Pittsfield Charter Township, Michigan Building Permit Guide

In Pittsfield Charter Township the township’s Department of Building Services, 6201 W. Michigan Avenue, Ann Arbor (734-822-3125), reviews plans, issues building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits and inspects the work; Chris Svihra is the Director of Building Services and Building Official. Every permit carries a $35 non-refundable application fee, building permits are priced from the ICC building valuation table under a schedule revised July 30, 2026, and nothing is paid at submittal. Pittsfield also issues its own soil erosion permits.

What requires a building permit in Pittsfield Township?

The township’s Required Permits page restates the code rule: an owner or agent who will build, enlarge, alter, repair, move or demolish a building, change its occupancy, or install or change electrical, gas, mechanical or plumbing systems applies to the building official first. It then lists what is exempt, noting that exempt work may still need zoning approval.

Small electrical, mechanical and plumbing repairs (lamps, portable appliances, clearing stoppages, fixing leaks without replacing pipe) are also exempt. In an emergency, equipment may be replaced first if the permit application reaches the building official the next business day.

What the township decides and what the state holds

The state code is enforced here by the township for all four trades. Pittsfield adopts its own fee schedule, its 2015 zoning ordinance, a property maintenance code and rental and short-term rental rules, and acts as its own soil erosion agency under its code of ordinances.

Pittsfield Township building department: who handles permitting

The Department of Building Services has a Building Inspection Division, which handles plan review, permits and inspections, and a Rental Housing Division for rental registration and inspections. Chris Svihra is the Director of Building Services and Building Official.

On the state’s jurisdiction list Pittsfield is LOCAL for building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing. Washtenaw County runs a county building program, but only for the units the list marks COUNTY (such as Augusta, Lodi, Saline, Scio, Sharon and Webster townships and the City of Dexter), so a Pittsfield address never goes to the county building office. The township’s own offices have an Ann Arbor mailing address, so the mailing address is not a reliable guide; the parcel number, which the township forms show beginning L12, is.

Pittsfield permit types and applications

Building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing applications are on the township’s forms page, along with a certificate of occupancy request, contractor registration, the Property Owner Affidavit, an address request, an Environmental Health Review Waiver for buildings that generate no sewage, and the rental and short-term rental registration forms.

Residential permits

• Submittal. The application with the cost of construction, two sets of plans (one no larger than 11 by 17 inches), two copies of energy code, truss and floor system documents, a thumb drive with the same files, and a plot plan meeting the Residential Plot Plan Checklist. Plans must be sealed where the Occupational Code requires it.
• Zoning. A Zoning Compliance Application may be needed; the township directs questions to 734-822-3130.
• Utilities. Sewer and water improvement fees are paid before the permit issues; where there is no public sewer or water, copies of Washtenaw County Environmental Health well and septic permits go in with the application, and additions or accessory buildings may need that department’s approval or a waiver.
• Driveways. A new driveway needs a Washtenaw County Road Commission or MDOT permit, and a copy goes in with the building application.

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 Pittsfield Township planning and engineering approvals before the building permit. Commercial plan review starts at $100; staff reviews are $100 plus $50 for each half hour after the first hour, and reviews by outside consultants are billed at 120% of the township’s cost. Large projects may be asked for a plan review escrow. Commercial food preparation needs a Washtenaw County Environmental Health permit or waiver, and commercial swimming pools need state environmental approval. Industrial and commercial sites can take an annual trade permit ($275 per trade) with quarterly inspections.

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

• Planning approvals. The Planning Office in the Community Development Department administers the 2015 zoning ordinance and supports the Planning Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals.
• Soil erosion. A soil erosion permit from the township’s Utilities & Municipal Services Department; township code requires all earth changes to prevent accelerated erosion.
• Address. New parcels get an address through the township’s Address Request Application, and the property must display it before any inspection.

Pittsfield permit fees

Fees come from the Department of Building Services fee schedule revised July 30, 2026. Every building and trade permit starts with a $35 non-refundable application fee, and building permit fees are set from construction valuation using the most recent International Code Council Building Valuation Data table, not the contract price.

For minor projects the schedule sets minimum values: basement finishes and roofed porches at $50 per sq ft, screened porches and gazebos at $34, detached accessory buildings without a concrete floor at $28, uncovered decks and porches at a flat $200 ($250 if composite) and residential solar at $200. Worked example: an uncovered wood deck that needs a permit (for example one attached to the house) is valued at $200, which falls in the first band, so it pays the $75 permit fee plus the $35 application fee, $110 in all.

Inspection fees assume 15 minutes on site, and longer inspections cost more. A certificate of occupancy for new construction is included in the permit fee. If a permit is cancelled before it expires, the township refunds everything except the application fee, plan review fees, 25% of the permit fee and $55 for each inspection already made. Paying online costs 2.8% by card ($1.50 minimum) or a flat $1.50 by eCheck up to $10,000.

Trade permits and who may pull them

Pittsfield issues and inspects its own electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits, and its fee schedule says a building permit never covers trade work: each trade needs its own permit, each with the $35 application fee and at least one inspection.

• Electrical: rough and final inspections $55 each, circuits $7, a service over 200 amps $30, a generator $28, a residential EV charger $8, a spa or hot tub $40, and solar at $25 for the first 50 panels plus $2 for each panel after.
• Mechanical: furnace or air conditioner replacement $35 each, a gas fireplace $35, gas piping $7 per opening, a water heater $7, a complete residential heat pump $60, and a new-building heating system $60, or $90 with air conditioning.
• Plumbing: fixtures and water-connected appliances $7 each, water service under 2 inches $30, sewers $23, and a shower pan inspection $55.

Trade permits are pulled by a contractor licensed in Michigan or by a qualified homeowner. Builders and trade contractors must register with the township ($15 per license cycle). An owner pulling permits signs the Property Owner Affidavit, certifying they are the owner in fee, that anyone they hire will be licensed, and that they will call for inspection within 72 hours of finishing and keep the work exposed until approved.

How to apply for a permit in Pittsfield Township

Review, corrections and what causes delay

Plan review costs are owed even if a project is cancelled, and minor plan revisions cost $20. The submittal list is what review works from: both plan sets, the thumb drive, the plot plan checklist items and copies of any well, septic and driveway permits. Sewer and water improvement fees must be paid before the permit issues, and every fee before it is picked up.

Inspections and certificates in Pittsfield Township

Inspections are requested at 734-822-3103. A set of approved plans must be kept on site, and the address must be posted: under Section 6-353 of the township code, an inspection at a property without proper identification is failed and charged a re-inspection fee, which must be paid before more inspections are booked.

• Footing before concrete; backfill after dampproofing and drain tile, with two tile connections left uncovered, and only once the location and elevation certificate has been approved.
• Slab before any pour, after underground plumbing is approved.
• Masonry rough and final, and a masonry fireplace check with the damper and first flue liner in place.
• Rough frame after the electrical, plumbing and mechanical roughs pass, then insulation and a drywall inspection before fasteners are covered.
• Final building before occupancy, and a final site inspection by the Planning Department against the approved grading plan.

A permit becomes invalid if work does not start within 180 days or stops for 180 days. No building may be occupied, or its occupancy changed, until a certificate of occupancy has been issued; request it on the township’s certificate of occupancy form.

Rental homes are inspected separately by the Rental Housing Division. Owners register once ($50), a one- or two-family rental is certified for $120 ($175 once the certificate has lapsed), and short-term rentals need a $50 license and a $120 initial inspection. An owner living more than 60 miles away must name an authorized local agent, and gas-fired heating equipment must be certified by a licensed mechanical contractor on the township’s HVAC certification form.

Michigan building code in Pittsfield Township

FEMA’s Community Status Book lists Pittsfield Charter Township (community 260623) as participating in the National Flood Insurance Program, with flood maps dated April 3, 2012.

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

Pittsfield permit search and official resources

Permit and inspection results for an address can be looked up through the township’s Property Search & Inspection Results service on BS&A Online. Other township records are requested from the Clerk’s Office by email, mail, fax or in person; the request must say it is made under the Michigan Freedom of Information Act and give the requester’s name, mailing address and a daytime phone number or email.

• Department of Building Services
• Building Inspection Division
• Building Services fee schedule (revised July 30, 2026)
• Required permits and exemptions
• Basic permit submittal information
• Required inspections
• Permit applications and forms
• Property Owner Affidavit
• Pay permit, inspection and rental fees
• Property search and inspection results (BS&A Online)
• Planning and zoning
• Requesting public documents (FOIA)
• Michigan Statewide Jurisdiction List (Bureau of Construction Codes)
• FEMA Community Status Book, Michigan

Pittsfield building permit FAQs

Do I need a permit to replace my roof in Pittsfield?

Not if you only re-shingle, make no structural changes and it is not the third layer of shingles; otherwise yes.

Do I need a permit for a fence?

Not a building permit for a fence up to 7 ft, though zoning approval may still apply; a fence over 7 ft needs a $50 permit.

How much is a building permit?

$35 to apply, plus $75 up to a $3,000 valuation, rising to $1,045 at $100,000 and $8 per $1,000 above that, plus plan review.

Does Washtenaw County issue permits in Pittsfield?

No. The township enforces all four codes itself; the county program covers only units listed as county-served.

Can a homeowner pull permits?

A qualified homeowner may, after signing the township’s Property Owner Affidavit.

Who issues soil erosion permits?

The township’s Utilities & Municipal Services Department.

How do I schedule an inspection?

Call 734-822-3103, and make sure the address is posted on the property first.

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