Spring Lake Township, Michigan Building Permit Guide

Spring Lake Township, an Ottawa County township of 15,705 people in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate (a figure that includes the Village of Spring Lake inside it), splits permitting in two. The township’s Building and Planning Department at 101 S. Buchanan Street (616-842-1340) issues zoning permits, and Michigan Township Services, Muskegon (MTSM), at 5855 Airline Road in Fruitport, issues all building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits and does the inspections under contract. Fees follow the township’s schedule updated in 2023: $255 plus $6 for each $1,000 of valuation over $10,000.

What requires a building permit in Spring Lake Township?

The township’s Building and Planning page lists the jobs that usually need a building permit: new buildings, renovations where walls are altered, pools, fences, decks and garages, plumbing alterations or additions, roof replacements, and window or siding replacement. Ordinary repairs do not need one unless walls are removed or the plumbing or electrical systems are changed. Separately, a township zoning permit is needed for additions beyond the original foundation, new homes, sheds, fences, pools deeper than 2 feet, hot tubs, decks, retaining walls and signs, even when no building permit is needed.

The two lists overlap on fences: the township’s exemption list frees fences up to 6 feet from a building permit, but every fence still needs a $50 zoning permit. Nothing may be built, cleared or excavated until every related permit is issued, including zoning, building, wetland and soil erosion permits; failing to wait may result in a civil infraction or denial of permits.

What Spring Lake Township decides and what the state holds

The state code cannot be changed locally. The Bureau of Construction Codes’ Statewide Jurisdiction List (revised November 6, 2026) shows Spring Lake Township enforcing all four codes itself, with Ottawa County listed as having no county program; the township meets that duty by contracting with MTSM. The township keeps its own zoning ordinance, a local wetland ordinance (Chapter 14, Article V of its code) with a 25-foot wetland setback, tree-cutting restrictions, a short-term rental overlay district, and the fee schedule MTSM charges against.

Spring Lake Township building department: who handles permitting

Two offices, in order. The township’s Building and Planning Department, led by Community Development Director Lukas Hill, reviews the site plan and issues the zoning permit. MTSM then reviews the construction plans, issues the building and trade permits and inspects the work. MTSM will take plans before zoning is finished, but cannot issue a permit until the township has approved zoning.

The Village of Spring Lake lies inside the township but is a separate government with its own Village Hall at 102 W. Savidge Street; MTSM also serves the village, but village zoning and payment rules differ, so confirm on the tax bill whether a parcel is in the township or the village before filing.

Spring Lake Township permit types

Zoning applications come from the township: a general zoning permit application for new homes and additions, and separate forms for accessory buildings and decks, fences, pools and hot tubs, signs, solar panels, bike path or sidewalk cuts and wetland or wetland-buffer land use. Construction applications come from MTSM’s permits page: new residence, additions and accessory structures, maintenance and alterations, signs, commercial, occupancy permits, and the electrical, mechanical and plumbing forms.

Residential permits

• New homes and additions (zoning). A completed zoning application and a detailed site plan (with an electronic copy if larger than 11 by 17 inches) showing every structure and its distance to lot lines, easements, water, septic or sewer lines, the driveway at least 5 feet from the property line, lot coverage, floodplain elevations and any wetlands, streams or lakes. Add one copy of the blueprints, a scaled elevation with existing and finished grades, floor plans with total square footage, the driveway permit, proof of ownership, proof of water and sewer or well and septic permits, and, for a new home, proof of a portable restroom on site.
• New homes and additions (building). MTSM’s application, a complete plan set with foundations, elevations, labeled floor plans and cross sections, two copies of the blueprints, energy code calculations for new homes and larger additions, and the township’s zoning approval.
• Accessory buildings and decks. Every accessory building and every deck needs the $50 township zoning permit with a site plan; MTSM’s building permit is added over 200 square feet and for any attached deck.
• Pools and hot tubs. A pool holding more than 2 feet of water needs a fence at least 4 feet high or an approved cover; the fence can go on the pool application, but a fence by a different installer needs its own $50 permit.

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

Commercial permits

Commercial and industrial developments need site plan review by the Planning Commission, at $750 plus a $1,180 escrow deposit. Before the formal review, preliminary sketches go to the Zoning Administrator, Department of Public Works, Fire Chief and Building Official so problems surface before detailed plans are drawn. MTSM requires a separate permit for each multifamily dwelling unit and each commercial tenant space.

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

What comes before the building permit

• Water and sewer connection fees must be paid before applying for the zoning permit when the lot will use public utilities.
• Soil erosion. Within 500 feet of a drain or body of water, the Ottawa County Water Resources Commissioner’s soil erosion permit is part of the zoning file.
• Wetlands. Filling, grading, dredging, draining or building in a township-regulated wetland or its 25-foot setback needs a township wetland use permit, even where no state or federal agency regulates it.
• Driveways. Driveways onto public roads need an Ottawa County Road Commission permit ((616) 842-5400).
• Well and septic. Off public utilities, the Ottawa County Department of Public Health issues well and septic permits ((616) 393-5645).
• Variances go to the Zoning Board of Appeals, which also decides oversized accessory building and attached garage authorizations and waterfront setback determinations; filings are due about 4 weeks before the hearing.

Spring Lake Township permit costs and fees

Building and trade permits are priced on the township’s “Schedule of Approved Fees, Permits & Licenses,” updated 2023, even though MTSM issues them; checks are made out to Spring Lake Township, and MTSM’s Fruitport office also takes credit cards with a convenience fee. Houses and accessory buildings are valued from the residential cost schedule and commercial projects from the current state cost table.

Worked example: a new house the residential cost schedule values at $300,000 pays $255 plus 290 × $6 ($1,740), a building permit fee of $1,995, plus residential plan review at $50 an hour and the $100 zoning permit. The valuation bands join cleanly: $255 at $10,000 and $6,195 at $1,000,000. Electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits are added on top, and Ottawa County charges separately: $100 for a soil erosion permit on a new single-family home up to 1 acre, and, from October 1, 2026, $743 for a new septic permit and $555 for a new private well.

Trade permits and who may pull them

Electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits are filed on MTSM’s forms for Spring Lake Township and inspected by MTSM’s inspectors. On the township schedule, each trade has a $50 permit base fee that does not include any inspection, and each inspection is billed separately.

• When a trade permit is needed. The township lists electrical permits for new homes, additions, alterations, service upgrades, pool bonding, air conditioning and rewiring; mechanical permits for furnace and water heater replacement, air conditioning and new duct runs; and plumbing permits for adding a bathroom or rearranging fixtures. Minor electrical repairs, portable appliances and clearing stoppages or fixing leaks without replacing pipes need none.
• Licenses. Residential builders and maintenance and alteration contractors carry LARA licenses, and electrical, mechanical and plumbing contractors hold state trade licenses.
• Homeowners. An owner planning to do their own work should ask MTSM how it handles homeowner permits; the township’s pages do not describe one.

How to apply for a Spring Lake Township building permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

Order matters: MTSM cannot release a permit until the township’s zoning approval is in, and the zoning file itself waits on utility connection fees, the driveway permit and any soil erosion or wetland permit. Where a waterfront lot has an unusual shoreline, the setback is a Zoning Board of Appeals determination, with a public hearing noticed at least 15 days ahead. For commercial projects, the preliminary sketch review lets staff flag problems before detailed plans are paid for. Neither office publishes a plan review time.

Inspections and certificates in Spring Lake Township

MTSM performs every building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing inspection in the township; call its Fruitport office (231-865-6977 or 231-865-3310), open Monday to Thursday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Because the trade base fees include no inspections, each visit on the fee schedule is a line item:

• Plumbing underground and rough inspections, $50 each.
• Electrical rough and mechanical rough or pressure test, $50 each.
• Trade finals, $50 each.

MTSM’s permits page carries an occupancy permit application and its temporary occupancy requirements. Work started before a permit is billed at $75 per inspection or $75 an hour, whichever is greater, and repeated ordinance violations carry $50 and $100 citations before the township takes a case to court.

Michigan building code in Spring Lake Township

Spring Lake Township is the enforcing agency for all four codes on the state’s jurisdiction list and uses MTSM to do the work. FEMA’s Community Status Book lists the Township of Spring Lake (community 260281) as participating in the National Flood Insurance Program, with flood maps effective October 21, 2021 and regular-program entry on February 15, 1978; the Village of Spring Lake is listed separately. The township’s zoning site plan asks for floodplain elevations where they apply.

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

Spring Lake Township permit search and official resources

Ask the township about zoning files and MTSM about building and trade permit records. Public records requests under the Freedom of Information Act may be emailed to the township or delivered to Township Hall; the township posts its FOIA request form, procedures, public summary and appeal form.

• Spring Lake Township Building and Planning
• Schedule of approved fees, building and planning permits (updated 2023)
• Planning Commission and ZBA fee schedule
• New residences and additions information sheet
• Zoning permit application
• Accessory buildings and structures information sheet
• Swimming pools information sheet
• Fences in residential zones information sheet
• Wetland and wetland buffer land use permit application
• Zoning ordinance, complete text
• Freedom of Information Act requests
• Michigan Township Services, Muskegon: permit applications
• Ottawa County soil erosion permits
• Ottawa County well and septic permits
• Ottawa County Road Commission permits
• Statewide Jurisdiction List (Bureau of Construction Codes)

Spring Lake Township building permit FAQs

Who issues building permits in Spring Lake Township?

Michigan Township Services, Muskegon, under contract with the township, issues building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits; the township issues the zoning permit first.

How much is a building permit?

For a valuation between $10,000 and $1,000,000, $255 plus $6 for each $1,000 over $10,000, so a $300,000 valuation is $1,995 before plan review and zoning fees.

Do I need a permit for a shed?

Every shed needs a $50 township zoning permit; a one-story shed over 200 square feet also needs an MTSM building permit.

Do I need a permit for a fence?

Yes, a $50 zoning permit for every fence; fences up to 6 feet do not need a building permit.

Does replacing my roof or windows need a permit?

The township lists roof replacements and window or siding replacement among jobs that usually need a building permit from MTSM.

Is the Village of Spring Lake the same office?

No. The village has its own Village Hall and zoning, although MTSM handles construction permits for both.

Can I start clearing my lot before the permits are issued?

No. The township bars land clearing and excavation until zoning, building, wetland and soil erosion permits are all issued.

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