Lyon Charter Township, Michigan Building Permit Guide

The Lyon Township Building Department, in the township offices at 58000 Grand River Avenue in New Hudson (248-437-2252), issues building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits for the Oakland County charter township and inspects the work; Tony Nicholas is the Building Official. Applications can be filled in online but must be printed and handed in as hard copies, and the department asks for about three weeks to process a building permit. Since May 8, 2025, ordinary roof replacements no longer need a permit.

What requires a building permit in Lyon Township?

The township’s residential application lists the work it covers: new single-family and multi-family homes, additions, alterations and finished basements, decks and gazebos, attached and detached garages, sheds and pole barns, mobile home set-ups, in-ground and above-ground pools, foundations, egress windows and demolition. Electrical, mechanical, plumbing and low-voltage work each go on their own permit, and the department posts separate guidance for EV charging stations, residential generators, fire suppression and backflow testing.

Dropping the roofing permit did not change the rules themselves: the township says re-roofing must still follow the code and the manufacturer’s specifications.

What Lyon Township decides and what the state holds

The state construction code applies unchanged in Lyon. The Statewide Jurisdiction List shows the township enforcing building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing locally, so the county and state do not issue permits here; the City of South Lyon, a separate government, runs its own program. Lyon sets its own permit policies (such as the roofing change), fees, zoning ordinance and form-based code for the New Hudson district, tree and grading permits and its water and sewer connection rules.

Lyon Township building department: who handles permitting

The Building Department handles permits, plan review and inspections; the Planning Department receives site plans, special land uses, variance requests, lot splits, rezonings, planned developments and engineering review applications; and zoning enforcement is a separate office. The township contracts with Civil Engineering Solutions, Inc. (CES) as its engineering firm, which reviews plans and calculates water and sewer connection fees (248-264-6906). This is the Lyon Charter Township in southwest Oakland County; a different Lyon Township in Roscommon County has no connection to this office.

Lyon Township permit types

Forms are on the township’s Applications page and are revised often: the residential building application was last revised on November 2, 2026, the plumbing permit on September 29, 2026, and the electrical, mechanical and low-voltage permits on April 1, 2026. Use the current version; a separate form covers revised documents submitted after filing.

Residential permits

• New homes and additions need two sets of construction plans at 11 by 17 inches showing braced-wall design and HVAC Manual J and Manual S calculations for the house, two scaled plot plans no larger than 11 by 17, and Michigan Energy Code compliance documents.
• Builders attach a copy of the builder’s license and photo ID; owners sign the homeowner section instead.
• The utilities box asks whether the lot uses municipal water and sewer, a well, a septic system or a grinder pump, since each changes what else must be attached.
• Certificates of occupancy have their own residential (August 2025) and commercial or industrial (April 2026) request forms.
• Demolition uses the building application with proof of ownership (or the owner’s written approval for an agent). The contractor needs a state residential builder license or a maintenance and alteration license in the house wrecking or excavation category, registered with the township, and the permit waits for releases from every utility showing its connection is removed or sealed.
• Generators need electrical and mechanical permits, a gas pressure test and finals; a whole-house unit needs a site plan, and a home in a planned development may need HOA approval for a side-yard location. A portable generator wired into the panel needs an electrical permit.

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

Commercial permits

A commercial or industrial application goes in with three sets of building plans bearing an architect’s seal and energy calculations, three scaled site plans (each with an electronic copy) and a plan review fee quoted by the Building Department. All planning and engineering approvals and fees, including sewer REUs, and the final pre-construction meeting must be complete first.

Commercial and industrial buildings follow a fixed sequence the township says it will not vary: an approved site plan and engineering plans, the soil erosion permit, road commission permits, any EGLE wetland or floodplain permits needed for grading, paid sewer capital charges and inspection fees, insurance and the NPDES notice of coverage, then a grading pre-construction meeting. EGLE water and sewer permits (or county well and septic permits), easements and a utility pre-construction meeting come next, and only then are building plans reviewed and the permit issued.

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 and zoning. Development projects start in the Planning Department; a pre-application meeting is $300, and agendas and packets for the Planning Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals are posted on the township’s Documents on Demand site.
• Soil erosion. The forms send applicants to the Oakland County Water Resources Commissioner (248-858-0958), which permits earth changes over 1 acre or more than 225 square feet within 500 feet of a lake, stream, wetland or drain.
• Driveways. A Road Commission for Oakland County permit is needed on a public road; the Road Commission’s permit page gives (248) 858-4835, while the township form lists 248-858-4891.
• Septic and wells. Lots without public utilities need Oakland County Health Division permits (248-858-1280); sewered lots pay connection fees and file the township’s sanitary sewer connection request.

Lyon Township permit costs and fees

The fee schedule the township posts with its applications is the Planning Department Fee Schedule, adopted by the Board of Trustees on December 5, 2022 by a 7–0 vote. It covers land-use reviews; building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing permit fees are not printed on the building forms, so ask the Building Department (248-437-2252) for the amount when you apply.

The deposits pay outside consultants (planning, engineering, legal, traffic, woodlands and wetlands); if one runs low, the township asks for more in $1,000 steps before work continues. For commercial jobs, the 2022 permit process lists inspection fees and sewer capital charges as items to pay before a building permit is issued, and CES calculates water and sewer connection fees.

Trade permits and who may pull them

Lyon issues its own electrical, mechanical, plumbing and low-voltage permits on separate applications; the electrical form, for example, asks for a copy of the contractor and master licenses with photo ID. It also says plans are not needed when the service is 400 amps or less and the building is 3,500 square feet or smaller; anything bigger needs plans sealed by a licensed architect or engineer.

• Homeowner trade permits. An owner may sign the homeowner affidavit to install the work personally in a home the owner lives in or is about to occupy, and must arrange the inspections.
• No subcontracting. The township states it is unlawful for an owner to pull a homeowner electrical, mechanical or plumbing permit and hand the work to someone else, and unlawful for an electrician, mechanical contractor or plumber to work on a homeowner’s permit; they must pull their own. Violations bring citations.
• Homeowner building permits. On the building application the owner certifies the work will be done by the owner or by licensed contractors of the owner’s choice, in the owner’s own home.
• Backflow. Plumbing backflow devices are tested and reported on the township’s test form.
• EV chargers. Only a licensed electrical contractor may install one; the contractor files the electrical permit with a DTE load calculation letter, plus a building permit if a foundation or structural change is involved.
• Low voltage. Low-voltage permits, other than for fire alarm work, are issued only to a registered contractor business.

How to apply for a Lyon Township building permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

The township asks applicants to allow three weeks for a building permit. Common holdups are missing county permits, plans without braced-wall or Manual J and S information, and old versions of forms. Changes after filing go in on the revised-documents form, and commercial projects cannot skip any step of the sequence above.

Inspections and certificates in Lyon Township

Inspections are arranged through the Building Department on 248-437-2252. Under Section 10.01 E of the township ordinance, the permit holder must tell the Building Official as soon as the permitted work is finished, both for the final inspection and to ask for the certificate of occupancy or completion. Trade work may not be covered or put into use until the township inspector has approved it, and the department publishes inspection details for in-ground pools. Because a pool involves several contractors, the township asks owners to call 248-437-2252 before making the final payment so staff can confirm every required inspection has passed.

A permit becomes invalid if work does not begin within six months of issue or stops for 180 days. Houses need a certificate of occupancy before anyone moves in, requested on the residential certificate form, and commercial or industrial buildings use their own certificate request.

Michigan building code in Lyon Township

On the Statewide Jurisdiction List (rev. November 6, 2026), the Oakland County township of Lyon is a local program for building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing, and the county has no program of its own. FEMA’s Community Status Book lists the Township of Lyon in Oakland County (community 261032) as participating in the National Flood Insurance Program since September 29, 2006, the date of its current map, on which no base flood elevations are determined.

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

Lyon Township permit search and official resources

Records of past permits and inspections are requested through the Clerk’s Office under the Freedom of Information Act, using the request form, procedures and public summary posted on the FOIA page. The township also keeps a Project Flex page with application and review documents for the proposed data center, last updated October 14, 2026.

• Lyon Township Building Department
• Permit application information
• Township applications and forms
• Residential building permit application (rev. November 2, 2026)
• Electrical permit application
• Roofing permit policy (May 8, 2025)
• Industrial and commercial building permit process
• Planning Department fee schedule (December 5, 2022)
• Planning Department
• Ordinances and zoning map
• FOIA requests
• Oakland County soil erosion permits
• Oakland County Environmental Health
• Michigan Statewide Jurisdiction List
• FEMA Community Status Book, Michigan

Lyon Township building permit FAQs

Do I need a permit to replace my roof in Lyon Township?

Not since May 8, 2025, unless the job includes framing or structural repairs; an optional permit with inspections is still available.

Can I email my permit application?

No. The township accepts hard copies only; the forms can be filled in online and printed.

How long does a building permit take?

The department asks for about three weeks of processing time.

Can I hire an electrician to work on my homeowner permit?

No. A hired electrician, plumber or mechanical contractor must pull a permit under their own license.

Is this the same as South Lyon?

No. The City of South Lyon is a separate government with its own building program.

Who issues soil erosion permits in Lyon?

The Oakland County Water Resources Commissioner; the township forms list 248-858-0958.

Does a whole-house generator need a permit?

Yes: electrical and mechanical permits, a site plan showing its location, a gas pressure test and final inspections.

Where do I get a septic or well permit?

From the Oakland County Health Division, 248-858-1280.

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