St. Clair Shores, Michigan Building Permit Guide

In the City of St. Clair Shores, the Building Department, part of Community Development and Inspections at City Hall, 27600 Jefferson Avenue (586-447-3340), issues building, electrical, plumbing, mechanical, fence, driveway and other permits, and the state jurisdiction list shows the city enforcing all four codes itself. Each permit carries a $50 non-refundable application fee; a building permit for a job costing $301 to $5,000 adds a $50 permit fee, and the schedule adds $10 per $1,000 over $5,000 (up to $50,000) and $5 per $1,000 over $50,000.

What requires a building permit in St. Clair Shores?

The city’s forms library lists a separate application for each kind of work: building, electrical, plumbing, mechanical, refrigeration, fences, concrete and driveways, signs, demolition, fire systems, work in the right-of-way, soil erosion and lakefront work. The building application fee schedule also lists seawalls and dredging, and a plan search costs $30.

Removing an in-ground pool also takes a permit and inspection, and everything must come out. The city does not enforce private subdivision restrictions.

What St. Clair Shores decides and what the state holds

Under the Bureau of Construction Codes’ Statewide Jurisdiction List, the city is the enforcing agency for building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing work, and Macomb County runs no construction-code program. The city’s new-construction packet says it administers the Michigan Building, Residential, Plumbing, Mechanical, Energy and Rehabilitation codes together with the International Property Maintenance Code. What the city sets for itself is its fee schedule, its zoning ordinance (Chapter 48 of the city code), local building rules such as the brick requirement in Section 8-51, its floodplain review and its own soil erosion program.

St. Clair Shores building department: who handles permitting

The Building Department sits inside Community Development and Inspections and employs a building inspector, an electrical inspector, a plumbing and mechanical inspector and a construction inspector. Questions for any of them go through the general department line, where you can leave a message for the inspector you need.

St. Clair Shores permit types

Every trade has its own application, and each one asks for the contractor’s state license number and its expiry date. Building, electrical, plumbing and mechanical contractors also pay a city contractor registration fee, and each application warns that conspiring to get around Michigan’s licensing rules for residential work carries civil fines under Section 23a of the State Construction Code Act.

Residential permits

• New houses. The New Construction Guidelines ask for the building application, a $500 deposit, two sets of plans (sealed by an architect if the house is over 3,500 square feet), a sealed survey with grades at every corner and every 25 feet, an energy-code report, a ventilation worksheet and Manual J and S heat-loss and duct documents. A new sanitary lead to the main is required, excavated soil must leave the site, and the lot may not be filled without Engineering’s consent.
• Design rules for new houses. Brick is required where two-thirds or more of the homes on the block are at least half brick on all sides; the house must have at least 1,064 square feet with a basement or 1,120 without; and an attached garage may take up no more than 55% of the front facade.
• Additions, garages, sheds and pools. Two sets of plans with a plot plan or survey showing lot lines, setbacks, overhead wires and easements, plus a cross-section with materials, height and footings. Pools sit in the rear yard, at least 6 feet from side and rear lot lines and 4 feet from any building.
• Fences. A separate fence application with a plan of the fence line; the city does not settle who owns an existing fence.

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

Commercial permits

Commercial building permits need three sets of plans, and new commercial or industrial buildings carry a $2,000 bond. Before a business opens, the occupant files a certificate of occupancy application with a $400 fee and a business license application; eight city reviewers, from Fire and Police to Tax and Water, check the premises. A site without a 6-foot screen wall next to homes must build one, and the city allows 24 months from a temporary certificate of occupancy to finish it.

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

• Site plan review. All new construction other than single-family houses goes to the Planning Commission (second and fourth Tuesdays at 7 p.m.), then City Council (first and third Mondays), then the Zoning Board of Appeals if a variance is needed.
• Zoning Board of Appeals. Meets the first Thursday of the month at 7 p.m.; the filing deadline is a month before the meeting, the applicant must attend, and a variance lapses after one year.
• Soil erosion. A city permit, with a $200 erosion bond and a $300 inspection bond, is needed within 500 feet of Lake St. Clair, a canal or the Milk River, or on a site of an acre or more; measures must be inspected before digging starts.
• Lake and canal work. Seawalls and other lake-front or canal-front work go to the city’s Water Resources and Development Board ($300 application fee); a seawall must finish at 582.2 feet on the lake or 580.2 feet on a canal.
• County roads. Driveway approaches and other work in a Macomb County road right-of-way need a Department of Roads permit, filed on paper with four sets of plans.

St. Clair Shores permit costs and fees

The building permit fee is set by job cost on the city’s Building Permit Application and Fee Schedule (revised May 8, 2023), which points to Ordinance 22.008 for the full list of building fees. Trade fees are itemized on each trade application; the electrical form was revised on August 27, 2026.

Planning fees were updated on January 1, 2026: site plan review is $1,000 for commercial, office, industrial or multiple-family projects and $300 for a two-family building, special land use and rezoning requests are $1,500 each, and a Zoning Board of Appeals case is $500 for a single-family home or $1,000 for other property. The fee sheet does not say whether the $10 and $5 rates apply to the whole job cost or only to the part above each threshold, so ask the department to price a specific job; the pool sheet notes that a typical pool permit totals about $120.

Trade permits and who may pull them

All three trades are city permits here, inspected by the city’s own trade inspectors.

• Electrical. Fees are itemized by circuit, service size and equipment; final inspection is due within 10 days of finishing the work, with 48 hours’ notice for every inspection. Furnaces, boilers, air conditioners and pools also need an electrical permit.
• Mechanical. Heating and cooling take separate permits, and air conditioners go on a refrigeration permit. A condenser must sit in the rear yard; a side-yard location needs special approval. A gas piping sizing worksheet is in the forms library.
• Plumbing. Residential sanitary sewer repairs must use pipe at least 6 inches in diameter, and the plumbing contractor restores any right-of-way it disturbs, including concrete.
• Homeowners. The city’s Homeowner Affidavit lets an owner take out building, concrete, electrical, mechanical, plumbing or refrigeration permits for work done personally in the home the owner lives in or is about to occupy; the owner certifies that nothing will be covered before inspection and takes charge of booking inspections.

How to apply for a St. Clair Shores building permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

The new-construction packet says plans cannot be accepted unless every listed item is attached, and the Engineering Division reviews the survey against the base flood elevation of 578.6 feet (NAVD 88); if any corner of a proposed house is below it, the application is denied. Pool plans go through several inspectors, which the city says can take one to two weeks. A permit expires if the work does not progress within six months of issue or stops for six months; extensions must be requested in writing, and an unfinished job otherwise needs a new permit.

Inspections and certificates in St. Clair Shores

Call 586-447-3340 to book. The new-house packet asks for 24 hours’ notice, while the electrical and mechanical forms ask for 48 hours, so allow two working days for trade inspections. Keep the approved plans on site and post the lot number, address, weather card and permits on a new house. A failed inspection costs $30 to re-inspect.

New houses also need a backfill certificate once the basement walls are up, an as-built certificate before occupancy, a rear-yard drain, a city-approved street tree 8 feet tall and 1.5 to 2 inches thick between sidewalk and curb, and seed or sod on the lot. Plumbing, electrical, mechanical, building and engineering inspections must all pass before the certificate of occupancy is issued, and bonds left unclaimed for a year after final inspection are forfeited. Soil erosion inspections on active sites happen monthly.

Michigan building code in St. Clair Shores

Part of the city lies in FEMA’s mapped floodplain; FEMA’s Community Status Book lists St. Clair Shores (community 260127) as a participating National Flood Insurance Program community with maps dated December 30, 2020. Owners who believe their lot is wrongly mapped can seek a Letter of Map Amendment, and the city’s flood page explains how to check a parcel on Macomb County GIS.

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

St. Clair Shores permit search and official resources

Permit history for an address is on BS&A Online through the city’s “Building Permits By Property” link. For copies of plans or other records, send a written request with your name, address and contact details to the city’s FOIA Coordinator; the city answers within five business days for requests made in person or by mail and six for electronic ones, and may take a 10-business-day extension. The City Clerk’s office is at City Hall (586-447-3303).

• St. Clair Shores Building Department
• Applications, permits and forms
• Building permit application and fee schedule (rev. May 8, 2023)
• Electrical permit and fee schedule (rev. Aug. 27, 2026)
• Plumbing permit and fee schedule
• Mechanical permit and fee schedule
• Homeowner affidavit
• New residential construction guidelines
• Certificate of occupancy guidelines
• Planning Commission application and fees
• Zoning Board of Appeals requirements
• Water Resources permit application (seawalls)
• FEMA flood maps in St. Clair Shores
• Records requests (FOIA)
• Macomb County Department of Roads permits
• Michigan Statewide Jurisdiction List
• FEMA Community Status Book, Michigan

St. Clair Shores building permit FAQs

Is St. Clair Shores the same as St. Clair County?

No. St. Clair Shores is a city in Macomb County and runs its own building department; St. Clair County is a separate county to the north.

How much is a building permit in St. Clair Shores?

A $50 non-refundable application fee plus a fee based on job cost: $30 up to $300, $50 from $301 to $5,000, plus $10 per $1,000 over $5,000 (to $50,000) and $5 per $1,000 over $50,000, and plan review where it applies.

Can a homeowner pull a permit?

Yes, for work the owner does personally in the home they live in or are about to occupy, by signing the city’s Homeowner Affidavit.

Do I need a permit for a fence?

Yes. A residential fence permit is $100 and a commercial one $150, with a $30 plan review where needed.

Who handles soil erosion permits here?

The city does, not Macomb County Public Works. A permit is needed within 500 feet of Lake St. Clair, a canal or the Milk River, or on a site of an acre or more.

How much notice do inspectors need?

At least 24 hours for new-house inspections and 48 hours for electrical and mechanical inspections; call 586-447-3340.

Can I build a house below the base flood elevation?

No. The city denies a new-house application if any corner of the proposed building is below 578.6 feet (NAVD 88).

Simplify St. Clair Shores 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 St. Clair Shores permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.