Zeeland Charter Township, Michigan Building Permit Guide

Zeeland Charter Township, an Ottawa County township of 12,305 people in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate and a separate government from the City of Zeeland, has contracted with Professional Code Inspections of Michigan (PCI) since June 15, 2020 for building code administration and enforcement and for zoning administration. Building permits go to PCI at 1913 Baldwin Street, Jenison ((616) 667-8803), while electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits are still turned in to the township at 6582 Byron Road. A house valued over $10,000 pays $130 plus $4 for each additional $1,000.

What requires a building permit in Zeeland Charter Township?

The township says building permits and inspections are required under the Michigan Building and Residential Codes for residential and non-residential buildings, along with electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits for trade work. PCI’s building application shows the range it handles: new buildings, additions, alterations, demolition, relocation, signs, detached garages, swimming pools, pole barns, modular and mobile homes, attached garages and accessory structures.

The township introduces its exempt list as examples that are “not limited to” those items, so confirm anything borderline with PCI. A permit-free fence is not free of zoning: the township uses a zoning compliance application to fence a yard, signed by the Zoning Administrator.

What Zeeland Charter Township decides and what the state holds

The state construction code applies unchanged. The Bureau of Construction Codes’ Statewide Jurisdiction List (revised November 6, 2026) shows Zeeland Township enforcing building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing itself, with Ottawa County listed as running no county program; the township carries out building enforcement and zoning administration through its contract with PCI. The township posts the fee schedule, keeps its own zoning ordinance (the posted version is dated July 19, 2024) and zoning map, appoints a seven-member Zoning Board of Appeals, and posts a Construction Review Board application.

Zeeland Charter Township building department: who handles permitting

PCI is the building department in practice: it reviews plans, issues building permits, books building inspections and administers zoning. The township’s page tells applicants to email, drop off or mail building permits to PCI rather than to the township, while electrical, mechanical and plumbing applications still go to the township office, with checks made out to Zeeland Charter Township. PCI staff also keep office hours at the township hall on Tuesday and Thursday mornings for code and zoning questions, and inspectors and zoning administrators take calls during business hours or meet by appointment.

The City of Zeeland is a separate government with its own building program on the state list. PCI’s application asks for the township and city or village of the site, so check which one the parcel is in before applying.

Zeeland Charter Township permit types

The township posts PCI’s building permit application and separate electrical, mechanical and plumbing applications, along with zoning forms: zoning compliance, rezoning or text amendment, special land use, site plan review, variance, land division and a Construction Review Board application.

Residential permits

• Building application. PCI’s form asks for the builder’s license number and expiry date, the electrical, heating and plumbing subcontractors, building dimensions and square footage by floor, and the project valuation including labor but excluding the lot.
• Site screening questions. The form asks whether any part of the project is in the 100-year floodplain or a regulated wetland, and whether the excavation is over an acre or within 500 feet of a lake, river, stream or county drain. A local-agency box then records zoning, soil erosion, flood zone, water supply and sewer or septic approvals.
• Residential site plan review is $50 for projects up to 999 square feet and $75 for 1,000 square feet or more.
• Plan review fee. Houses valued under $500,000 or under 3,500 square feet of habitable space are exempt; larger ones pay $100.
• Manufactured homes in a licensed mobile home park are $125, with a $75 HUD 309 certification fee; outside a park the fee is based on value.

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

Commercial permits

Commercial work uses the same PCI application with the commercial box ticked and is priced on the commercial table ($5 per $1,000 above $10,000), plus plan review at 0.1% of total construction cost with a $150 minimum. Site plans go to the Zoning Administrator or the Planning Commission; special land use and rezoning requests use the township’s 2022 request forms.

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. PCI’s Zoning Administrator signs off on use under the zoning ordinance. Variances go to the Zoning Board of Appeals, which meets on the fourth Tuesday of the month when a hearing is requested; meetings must be requested 30 days ahead.
• Driveways. The Ottawa County Road Commission permits any work in the county road right-of-way, including driveways.
• Soil erosion. The Ottawa County Water Resources Commissioner permits earth changes within 500 feet of a lake, stream or drain, or of an acre or more.
• Well and septic. The Ottawa County Department of Public Health issues well and septic permits after a site evaluation.
• Floodplain and wetlands. The building application flags both, and the approval box records a flood zone review.

Zeeland Charter Township permit costs and fees

The building permit fee schedule is a PCI document for Zeeland Charter Township, posted as the 2022 schedule. It applies to building permits only; trade permits use the fee charts printed on their own applications. Valuation is the whole project value minus land, including the contract price and every subcontract (electrical, plumbing, mechanical, paving, flatwork), and the applicant must give the Building Official evidence of those costs.

Worked example: a new house valued at $300,000 (labor included, lot excluded) pays $130 for the first $10,000 plus 290 × $4 ($1,160) for the rest, a building permit of $1,290. If the house is under 3,500 square feet of habitable space it pays no plan review fee. The bands join: $40 plus nine $10 steps is exactly $130 at $10,000. Ottawa County fees are separate, such as $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 applications are turned in to the township, not PCI, and inspected by the trade inspectors whose numbers the township lists. Each trade starts with a $40 permit base fee that is non-refundable and includes no inspections; every inspection is then charged.

• Contractors. The building and electrical applications ask for the contractor’s state license number, federal employer number, workers’ compensation carrier and unemployment insurance number, or the reason for an exemption. Residential builders and maintenance and alteration contractors hold LARA licenses; electrical, mechanical and plumbing contractors hold state trade licenses.
• Homeowners. The building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing applications each carry a homeowner’s affidavit for work the owner installs personally in the single-family dwelling they live in or are about to occupy; the owner must leave work uncovered until it is approved and arrange the inspections.
• Utility release. The electrical form asks which utility serves the job, Great Lakes Energy or Consumers Energy, with a request number.

How to apply for a Zeeland Charter Township building permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

Send each application to the right office: building applications to PCI, trade applications to the township. PCI asks for evidence of the project cost behind the valuation. The application’s approval box records the zoning, soil erosion, flood zone, water supply and sewer or septic sign-offs, so bring those permits with it. Neither the township nor PCI publishes a review time on the township’s pages.

Inspections and certificates in Zeeland Charter Township

Building inspections are scheduled with PCI at (616) 667-8803. Electrical inspections are requested at (616) 396-1448, and mechanical and plumbing inspections at (616) 772-6465. Because the trade base fees include no visits, applicants pay for each inspection they expect; the electrical and plumbing forms list rough-in, final, re-inspection and additional inspections, and the electrical form adds underground and pool bonding.

• Cover nothing early. The homeowner’s affidavits on every application commit the owner not to enclose, cover up or use the work until the inspector has approved it.
• Extra visits on a building permit are $40 each, and an inspection for work that needs no permit is $75.
• Work started without a permit brings a $150 investigation fee, and a stop work order costs $250.
• Dangerous buildings carry a $150 investigation fee, $250 for condemnation and $50 per monitoring visit, billed to the owner.

Michigan building code in Zeeland Charter Township

Zeeland Charter Township enforces the state construction code for all four trades on the jurisdiction list, using PCI for building enforcement. FEMA’s Community Status Book lists Zeeland Township (Charter), community 260932, as participating in the National Flood Insurance Program, with flood maps and regular-program entry both dated December 16, 2011; the City of Zeeland is listed separately. PCI’s application asks every applicant whether the project is in the 100-year floodplain.

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

Zeeland Charter Township permit search and official resources

For copies of permits or inspection records, use the township’s Freedom of Information Act forms: a request for public records, the public summary of FOIA policies and guidelines, and appeal forms for a denial or an excess fee. Township meeting agendas and minutes are posted through its Documents on Demand page.

• Zeeland Charter Township Building and Zoning
• Building permit fee schedule (PCI, 2022)
• Building permit application (PCI)
• Electrical permit application
• Mechanical permit application
• Plumbing permit application
• Zoning compliance application and permit
• Zoning ordinance (July 19, 2024)
• Zoning Board of Appeals
• FOIA information and forms
• Ottawa County soil erosion permits
• Ottawa County well and septic permits
• Ottawa County Road Commission permits
• Statewide Jurisdiction List (Bureau of Construction Codes)

Zeeland Charter Township building permit FAQs

Who issues building permits in Zeeland Charter Township?

Professional Code Inspections of Michigan (PCI) in Jenison, under contract with the township since June 15, 2020; trade permits are turned in to the township office.

How much is a building permit for a house?

$130 for the first $10,000 of value plus $4 for each additional $1,000, so a $300,000 house is $1,290, with no plan review fee under 3,500 square feet and $500,000.

Do I need a permit for a fence or shed?

Fences 6 feet or less and movable accessory buildings under 200 square feet may not need a building permit, but fencing a yard uses the township’s zoning compliance application.

Does a re-roof need a permit?

Replacing shingles only, with no structural work, is on the township’s list of items that may not need a permit.

Can a homeowner pull permits?

Yes, for work they install in the single-family home they live in or are about to occupy, by signing the homeowner’s affidavit on the application.

How do I book a building inspection?

Call PCI at (616) 667-8803; extra building inspections are $40 each.

Is this the same office as the City of Zeeland?

No. The city runs its own building program; township parcels use PCI and the township office on Byron Road.

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