Oshtemo Charter Township, Michigan Building Permit Guide

Oshtemo Charter Township issues its own building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits through the Building Department at Township Hall, 7275 West Main Street (269-585-4150), where Ted Hanson is the Building Official. You can apply, request inspections and pay online; the department expects to finish reviews in seven to ten business days. Under the schedule in effect since January 1, 2025, a building permit costs a $50 application fee plus a base fee that starts at $75 and rises with the project’s value.

What requires a building permit in Oshtemo Charter Township?

Oshtemo’s homeowner guides point out that the township ordinance requires permits for construction projects, and its building application lists the jobs the department handles. Work that changes the house, adds a structure or alters a trade system belongs on this list.

The department publishes 2025 homeowner guides for accessory structures, additions, basement finishes, swimming pools, residential re-roofs and uncovered decks and porches, each setting out the drawings it expects.

What Oshtemo decides and what the state holds

The construction code is a state code that the township cannot amend. Oshtemo controls who reviews and inspects, its fee schedule, its forms and the zoning ordinance, which the Planning & Zoning Department administers along with the township master plan. The township is rewriting its zoning ordinance and has posted materials from update meetings held on June 25 and July 23, 2026.

Oshtemo Charter Township building department: who handles permitting

The state’s Statewide Jurisdiction List (revised November 6, 2026) marks Oshtemo as LOCAL for building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing, so the township’s Building Department handles every trade; Kalamazoo County has no building program to fall back on. For commercial plans the department often uses third-party plan reviewers.

Oshtemo Charter Township permit types

The Permit Applications & Forms page carries the building, demolition, electrical, mechanical and plumbing applications, plus management forms: permit extension and cancellation requests, a letter of authorization for agents, temporary certificate of occupancy request and extension forms, a change of use or occupant form and a request for a 911 address sign.

Residential permits

• Owner or agent. The owner of record signs, or an agent who attaches a contract, power of attorney or letter of authorization.
• New homes and additions. One electronic set of plans, sealed if over 3,500 square feet, showing the foundation and footing plan, wall and floor sections, wind and snow loads, height, floor area, window and door schedule, egress windows, smoke alarms and CO detectors, plus an energy certificate.
• Accessory structures. The homeowner guide asks for a site plan with footings, a floor plan with truss details and construction details; a garage floor used for parking must be concrete or asphalt.
• Re-roofing. Owners may re-roof their own homes with a permit. The guide calls for two inspections, an open-roof or underlayment check and a final (a mid-roof visit may be added), and allows no more than two layers of roofing when the job is done.
• Basement finishes. Drawings show structural changes, outlet, fixture and alarm locations, egress window sizes, and any ceiling under 7 feet. Smoke alarms are required in every basement and any added alarms must be hardwired, battery-backed and interconnected.
• Pools. Inspections follow excavation, pool erection and bonding, and the final is done with the pool full and permanent fences, gates and entry alarms working. The barrier must be at least 4 feet high, picket gaps no wider than 4 inches, and gates must swing away from the pool and be self-closing and self-latching.
• Decks and porches. The uncovered deck guide asks for drawings of footings, guardrails, stairs and handrails, with #2 grade lumber or better and ACQ or CA-B pressure-treated wood wherever it is exposed to moisture.
• Accessory dwelling units. Planning & Zoning posts an ADU handout; the fee is a $50 recording fee plus $100 for a detached unit outside a new building, or $300 if Planning Commission review is triggered.

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

Commercial permits

Commercial projects add use group, construction type and occupant load, and plan review is billed by value, with structural, mechanical, plumbing, electrical and energy reviews at 25% of the base review fee, $375 minimum each. Third-party reviewers are billed at no less than actual cost. Businesses with routine upkeep can use the Commercial Maintenance Annual Permit ($250 to set up, $75 per inspection), and a change of tenant uses the change of use form.

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

• Zoning approval. Permits are issued only after zoning approval, plan review and payment. Planning & Zoning offers pre-application review meetings for development projects ($500), and its site plan packet adds an environmental permits checklist, a hazardous substance reporting form, groundwater protection standards, fire code requirements for new construction and a soil erosion acknowledgement.
• Site plans and variances. A non-residential site plan review is $800 for one structure plus a $1,000 escrow; a one-family residential variance is $300 plus a $400 escrow. The Zoning Board of Appeals meets on the fourth Tuesday of the month at 3 p.m.
• Driveways and sidewalks. New driveways onto county roads need a Road Commission of Kalamazoo County permit (269-381-3170, extension 273); sidewalks need an Oshtemo Public Works permit.
• Earth changes. More than an acre, or work within 500 feet of a lake, stream or wetland, needs a Kalamazoo County Drain Commission permit (269-384-8117).
• Water, sewer and septic. Well and septic permits come from the Kalamazoo County Health Department, and public water and sewer from Oshtemo Public Works.

Oshtemo Charter Township permit costs and fees

The Building Department fee schedule took effect on January 1, 2025. The base fee is set from Building Valuation Data, rounded to the nearest dollar, and comes on top of a $50 non-refundable application fee. One inspection is included in the base fee and additional inspections are listed at $100 each. Trade permits carry their own fee lists on the application forms.

Worked example from the schedule: a project valued at $250,000 sits in the $100,001 to $500,000 band, so the base fee is $435 plus 150 × $2, or $735; with the application fee that is $785, plus $100 for each inspection beyond the one included and the $65 residential certificate of occupancy where one is issued. The $2,001 to $10,000 band tops out at $139 while the next band starts at $165, so check which band a small job falls in. Card payments for building permits carry a 3% processor fee; Planning & Zoning card payments are charged 2.75%, at least $1.95. A commercial temporary certificate of occupancy is $500 plus a refundable surety of the building value × 0.0040 for other residential and institutional uses, or × 0.0300 for assembly, business, educational, factory, hazardous, mercantile and storage buildings, with a $10,000 minimum in both cases.

Trade permits and who may pull them

Electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits are township permits filed with the Building Department, each starting with a $50 non-refundable application fee and an itemized fee chart. The electrical chart, revised January 1, 2025, charges $5 per circuit, $10 for a service up to 200 amps and $60 for each inspection (underground, service, rough-in and final), and a pre-permit consultation is $50.

• Contractors give their state license number and expiry, federal employer number and workers’ compensation details on each form.
• Homeowners can apply for their own permits: Oshtemo’s homeowner guide says owners who plan to do all of the work themselves may apply, but as owner-builders they are legally responsible for the permit and for injuries to anyone working on site.
• Electrical plans are not needed when the system is 400 amps or less in a building no larger than 3,500 square feet.
• Gas piping needs the signed gas piping test affidavit with the mechanical permit.

How to apply for an Oshtemo Charter Township building permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

The homeowner guides say review time depends on how complete the plans are, and the application warns that piecemeal submittals slow processing. Changes from the approved drawings require as-built plans before a certificate of occupancy. A permit is valid for 180 days; if no work starts in that time it is treated as abandoned and closed with no refund, and an extension is at the Building Official’s discretion.

Inspections and certificates in Oshtemo Charter Township

Request inspections online through the Building Department’s inspection request page, or by contacting the department, with at least 24 hours’ notice. Work may not be covered until it is approved. A typical accessory structure gets a footing inspection before concrete, a rough frame inspection, rough-ins for any trades, and a final.

• Certificates. A residential certificate of occupancy ($65) includes the street address sign; a temporary certificate needs a refundable cash surety and follows the township’s August 2024 policy, with extensions at $250 each.
• Commercial maintenance inspections under the annual permit are billed at $75 per visit of up to an hour.
• Planning & Zoning re-inspections are $100 an hour when work is not ready or not compliant.

Oshtemo also runs a rental inspection program through its Ordinance Enforcement department, which has its own application.

Michigan building code in Oshtemo Charter Township

Oshtemo enforces the state code itself for all trades. FEMA’s Community Status Book lists the Charter Township of Oshtemo (community 260736) as a participating National Flood Insurance Program community; its maps, effective July 31, 2024, are marked as having no base flood elevations 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

Oshtemo Charter Township permit search and official resources

For copies of permits, plans or inspection reports, file a Freedom of Information Act request with the Clerk’s Office at 7275 West Main Street or by email to oshtemo@oshtemo.org; the township posts its FOIA policy and request form.

• Oshtemo Building Department
• Permit applications and forms
• Building Department fee schedule
• Building permit application (January 2025)
• Electrical permit application
• Inspection request
• Homeowner building guides
• Homeowner guide: accessory structures
• Planning and zoning applications
• Planning and zoning fee schedule
• Zoning Board of Appeals
• FOIA requests
• Michigan Statewide Jurisdiction List
• Kalamazoo County permit guide

Oshtemo Charter Township building permit FAQs

Who issues building permits in Oshtemo Township?

The township’s own Building Department at 7275 West Main Street, for building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing work.

How long does permit review take?

The department expects reviews to be done in seven to ten business days, longer when volume is high.

How much is a building permit?

A $50 application fee plus a base fee from $75; a $250,000 project has a $735 base fee before extra inspections.

How much is a roofing permit?

$225 for re-roofing (re-siding is another $225), plus the $50 application fee.

Can I pull my own permit as a homeowner?

Yes, if you will do the work yourself; you then carry the legal responsibility for the permit and site safety.

When can I talk to the Building Official?

Walk in Monday to Friday from 8 to 10 a.m.; other times need an appointment.

What pool barrier does Oshtemo require?

A permanent barrier at least 4 feet high around the pool, with self-closing, self-latching gates that swing away from the water.

Where do I get a driveway permit?

From the Road Commission of Kalamazoo County (269-381-3170, extension 273) for county roads.

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