New Baltimore, Michigan Building Permit Guide

The City of New Baltimore’s Building, Codes & Zoning department at City Hall, 36535 Green Street, issues building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits; Gerard Hicks is the Building Official. Staff work in the field part of the day, so the city asks you to call 586-725-2151, extension 105, before visiting. A permit can take up to 10 city business days to review, and each trade permit starts with a $75 base fee that includes one inspection.

What requires a building permit in New Baltimore?

The city tells owners to call the Building Department at extension 105 to find out whether a project needs a permit, and its forms page shows the kinds of work it permits. Several small jobs use a zoning compliance permit rather than a full building permit.

Pools deeper than 24 inches need a building permit before construction starts or electrical service is run. Residential rentals register with the city on their own form, and signs may also need City Council, Planning Commission or Historic District Commission approval.

What New Baltimore decides and what the state holds

The state’s Statewide Jurisdiction List names New Baltimore as the enforcing agency for building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing work, and Macomb County runs no building department. The city uses the state’s standard building permit application form, but sets its own fees, zoning ordinance and pool setbacks, runs a Historic District Commission for exterior changes in the historic district, and relies on an outside engineering firm because it has no in-house engineer.

New Baltimore building department: who handles permitting

Building, Codes & Zoning handles permits, inspections, planning and zoning and code enforcement. Each inspector has a direct extension, and the department’s staff member for planning and zoning answers permit questions at extension 105. City engineering is done under contract by Project Control Engineering, Inc. of Algonac, which the city’s engineering page lists as its contact for engineering business.

New Baltimore permit types

New Baltimore’s main application is the state’s Application for Building Permit and Plan Examination. It asks for the owner, the architect or engineer, the contractor’s builder license number and expiry date, the cost, and which reviews are needed, and the city then records zoning, fire district, soil erosion, flood zone, water supply, septic and variance approvals on the form. Plumbing, mechanical and electrical work need separate applications.

Residential permits

• Additions, garages and accessory buildings. Separate forms for decks, garages, accessory structures under 200 square feet, re-shingling and siding ask for the cost, size, lot and subdivision, the builder’s license and driver’s license, and a drawing or plot plan on separate sheets.
• Pools. A pool deeper than 24 inches may not sit in the required front yard or the required side yard of a corner lot, must be at least 10 feet from the rear property line or easement and 10 feet from any building, and should have a ground-fault unit; if utility wires cross over or under the pool area, the owner must arrange their relocation with the utility before a permit is issued.
• Mechanical ventilation. A mechanical ventilation worksheet is posted alongside the mechanical application.
• Rentals. Residential rental units are registered with the city.
• Fences. Fences, walls and screening walls take a zoning compliance permit. Under Ordinance No. 194, which amended Section 60-101(e) of the zoning ordinance, a single-family lot whose back or side yard abuts a major, secondary or collector road named in the master plan must use a 6-foot, flat-top, heavy-gauge vinyl fence in sand or beige, with 8-foot panels, an aluminum-reinforced bottom rail, a transferable limited lifetime warranty and a matching gate, set on the property line along that road.

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

Commercial permits

Commercial projects use the same state-form building application and separate trade applications. Site plans go to the Planning Commission, which holds pre-planning meetings with applicants at 9 a.m. on the first Tuesday of each month, and signs may need Planning Commission, City Council or Historic District Commission approval. A business license application is on the same forms page.

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

What comes before the building permit

• Planning Commission. Meets at 7:30 p.m. on the fourth Tuesday of each month in the Council Chambers at City Hall.
• Zoning Board of Appeals. Meets at 7 p.m. on dates posted on the city calendar; every application must carry an original signature.
• Historic District Commission. Meets at 7 p.m. on the first Tuesday of each month except July and November and reviews any work that changes the exterior of a building or site in the historic district, including alterations, new construction and demolition.
• Soil erosion. Macomb County Public Works issues soil erosion permits in the city; its 2026 fees include $431 for a sea wall, in-ground pool or rural fill and $1,016 for a two-year single-family permit.
• County roads. Driveways and other work in a county road right-of-way need a Macomb County Department of Roads permit, filed on paper with four sets of plans.

New Baltimore permit costs and fees

New Baltimore does not post a building permit fee schedule on its building page; the building, deck, garage and razing forms leave the permit fee and deposit for the office to fill in, so call extension 105 for the building fee on a specific job. The trade applications print their fees:

A typical one-trade job therefore starts at $75 for the application and first inspection, plus the itemized charges and a $75 final inspection where one is needed. Work started before a permit is issued is subject to administrative fees, according to the trade forms. Permit fees can be paid online through BS&A.

Trade permits and who may pull them

Electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits are city permits with separate applications, and each asks whether the applicant is a contractor or a homeowner. A contractor gives the business and master or license numbers, the license expiry and its employer details, and pays a $25 registration.

• Homeowners. The electrical and mechanical applications each carry a homeowner affidavit: the owner certifies the work will be installed personally in the home they live in or are about to occupy, will not be covered or used until inspected, and that they will arrange the inspections. The plumbing form also offers a homeowner box.
• Plumbing details. Storm and sump work may be installed by a licensee or a registered excavation contractor. Water meters belong in the basement or on the first floor, never in a crawl space, and must be installed before the final inspection is requested.
• Gas piping. Uses the city’s gas piping affidavit form. The mechanical application warns that a contractor needs a license covering more than fuel gas piping to pull a permit for a pool heater or generator; a gas-piping-only installer needs a second permit for the appliance.
• Requests. Electrical (extension 161) and mechanical or plumbing (extension 162) inspection requests must arrive by 1 p.m. for an inspection the next day.

How to apply for a New Baltimore building permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

The city says a permit can take up to ten business days to review. Approvals from other bodies add time: the Historic District Commission meets once a month and skips July and November, and the Planning Commission meets monthly with a separate pre-planning session. The state-form application asks for every item in sections I to VI to be completed, and ZBA applications are accepted only with an original signature.

Inspections and certificates in New Baltimore

Building inspections run Monday to Thursday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Friday mornings (the department page gives 1 p.m. as the Friday cut-off in one place and noon in another); call extension 116. Trade inspection requests must reach the inspector by 1 p.m. the day before. The trade base fee covers the first inspection; a final inspection is $75, and a return visit because work was not ready or the inspector could not get in is $75, though the first re-inspection of violations noted on the original inspection is free.

The electrical application spells out when a permit lapses: it becomes invalid if work does not start within six months of issue or stops for six months, and it is cancelled when no inspection is requested and made within six months of issue or of the last inspection. Cancelled permits cannot be refunded or reinstated.

On new houses, the plumbing permit for a one-bath home includes the underground inspection if it is done together with the rough inspection; a separate underground visit is charged. The water meter must be in place before the plumbing final is requested.

Michigan building code in New Baltimore

New Baltimore enforces the state construction code in all four trades. FEMA’s Community Status Book lists the city (community 260125) as a participating National Flood Insurance Program community, with flood maps dated December 30, 2020; the city’s engineering page posts the Base Street at Crapaud Creek floodplain document and a link to the National Flood Hazard Layer, and the building application records whether a site is in a flood zone.

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

New Baltimore permit search and official resources

Ask the Building Department about permits on file for an address. Written requests for records go through the City Clerk’s Office, which posts a Freedom of Information Act request form, the city’s FOIA procedures and a page of frequently asked questions.

• New Baltimore Building, Codes & Zoning
• Application for building permit and plan examination
• Electrical permit application
• Mechanical permit application
• Plumbing permit application
• Swimming pool permit application
• Fence, wall and screening wall application (Ordinance 194)
• Historic District Commission
• Planning Commission
• Zoning Board of Appeals
• City engineering and floodplain documents
• Clerk’s Office and FOIA forms
• New Baltimore on BS&A Online (payments)
• Macomb County soil erosion coverage map
• Macomb County Department of Roads permits
• Michigan Statewide Jurisdiction List
• FEMA Community Status Book, Michigan

New Baltimore building permit FAQs

How long does a New Baltimore permit take?

The city says a permit can take up to 10 city business days to review.

Can I walk in to apply?

Call 586-725-2151, extension 105, first; staff spend part of the day out of the office.

How much is a trade permit?

A $75 base fee that includes one inspection, plus itemized charges and a $75 final inspection where needed; contractors also pay a $25 registration.

Can a homeowner do their own electrical or mechanical work?

The electrical and mechanical applications include a homeowner affidavit for work the owner installs in the home they live in or are about to occupy.

Where can I put a swimming pool?

Not in the required front yard or a corner lot’s required side yard, and at least 10 feet from the rear property line or easement and from any building.

Does work in the historic district need approval?

Yes. The Historic District Commission reviews exterior alterations, new construction and demolition there.

What fence do I need along a main road?

On a single-family lot backing or siding onto a major, secondary or collector road, Ordinance No. 194 requires a 6-foot flat-top vinyl fence in sand or beige on the property line, with a matching gate.

What is the inspection request deadline?

Electrical, mechanical and plumbing requests must be in by 1 p.m. for a next-day inspection.

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