Park Township, Michigan Building Permit Guide

Park Township in Ottawa County, a township on Lake Michigan and Lake Macatawa with 19,199 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate, is a different place from the Park Township in St. Joseph County. Its Building and Zoning Department at the Township Offices, 52 152nd Avenue, Holland (616-738-4244), handles about 1,650 building permits a year and enforces all four construction codes itself; Chad Warden is the Building Official. Electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits are priced at $90 per inspection on the township’s June 2025 forms.

What requires a building permit in Park Township?

The department’s short answer is that all new buildings, additions and most remodels need permits, while painting and new floor coverings do not. Its handouts settle the common edge cases, and several of them turn on Park Township’s own zoning rather than the construction code.

Fences show how the two layers differ. No permit is needed, but the fence flyer revised in April 2026 caps front-yard fences at 3 feet and side and rear fences at 6 feet, limits the rear yard of a waterfront lot to 3 feet, keeps fences out of the road right-of-way, and treats both street sides of a corner lot as front yards.

What Park Township decides and what the state holds

Michigan writes the construction code and the township may not change it. The Bureau of Construction Codes’ Statewide Jurisdiction List (revised November 6, 2026) marks Park Township as enforcing building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing itself, with Ottawa County shown as having no county program. What Park decides is its permit fees, its zoning ordinance, Master Plan and Planning Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals decisions, and lakeshore rules such as its tree preservation ordinance and deck and beach-stair setbacks. Dune, shoreline erosion and floodplain construction rules belong to the state environmental agency, EGLE.

Park Township building department: who handles permitting

One combined Building and Zoning Department handles building permits, plan review, inspections, the Zoning Board of Appeals and planning. The building application carries two sign-offs, one for the zoning official and one for the building inspector or plan reviewer, so both checks happen inside the same office. Building permit questions and building inspection requests go to the Community Development Assistant at the department line; the electrical inspector and the mechanical and plumbing inspector take inspection requests on their own phone numbers, which the Building Department page lists.

The address is a Holland mailing address, but the City of Holland and Holland Charter Township are separate permit offices; parcels in Park Township carry parcel numbers beginning 70-15-, which the building application asks for.

Park Township permit types

The township’s documents page lists a building permit application, a demolition permit application, electrical, mechanical and plumbing applications (revised June 2025), a contractor registration form, a homeowner’s affidavit, a zoning permit application for work that needs no building permit, a bike path supplemental form, and FEMA’s elevation certificate for floodplain parcels.

Residential permits

• Plans. Houses of 3,500 square feet or more need three complete sealed sets; smaller houses and special projects such as decks and accessory buildings need two. Every set needs a site plan or survey with distances to property lines, room-by-room floor plans showing beams, bearing walls, egress windows and smoke alarms, and a cross section from footing to roof, plus a stair section where stairs are involved.
• Detached garages and sheds. Over 200 square feet is a building permit; up to 200 is a zoning permit. Size is capped at 2% of the lot or 2,500 square feet, so a 20,000-square-foot lot allows 400 square feet. One building is allowed under 2 acres and two above, with an extra 576 square feet when the house has no attached garage. Height and setbacks rise with size, from 14 feet tall and 5-foot side and rear setbacks under 240 square feet to 24 feet and a 100-foot front setback over 1,400 square feet.
• Decks and beach stairs. Under the deck ordinance, a ground-level deck (up to 2 feet, no railing) needs 5-foot setbacks; a first-floor deck (up to 5 feet, or any deck with a railing) needs 40 feet in front and 10 feet at the sides and rear.
• Pools and hot tubs must sit at least 4 feet from property lines (10 feet if the pool wall is over 2 feet high) and 10 feet from overhead power lines, behind a barrier with outward-opening, self-closing, self-latching gates.

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

Commercial permits

Commercial projects need three complete, architecturally sealed plan sets. Site plans, planned unit developments, special uses and rezonings are Planning Commission matters, with new 2026 application forms, and pending applications are posted with their packets.

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

The township will not issue a building permit until every other agency’s permit is in hand, and the building application has a line for each one.

• Zoning. The zoning official signs the building application; variances and appeals go to the Zoning Board of Appeals on its 2026 application form.
• Driveways and right-of-way. The Ottawa County Road Commission permits any driveway connecting to a public road and any other work in the right-of-way, which can reach 15 to 20 feet from the pavement.
• Soil erosion. The Ottawa County Water Resources Commissioner issues the soil erosion permit for work within 500 feet of a lake, stream or county drain, or disturbing an acre or more.
• Dunes, shoreline and floodplain. EGLE regulates construction and excavation in critical dune areas, high-risk erosion areas and the 100-year floodplain, and a floodplain parcel needs an elevation certificate based on an accurate survey.
• Well and septic. Ottawa County Environmental Health issues well and septic permits; otherwise the application records the municipal sewer and water service and meter size.

Park Township permit costs and fees

The township’s website does not post a building permit fee schedule, and its code of ordinances is hosted off-site, so ask the Building and Zoning Department (616-738-4244) for the building permit fee for your project. The building application asks for the value of construction including labor. Two fees are printed on the township’s own forms:

Each trade form asks how many inspections the job will need and multiplies that by $90, so a job needing one visit is $90 and one needing a rough and a final is $180. On the homeowner’s affidavit, owners agree they will be charged for any extra inspections not paid for when the permit is taken out. The Ottawa County agencies bill separately for soil erosion, septic and well permits.

Trade permits and who may pull them

Because Park Township enforces the electrical, mechanical and plumbing codes, trade permits are township permits on its June 2025 forms, inspected by the electrical and the mechanical and plumbing inspectors the Building Department page lists. The electrical and plumbing forms ask for both the master license and the contractor license with expiry dates; the mechanical form asks for the license number. Each form also asks whether the contractor is registered with Park Township.

• Contractor registration. Contractors register on the township’s form, listing building, electrical, plumbing and mechanical license numbers, federal ID, unemployment insurance and workers’ compensation details, with copies of all licenses attached. Residential builders and maintenance and alteration contractors hold LARA licenses, and electrical, plumbing and mechanical contractors hold state trade licenses.
• Homeowners. The accessory building flyer says licensed contractors may get permits for any property and homeowners may get permits for their own property using the homeowner’s affidavit. The affidavit itself is for work the owner does on the single-family home they live in or are about to occupy, and it reminds owners that electrical, plumbing, heating, air conditioning, ventilation and fireplace work each need their own permit.
• Booking trade inspections. Electrical inspections are booked with the electrical inspector, and mechanical and plumbing inspections with the mechanical and plumbing inspector, at the numbers on the Building Department page.
• Work started early. Starting trade work before the permit triggers an administration or investigation fee, paid before the permit issues.

How to apply for a Park Township building permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

The township’s plan review page stresses detail: it is easier to fix a code problem on paper than after construction starts, and a project built right up to a setback line will likely need a survey. Because a building permit cannot issue before every other agency’s permit, a missing driveway, soil erosion, septic or EGLE permit stops the file. Lakeshore lots add steps: an accessory building may not sit between the house and Lake Michigan or Lake Macatawa without Zoning Board of Appeals approval, and the plan review page asks applicants to check plans against the Tree Preservation Ordinance. The township publishes no review time.

Inspections and certificates in Park Township

Building inspections are requested through the department at (616) 738-4244; electrical, mechanical and plumbing inspections go to the trade inspectors at the numbers the Building Department page lists. The homeowner’s affidavit states the core rule in plain terms: nothing may be enclosed, backfilled, drywalled, covered up or used until the right inspector has approved it, and the owner-builder must arrange each inspection. The building application adds that the applicant agrees to call the Building Department for required inspections and lets township, Ottawa County and state officials enter the property to inspect.

• Trade inspections are counted and paid up front at $90 each, so plan the rough and final visits before applying.
• Floodplain parcels must give the township an elevation certificate based on an accurate survey.
• Pools need the barrier and gates the pool brochure describes, with gate latches at 54 inches or higher.
• Final approval is needed before a new building or addition is used, under the affidavit wording.

Michigan building code in Park Township

Park Township enforces the state construction code for all four trades under the jurisdiction list. FEMA’s Community Status Book lists the Township of Park (community 260185) as participating in the National Flood Insurance Program, with current flood maps dated October 21, 2021, regular-program entry on May 15, 1978, and Community Rating System class 10, with no discount listed.

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

Park Township permit search and official resources

Building permit and inspection records are held by the Building and Zoning Department. Copies of public records are requested under the Freedom of Information Act using the township’s FOIA request form, with its FOIA procedures, public summary, inspection-of-records rules and cost itemization form posted on the documents page.

• Park Township Building Department
• Park Township documents and forms
• Building permit application
• Electrical permit application (June 2025)
• Mechanical permit application (June 2025)
• Plumbing permit application (June 2025)
• Contractor registration
• Homeowner’s affidavit
• Zoning permit application
• Detached garages and accessory buildings flyer
• Residential fence requirements
• Pools and hot tubs brochure
• Plan review requirements
• Special regulations: dunes, erosion, floodplain, county permits
• Recent code updates: decks and beach stairs
• Planning and Zoning
• Ottawa County soil erosion permits
• Ottawa County well and septic permits
• Ottawa County Road Commission permits
• Statewide Jurisdiction List (Bureau of Construction Codes)

Park Township building permit FAQs

Who issues building permits in Park Township, Ottawa County?

The township’s own Building and Zoning Department at 52 152nd Avenue, Holland, (616) 738-4244, for building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing work.

How much is an electrical, plumbing or mechanical permit?

$90 per inspection on the township’s June 2025 forms, multiplied by the number of inspections the job needs.

Do I need a permit for a shed?

A shed or accessory building up to 200 square feet needs a $70 zoning permit; over 200 square feet it needs a building permit, and size is capped at 2% of the lot or 2,500 square feet.

Do I need a permit for a fence?

No, unless it surrounds a pool, but front-yard fences are limited to 3 feet and side and rear fences to 6 feet (3 feet in the rear yard of a waterfront lot).

Can I build near Lake Michigan or in a dune area?

EGLE regulates construction in critical dune, high-risk erosion and 100-year floodplain areas, and the township issues the building permit only after the state permit is in hand.

Can a homeowner pull permits?

Yes, for their own home, by signing the township’s homeowner’s affidavit and arranging the inspections.

How many plan sets do I need?

Two for most residential work, three sealed sets for houses of 3,500 square feet or more and for commercial buildings.

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