Summit Township, Michigan Building Permit Guide

Summit Township in Jackson County is a separate government from Summit Township in Mason County. Here the township’s Building & Zoning Department issues building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits, with Phil Beemer as Chief Building Official, and the state’s Statewide Jurisdiction List confirms the township enforces all four codes. The office is open Monday through Thursday, and most township permits are priced at $70 per inspection plus a $25 administrative fee and a $25 zoning compliance fee under the schedule the Township Board adopted effective June 15, 2023.

What requires a building permit in Summit Township?

The township’s building FAQ lists the improvements that need a permit: additions to a home or garage, central air, replacing roof trusses or roof sheathing, enlarging windows or doors, removing or moving a bearing wall, swimming pools, new garages, sheds, decks and other accessory structures. Its permit list adds separate roof, fence, electrical, mechanical and plumbing applications.

The fee schedule is plain that a project exempt from a building permit still needs an application, the $25 administrative fee and the $25 zoning compliance fee, which together create a zoning compliance permit. The FAQ lists painting, patio stones, a second layer of shingles, siding, replacement windows and drywall as work that needs no permit, but the township also posts a roof permit application and a $140 roof fee, so ask before re-roofing.

What the township decides and what the state holds

Summit cannot amend the state construction code, but it sets its own fees, zoning and site rules. Its permit guidance requires 42-inch footings for houses and attached garages, a minimum of 750 square feet and a 20-foot width for one- and two-bedroom homes on a permanent perimeter foundation, one principal structure per parcel, and no accessory building without a house. Heights differ between the township’s pages: the permit guidance gives 16 feet for buildings in residential districts and the FAQ caps detached accessory structures at 14 feet, so confirm the limit with the Zoning Administrator. A detached garage of 600 square feet or more needs 42-inch footings and may sit 5 feet from the rear and side lines, and a detached accessory building must stay 10 feet from other buildings unless it has rated fire walls.

Summit Township building department: who handles permitting

The Bureau of Construction Codes’ Statewide Jurisdiction List (rev. Nov. 6, 2026) lists Summit Township, Jackson County, as LOCAL for building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing; Jackson County runs no building program. The township’s permit page says electrical, plumbing and mechanical permits are issued by the Building & Zoning Department along with building permits, and the trades are inspected by contract inspectors who work by appointment.

Street addresses are assigned by the Jackson County Addressing Committee, but the application is made at the Summit Township Assessor’s office.

Summit Township permit types

The township posts fillable PDF applications for building, roof, fence, electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits, and an online permit application through BS&A. Completed PDFs may be emailed to building@summittwp.com, but every permit must be signed in person at the township when it is paid for.

Residential permits

• What to bring: the completed application with a site drawing on the back showing the building, its setbacks from the side and rear lines, the distance from the road center line and from other buildings; two copies of plans drawn at 1/8 or 1/4 inch to the foot, with floor plans, all elevations and at least one foundation-wall-roof cross section; the legal description and property code number.
• Recent land splits need a certified, recorded boundary survey and the recorded deed or land contract, and every new split must be approved in advance by the Jackson County Health Department and the township.
• Authority to build: a letter from the deed holder if the applicant does not own the land, and a signed contract when a licensed contractor applies or is named.
• Homeowners: the township warns that an owner who takes out a permit but does not do the work is breaking the law and becomes the only person it can hold responsible.

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

Commercial permits

Commercial and industrial drawings must be sealed by a Michigan-registered professional engineer or architect and may need more detail. Buildings that need special inspections under section 1705 of the building code must list the materials and tasks involved, summarize the inspections, and name the agencies and inspectors doing them with their credentials. Plan review is charged at one-tenth of 1% of the construction cost, with a $50 minimum, for commercial and industrial work and for homes over 3,500 square feet.

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. The Zoning Board of Appeals meets on the second Thursday of each month at 7:00 p.m., and applicants or a representative must attend. Variance requests need a stake or mortgage survey, photos and the variance marked on the site, and owners within 300 feet are notified. A variance lapses if the work does not start within 180 days, a denied request cannot be refiled for 365 days without new evidence, and half the fee is refunded if an application is withdrawn.
• Sewer and water. Tap fees must be paid in full where sewer service is available.
• Well and septic. Permits come from the Jackson County Health Department (517-788-4420), and the township reviews them.
• Driveways. A new driveway or a change of use needs a driveway permit from the Jackson County Department of Transportation (517-788-4230) or the state agency that controls the road.
• Soil erosion. Sites near a county drain or waterway may need a county permit; JCDOT issues soil erosion permits through OxCart for earth changes of an acre or more or within 500 feet of waters of the state or a county drain.

Summit Township permit costs and fees

The Building Department fee schedule was revised and adopted by the Township Board effective June 15, 2023. Most residential work is priced by the number of inspections at $70 each, on top of the two fees every permit carries. Fees are paid when the permit is issued.

Worked example: a roof permit is $140 for its two inspections plus the $25 administrative and $25 zoning compliance fees, or $190. Zoning applications have their own schedule: $300 for a variance, $350 for a rezoning and $300 for a conditional use or home occupation, each plus the actual mailing and advertising cost, and $200 to $500 for site plan reviews.

Trade permits and who may pull them

Electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits are Summit Township permits, applied for on the township’s own forms and inspected by its contract inspectors, who are reached by appointment at the numbers on the building page.

• Mechanical permits may be taken out only by the person actually doing the work: a homeowner doing the work on their own single-family home, or a state-licensed mechanical contractor hired by the owner or general contractor. A homeowner who hires a contractor may not take out the mechanical permit.
• Replacement equipment may be installed before the permit is issued, but the application and the inspection request must follow within two days of installation, or before the equipment is concealed.
• No equipment may be concealed, or put into normal operation, until it has been inspected and approved.
• Electrical and plumbing each have their own application on the permit page.

Trade permits follow the same six-month rule as building permits: if work does not start and no inspection is made within six months, or work stops for more than six months, the permit may be cancelled.

How to apply for a Summit Township building permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

The permit page says the Building Official issues permits within 48 hours, while the FAQ allows up to three working days. The township asks for a site drawing that shows setbacks and the distance to the road center line, plans at one of the two accepted scales and, for a recent land split, the recorded survey and advance Health Department approval; commercial projects add the special inspection list and sealed prints.

Inspections in Summit Township

Book building inspections by calling 517-788-4113 ext. 257, Monday through Thursday, 7:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; for electrical, mechanical and plumbing inspections, call the inspector listed on the permit. The permit holder must make the request and give the permit number, the holder’s name, the site address and a phone number for inspection hours. Inspections are scheduled Monday through Friday for a morning or afternoon only, with no set times; most are done within two business days, and up to four in busy periods. Cancel by 9:00 a.m. on the day, and say when you book if the access road or driveway is impassable.

The footing inspection comes before any concrete is poured, with forms and reinforcing in place and water pumped out. After each visit the inspector marks the back of the posted permit with the result and any corrections; the permit holder arranges the re-inspection the same way, and additional inspections are $70 each. Work concealed before it is inspected will not be approved.

Michigan building code in Summit Township

FEMA’s Community Status Book lists Summit Township, Jackson County (community 260575), as a participating National Flood Insurance Program community, with flood maps effective May 3, 2010. The township posts floodplain information on its building and zoning pages.

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

Summit Township permit search and official resources

The township says it must keep the permit application, plans and inspection notices on file for as long as the building stands. Ask the Building & Zoning Department about a property’s permits, or file a Freedom of Information Act request with the township clerk on the FOIA request form posted with the township’s procedures and cost itemization. The zoning page also posts the 2022 edition of the township Master Plan and ZBA and Planning Commission minutes.

• Summit Township Building Department
• Permits and inspection information, with applications
• Building Department fee schedule (effective June 15, 2023)
• Building FAQs
• Zoning, ZBA and Planning Commission
• Zoning fee schedule
• Zoning application instructions
• BS&A Online for Summit Township
• Township FOIA forms and procedures
• JCDOT soil erosion permit
• Jackson County well and septic permits
• Statewide Jurisdiction List, Bureau of Construction Codes
• FEMA Community Status Book, Michigan

Summit Township (Jackson County) building permit FAQs

Who issues building permits in Summit Township, Jackson County?

The township’s Building & Zoning Department at 2121 Ferguson Road (517-788-4113), for building and all three trades.

Do I need a permit for a shed?

A shed of 200 square feet or less needs only a zoning compliance permit ($50 in fees); 201 square feet or more needs a building permit.

Do I need a permit for a fence?

Yes, through the Zoning Department, with the $25 administrative and $25 zoning compliance fees.

How much is a roof permit?

$140 for two inspections plus $50 in standard fees, or $190.

Can a homeowner pull a mechanical permit?

Only for work the homeowner does personally on their own single-family home; if a contractor is hired, the contractor applies.

How long do inspections take?

Most within two business days of the request, up to four in busy periods, in a morning or afternoon window.

When does the Zoning Board of Appeals meet?

On the second Thursday of each month at 7:00 p.m. at the township hall.

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