenox Township permit types

The Application for Plan Examination and Building Permit can be completed through the township’s online form center, and electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits each have their own online form. The building application asks for the owner, the architect or engineer, the contractor’s builder license number and expiry date, the cost of improvement, and whether the site uses a septic system or a private well.

Residential permits

• New homes and attached garages are priced from the building’s square footage using the BOCA valuation method named on the fee schedule; the new-home bond is set by square footage and capped at $2,000.
• Plot plans and final grades are reviewed for $292.80 each time they are submitted, until approved, so a resubmitted grading plan is billed again.
• Accessory buildings also use the square-foot method, with a $50 plan review and a $500 bond.
• Small jobs carry flat fees: decks, porches and carports $175, egress windows $225, foundations $150, pools $175 or $250.
• Manufactured homes in manufactured housing communities have a separate 2022 schedule: a $200 set-up and pier permit plus electrical, mechanical and plumbing set-up permits of $105 to $130.

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

Commercial permits

New commercial buildings are also priced with the BOCA square-foot method. Commercial special inspections and fire plan review and inspection are billed at the township’s per-diem cost plus 20%, and signs carry a $175 permit, $25 plan review and $250 bond. Food trucks have their own township application.

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

• Site plan review. The Development Review Guidebook (March 2023) requires Planning Commission site plan approval for new construction, significant changes of use, floor plan, parking or landscaping, and similar changes, except individual single-family homes. File 12 copies plus a digital copy with the Township Clerk at least 21 days before the meeting; the Planning Commission decides without Township Board action, and the Clerk then tells the Building Department in writing that permit review can go ahead. A building permit must be requested within 12 months or the approval lapses.
• Zoning. The township posts its zoning ordinance chapters, zoning map and setback chart; rezonings use their own application.
• Planning Commission and ZBA. The Planning Commission meets at 6:30 p.m. on the fourth Monday of the month at the township hall; the Zoning Board of Appeals meets on the second and fourth Wednesdays as needed and holds a public hearing on each variance, filed in 10 copies plus a PDF.
• Wetlands. Filling, dredging, building in or draining a regulated wetland needs a township permit under Chapter 602, except for the uses the chapter lists as allowed without one; the township decides within 60 days of a complete application and fee.
• Septic and wells. Public water and sewer run mainly along the Gratiot corridor, the 2026 master plan says; on lots that rely on a septic system or well, the Macomb County Health Department evaluates sites, runs perc tests and issues septic permits; well permits are requested on its online Environmental Health portal with the fee and a dimensioned site plan.
• Soil erosion. Macomb County Public Works handles soil erosion permits in Lenox Township; its 2026 two-year single-family permit is $1,016 and a minor permit of up to three months $431.
• Roads. Driveways and other work on county roads need a Macomb County Department of Roads permit, filed on paper with four sets of plans at 117 South Groesbeck Highway in Mount Clemens; the Permits Department wants 48 hours’ notice before work starts in the county right-of-way.

Lenox Township permit costs and fees

The fee schedule on the Building Department page is marked “updated as of 4/2026” and notes that prices are subject to change; under Section 707.8 the Township Board sets fees by resolution. The table lists the permit fee, plan review and bond as the schedule gives them.

Because new homes, accessory buildings and new commercial buildings are priced from a square-foot valuation the schedule does not print, ask the Building Department for a quote on those jobs. Electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits are charged separately; the township’s manufactured-community schedule shows a $75 non-refundable trade application fee and $25 per inspection.

Development review fees are listed in the March 2023 guidebook: site plan review is $2,054.20 plus $40 an acre for residential projects or $50 an acre for commercial and industrial ones, a resubmitted site plan $411.40, special land use $2,797 plus $50 an acre, rezoning $1,896.40 and a planned unit development $3,027 plus $50 an acre. A pre-application meeting with the planner and engineer is $417.80, and township engineering plan review and construction inspection are charged as percentages (1.35% and 6.35%) of the construction cost estimate with added margins the guidebook explains.

Trade permits and who may pull them

The building application states that electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits need separate applications, and the township issues and inspects all three. Each form is available through the township’s online form center, and the Building Department page links a PDF summary of the latest mechanical code changes.

• Licenses. The building application asks for the contractor’s builder license number and expiry date and repeats the state warning in Section 23a of the construction code act against conspiring to get around residential licensing rules.
• Manufactured homes. In manufactured housing communities, an electrical set-up totals $130, a mechanical set-up $105 and a plumbing set-up $110, and an air-conditioner adds $117 (electrical) and $140 (mechanical).
• Owners. The township’s pages do not describe a homeowner rule for trade permits, so an owner planning to do electrical, mechanical or plumbing work personally should ask the Building Official how to apply.

How to apply for a Lenox Township building permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

Plot plans and final grade plans are charged $292.80 for every submission until they are approved, so an incomplete grading plan costs time and money. Projects in a mapped flood hazard area get a separate Building Official review under Appendix G of the building code, and an applicant who disagrees with that decision can seek a variance from the Construction Board of Appeals. A wetland permit can add up to 60 days after the application is complete.

Inspections and certificates in Lenox Township

The fee schedule builds the number of inspections into each permit: two for decks, porches, carports, egress windows, demolition and above-ground pools; three for in-ground pools and ponds; and one for a fence. Call the Building Department at 586-727-2085 to arrange them. Extra residential special inspections are $100 each, and commercial special inspections are billed at cost plus 20%.

New homes go through a final grade review before completion, billed each time it is submitted until approved. Fire plan review and fire inspections are billed the same per-diem way, and the 2023 guidebook lists a $150 fee for a moving-building inspection and a $250 bond for a pond.

Michigan building code in Lenox Township

Lenox Township adopted the Michigan construction code by reference in Chapter 707 and enforces Appendix G of the Michigan Building Code for flood hazard areas, using FEMA’s flood study for Macomb County and incorporated areas. FEMA’s Community Status Book lists the township (community 261014) as a participating National Flood Insurance Program community, with flood maps dated September 29, 2006.

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

Lenox Township permit search and official resources

For a property’s permit history, call the Building Department. Written requests for records are handled by the Township Clerk’s office, which lists Freedom of Information Act requests among its duties, under the township’s posted FOIA policy (586-727-2085).

• Lenox Township Building Department and fee schedule
• Application for plan examination and building permit
• Chapter 707, Building Regulations
• Chapter 602, Wetlands
• Zoning and ordinances
• Development Review Guidebook and fees (March 2023)
• Lenox Township Master Plan (adopted Jan. 26, 2026)
• Planning Commission
• Zoning Board of Appeals
• Lenox Township FOIA policy
• Macomb County septic permits
• Macomb County well permits
• Macomb County soil erosion coverage map
• Macomb County Department of Roads permits
• Michigan Statewide Jurisdiction List
• FEMA Community Status Book, Michigan

Lenox Township building permit FAQs

Does Lenox Township issue permits in New Haven?

No. The Village of New Haven sits inside the township but is listed by the state as its own enforcing agency, so village addresses go to the village.

How much is a deck permit in Lenox Township?

$175 plus a $25 plan review, covering two inspections, under the schedule updated in April 2026.

Do I need a permit for a fence or shed?

Yes, a $100 zoning compliance permit; a fence gets one inspection.

Who issues septic and well permits?

The Macomb County Health Department, which evaluates sites, runs perc tests and issues septic and well permits.

Why do I need a USB drive?

Since January 1, 2019, the Building Department has required a USB drive with PDF copies of all documents for every new building project.

Can I build in a wetland?

Filling, dredging, building in or draining a regulated wetland needs a township permit under Chapter 602, apart from the uses the chapter lets go ahead without one; the township decides within 60 days of a complete application.

How long does a site plan approval last?

A building permit must be requested within 12 months of Planning Commission approval or the site plan becomes invalid; the commission may grant extensions.

What happens if I start work without a permit?

The township adds a $150 penalty to the permit fees.

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