Superior Charter Township, Michigan Building Permit Guide

In Superior Charter Township, building permits come from the township’s own Building Department at Township Hall, 3040 North Prospect Road (734-482-6099, Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.), where Bill Balmes is the Building Official. The township enforces the building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing codes itself, so Washtenaw County’s building program does not handle work here. Applications are mailed in or brought in with payment; the department does not accept electronic applications or payments. Most new work also needs a Certificate of Zoning Compliance, which costs $100 for a single-family home.

What requires a building permit in Superior Charter Township?

The Building Department applies the state construction code to new homes, additions, decks attached to a house, garages, alterations, demolition and commercial work, and issues separate electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits. Ordinary repairs need no permit, but the building page says cutting away a wall or structural member, changing egress, or altering piping, wiring, mechanical equipment or ductwork is not an ordinary repair.

The township’s exemption list, revised July 2, 2025, applies only to one- and two-family dwellings. It also covers small above-ground prefabricated pools, short wall-supported awnings and minor trade repairs, and notes that a driveway approach may still need a Washtenaw County Road Commission permit. The building page’s FAQ words the fence limit as “less than six (6) foot”; the newer revised list says “not more than 6 feet”.

What the township decides and what the state holds

The construction code itself is the state’s, and the township cannot change it. Ordinance No. 123, adopted January 4, 1994, named the township’s code official as the enforcing agency for the building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing codes throughout the township, and the Bureau of Construction Codes’ Statewide Jurisdiction List still shows Superior as a local enforcing agency for all four. What the township controls locally is zoning, site plan review, its own wetlands ordinance, the Dixboro design guidelines, rental housing certification and its fee schedules.

Superior Charter Township building department: who handles permitting

The Building Department handles permits, plan review, inspections and construction code enforcement from Township Hall, which it shares with the Planning and Zoning Department. Inspection requests go to a separate line, (734) 896-3525. Contractors register with the department before pulling permits.

Superior Township in Chippewa County is a different township with its own offices; check that your parcel is in the Washtenaw County charter township before using these contacts. Parcels with an Ypsilanti mailing address may sit in Superior, Ypsilanti Charter Township or the City of Ypsilanti, and each runs its own building department.

Superior Charter Township permit types

The township uses separate paper applications for building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing work, plus a contractor registration form, a gas pipe sizing worksheet and a bond form. The building application asks who is applying (homeowner, architect or engineer, agent or contractor) and for the construction cost or a copy of the contract.

Residential permits

• Plans. Every building application needs three sets of plans, one of them no larger than 11 by 17 inches and legible at that size. At a minimum the drawings show a foundation plan, floor plan, building section and elevations.
• Site plan. Three copies are required for new homes and for any work that adds to or changes the size or shape of a structure, showing grade changes, distances to lot lines, easements and any wetlands or floodplain.
• Sealed drawings. A house of more than 3,500 square feet of calculated floor area needs drawings prepared, sealed and signed by a Michigan registered architect or engineer.
• Energy code. New single-family homes and additions need a completed Energy Code Worksheet.
• Decks, sheds and fences. An attached deck needs a building permit and zoning compliance review; a small shed or a fence needs only zoning compliance.

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

Commercial permits

Non-residential applications describe the proposed use and any change of use, and the trade forms require sealed plans for larger electrical, mechanical and plumbing work. Site plans go through the Planning Commission, and larger projects pay escrow deposits for the township’s planner, engineer and attorney reviews.

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

• Zoning compliance. A Certificate of Zoning Compliance, also called a zoning permit, is required before a structure or site is used, erected, moved, enlarged, altered or demolished, and the township will not issue a building permit or certificate of occupancy without it. Attach a scaled plot plan showing the lot, structures, setbacks and lot coverage.
• Well and septic. On private utilities, bring copies of the Washtenaw County Health Department well and septic permits; an addition that adds bedrooms needs an approval letter from the county sanitarian.
• Public water and sewer. Pay the availability, trunk and transmission fees to the Superior Township Utility Department and attach the receipt.
• Driveway. New driveways onto county roads need a Washtenaw County Road Commission permit.
• Soil erosion. Bring a permit or waiver from the Washtenaw County Soil Erosion Division if the work disturbs more than one acre, or is within 500 feet of a lake, pond, river, wetland or storm drain (including roadside ditches) and disturbs more than 225 square feet.
• Wetlands. Work in or affecting a wetland, including driveways, needs a township wetland permit and possibly a state permit.

Superior Charter Township permit costs and fees

The township posts two kinds of fees: the Planning and Zoning Fee Schedule adopted in May 2025, and item-by-item trade fees printed on each permit application. The building (structural) permit fee is filled in by the department on the application rather than published as a table, so ask the Building Department at 734-482-6099 to price a building permit before you file.

Trade fees are added up on page two of each application: enter the number of each item installed, multiply by the unit price and add the $30 application fee. Checks are payable to “Charter Township of Superior”. A permit closed because no inspection was requested within six months cannot be refunded, so call for inspections in time.

Trade permits and who may pull them

Under the state jurisdiction list the township, not the county or the state, issues and inspects electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits in Superior. Work may not start until the trade application is filed.

• Electrical. The form asks for the contractor license number and the master electrician’s license. Plans are needed unless the service is 400 amps or less and the building is 3,500 square feet or smaller.
• Mechanical. Furnaces, boilers, air conditioners, mini-splits, water heaters, duct and gas piping are priced item by item. For a new house, the residential heating system fee replaces separate duct and gas piping charges; replacement systems are itemized.
• Plumbing. The form asks for the master plumber’s license. Installing domestic water treatment or filtering equipment needs no plumbing license if a permit is taken out and the work is inspected.

Each trade form carries a homeowner affidavit: the owner certifies that the work will be installed by the owner in the owner’s own home, lived in or about to be occupied, and that nothing will be covered until the township inspector approves it. For hired work, the township’s FAQ says anyone contracting with a homeowner for residential work of $600 or more must hold a state residential builder or maintenance and alteration contractor license. Contractors register with the township by bringing a copy of their current license, and the registration lapses when that license expires.

How to apply for a Superior Charter Township building permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

Plans are checked against the code and the zoning approval before a permit issues. The application carries a department checklist for zoning review, well and septic permits, the driveway permit, soil erosion, utility charges and wetlands, so a package missing any of those, or the reduced-size plan set, waits until the item is supplied. Projects that need site plan approval also wait for the Planning Commission. A permit becomes invalid if work does not start within six months of issue or stops for six months.

Inspections and certificates in Superior Charter Township

Call (734) 896-3525 to schedule. Requests must reach the department by 3:30 p.m. the day before, and the trade forms ask for at least 24 hours’ notice. Give the site address, permit number, type of inspection and the permit holder’s name and phone. Building and electrical inspections run Monday to Friday; plumbing and mechanical inspections are on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays only.

• Footing and foundation reinforcement before concrete is placed.
• Foundation as-built certification before backfill, then the backfill inspection.
• Concrete floors after the base, vapor barrier and radon piping are in.
• Masonry and rough framing, the framing after rough trades are approved.
• Drywall screw, insulation, any fire-rated assemblies and the final before occupancy.

Rough trade inspections must pass before rough framing is checked. The township’s bond form also covers temporary certificate of occupancy bonds and the administration fee that goes with them.

Michigan building code in Superior Charter Township

FEMA’s Community Status Book lists the Township of Superior in Washtenaw County (community 260540) as a participating National Flood Insurance Program community, with flood maps effective April 3, 2012. Site plans must show any floodplain on the lot. The township also has its own wetlands ordinance and a Wetlands Board that hears appeals of wetlands use permit decisions; an appeal must be heard within 60 days after it is filed with the Township Clerk.

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

Superior Charter Township permit search and official resources

The township has no online permit portal; to find out whether a permit was issued or closed for an address, call the Building Department at 734-482-6099. Copies of permit files and other non-police records are requested under the Freedom of Information Act on the township’s FOIA form, available on the “File a FOIA Request” page and at Township Hall during office hours.

• Superior Charter Township Building Department
• Building permit application
• Submittals required for residential construction
• Work not requiring a permit (revised July 2, 2025)
• Required building inspections
• Electrical permit application and fees
• Mechanical permit application and fees
• Plumbing permit application and fees
• Contractor registration form
• Bond form
• Certificate of Zoning Compliance application
• Planning and Zoning Fee Schedule (May 2025)
• Planning and Zoning Department
• Planning Commission
• Zoning Board of Appeals
• Wetlands Board
• Design guidelines for the Historic Village of Dixboro
• Ordinance No. 123, enforcing agency
• File a FOIA request
• Township Hall contact and hours
• BCC Statewide Jurisdiction List
• FEMA Community Status Book, Michigan

Superior Charter Township building permit FAQs

Can I apply for a Superior Township permit online?

No. The Building Department takes applications by mail or in person with payment and does not accept electronic applications or payments.

Does Washtenaw County issue building permits in Superior Township?

No. The township enforces the building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing codes itself; the county building program serves other units such as Scio and Saline townships.

Do I need a permit for a shed or fence?

Not a building permit for a one-story shed under 200 square feet or a fence up to 6 feet, but both need a Certificate of Zoning Compliance, which is $100 for a single-family property.

How do I schedule an inspection?

Call (734) 896-3525 by 3:30 p.m. the day before. Plumbing and mechanical inspectors come on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays; building and electrical inspections run all week.

Can a homeowner pull their own trade permits?

Yes, for work installed by the owner in the home they live in or are about to occupy, by signing the homeowner affidavit on the electrical, mechanical or plumbing application.

How long is a permit good for?

It stays valid while work progresses and inspections are requested. It becomes invalid if work does not start within six months or stops for six months, and closed permits are not refunded.

What does a Zoning Board of Appeals variance cost?

$200 plus a $1,000 escrow for a single-family property under the May 2025 fee schedule; the board meets on the second Wednesday at 7 p.m. when petitions are filed.

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