Westwood Borough, New Jersey Building Permit Guide

In Westwood, construction permits, inspections and certificates of occupancy come from the Building Department (the Office of Construction & Zoning) on the lower level of Borough Hall, 101 Washington Avenue (201-664-5900). Armand Marini is the Construction Official and also the Zoning Officer. Zoning approval is a prior approval here: the department will not start plan review until it is granted, and completed zoning applications take 10 business days. Selling or renting a home needs the borough’s combined zoning compliance and smoke and carbon monoxide certificate, which costs $100, or $150 when the closing is less than two weeks away.

What requires a building permit in Westwood?

Under the Uniform Construction Code, ordinary maintenance needs no permit and minor work may start once the office has been notified. Westwood’s own handout, “When and Why Do I Need a Building Permit or Zoning Approval?” (revised October 2026), then lists the jobs it expects to see a permit for:

Whenever the borough issues a permit for a dwelling, smoke and carbon monoxide alarms must be in place on every level, including the basement; 10-year sealed battery units satisfy this, except that additions and new construction still need hard-wired, interconnected alarms with battery backup. No construction work may start before 7 a.m. or continue after sunset.

What Westwood decides and what the state holds

The technical standards are the state’s. Westwood’s Building Department also administers the borough’s Development Regulations (Chapter 195, Land Use and Development) under the Municipal Land Use Law, plus local rules on soil movement (Chapter 312), street excavation (Chapter 330) and tree removal. In 2026 the Mayor and Council took up affordable housing overlay zones and a Fourth Round housing ordinance (26-9) that amends Article VIII, Affordable Housing Development Fees, and listed Ordinance 26-15, a payment-in-lieu-of-parking article for Chapter 195, for adoption on May 19, 2026.

Westwood building department: who handles permitting

The Building Department is the borough’s local enforcing agency: it issues construction permits, carries out progress inspections and issues certificates of occupancy. Armand Marini is the Construction Official and also covers the building, fire protection and mechanical subcodes and the zoning office; separate subcode officials handle electrical and plumbing work. On DCA’s roster (as of September 2, 2026) the elevator subcode is held by Municipal Inspection Corp., a private inspection agency, so elevator and lift work is reviewed and inspected by that firm. The Borough Engineer is the Neglia Group (201-939-8805).

Westwood permit types

A Westwood construction permit is the UCC application folder (F100), completed and signed inside and out by the owner or contractor, with every technical section that applies: building (F110), electrical (F120), plumbing (F130), fire protection (F140) and, for existing houses only, mechanical (F145). The fire section is needed for smoke detectors, boilers and furnaces. Each section must show the full cost of labor and materials at fair market value, including donated work, and the building section splits new or addition work from alterations.

Residential permits

• Additions, add-a-levels and dormers. The zoning form measures a dormer’s ceiling height at 5 feet and limits it to 40% of the floor below. The borough wants a foundation location survey before the backfill inspection for any new structure or addition over 500 square feet or free-standing structure.
• Kitchens and baths. Submit a drawing of the existing layout; any new wall or new framing also needs an elevation drawing.
• Fences and driveways. Privacy fences are limited to 6 feet on the residential zoning form, and the form marks driveway expansion as not allowed (new or replacement driveways only).
• Pools. Zoning approval, a building permit, engineering approval for an in-ground pool, and a pool barrier fence permit.
• Change of contractor. A new technical section is filed for the new contractor, with a $45 fee.

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Commercial permits

A business moving in first gets a Zoning Compliance Certificate through the Business Zoning Review: an application, exterior photos, a survey or site plan no more than five years old showing parking and signs, and a tenant layout, after fire, health and police pre-approvals. Bakeries, restaurants, food stores, fitness centers, nursery schools, microblading, permanent cosmetics and tanning businesses, pet shops and similar uses need the Health Department’s signature first and a health inspection before opening (201-664-7100, ext. 114). Every sign or awning needs its own zoning permit, and signs fixed to a building need sealed plans for the construction permit. Outdoor cafés, tents and street dumpsters have their own applications.

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 construction permit

• Zoning. File the land use and development application with a current, to-scale survey no more than five years old, the work drawn on it; a topographic map may be needed on sloping lots. Review takes 10 business days.
• Boards. Variances go to the Zoning Board, which held its 2026 hearings on the first Monday of the month; site plans and subdivisions go to the Planning Board (8 p.m., second and fourth Thursdays). A signed resolution and plans must reach the Building Department before a permit application is accepted. Historic properties may need the Historic Preservation Commission (7 p.m., third Thursday).
• Engineering and soil. New houses, in-ground pools, retaining walls and seepage pits need Borough Engineer approval and an escrow. A soil movement permit under Chapter 312 is needed when 150 cubic yards or more are moved, and its fee and escrow are paid before the building permit issues.
• State and county. Work in a flood area, a wetland or within 300 feet of a C1 waterway needs an NJDEP jurisdictional determination. Properties on a county road need Bergen County approval for a new home, a front addition needing a variance, a street opening or a wider driveway and apron; county driveway, site plan and subdivision filings use the GeoCivix portal.
• Utilities. A sewer authority (BCUA) approval and a New Jersey One-Call dig number are prior approvals for excavation; demolition also needs utility shut-off letters and a pest control certification.

Westwood permit costs and fees

Construction permit fees for building, electrical, plumbing, fire and mechanical work are set in the Borough Code, which Westwood publishes on eCode360; the Building Department does not post a UCC fee table, so ask the office to price your application. The fees Westwood does print on its forms are below. The state surcharge under N.J.A.C. 5:23-4.19 is added to construction permits.

Engineering reviews and soil permits add escrows, posted with a W-9 form when the review is requested. Street openings also need a certificate of insurance filed with the Borough Clerk, and roads paved within the last five years fall under the moratorium rule in section 330-31C. The affordable housing development fee in Chapter 195, Article VIII may also apply to some development.

Trade permits and who may pull them

Trade work rides on the same F100 folder through its technical section. Electrical and plumbing sections must be signed and sealed by the licensed contractor, with one exception the borough spells out: in a single-family, owner-occupied home the owners may do their own electrical and plumbing work. Otherwise the owner hires a New Jersey licensed electrician or plumber, who takes out the permit and signs and seals the section. Inspections run on fixed windows: building, fire and mechanical on weekday mornings; electrical on Monday and Thursday mornings; plumbing on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m.

• Plans: two sets, legible and to scale. A New Jersey architect or engineer signs and seals them, or a homeowner may draw and sign plans for a single-family home they live in; a building contractor may not draw the plans.
• Energy: new construction and additions must show energy subcode compliance at application (DCA Bulletin 19-2).
• Registration: New Jersey has no general-contractor license. Home improvement contractors register with the Division of Consumer Affairs, new-home builders with DCA, and owners working on their own homes are exempt from registration.

How to apply for a Westwood building permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

The department cites a 20-business-day limit for a complete building permit application and says most simple permits move with little delay; missing information is what slows them. You cannot apply for the building permit until every prior approval is in hand. After a board approval, the borough lets work start at the owner’s risk during the 45 days after the resolution is published, once the signed resolution and plans have been filed. Construction code refusals go to the Bergen County Construction Board of Appeals.

Inspections and certificates in Westwood

Request inspections in writing by e-mail at least 24 hours ahead, giving the permit number, owner’s name, address and type of inspection; the office performs them within three business days of the requested time. The sequence is the footing trench before concrete, the foundation location survey and foundation before backfill, rough electrical, plumbing and mechanical, framing once the roughs are approved, insulation with the building watertight, and a final for each subcode. Keep the approved plans on site and the permit placard where it can be seen from the street.

Before a certificate issues, all interior and exterior work must be finished, the engineer’s letter received for site work (with performance bonds for anything incomplete), and documents such as the Bergen County soil approval and the new-home warranty filed. You then return the application for certificate. Occupying a building without one is a UCC violation with a penalty of up to $2,000.

For a home sale or a new tenant, apply for the Zoning Certificate of Inspection Compliance, which combines a block-and-lot file review of the legal use (for example two-family status) with the smoke alarm and carbon monoxide inspection. Inspections are held Monday and Thursday mornings, open construction permits must be closed first, and rentals must attach a lead-safe or lead-free certificate.

New Jersey building code in Westwood

Westwood enforces the Uniform Construction Code through its own Building Department, with a private agency covering elevators. FEMA’s Community Status Book lists Westwood (community 340081) as a participating National Flood Insurance Program community with flood maps effective August 28, 2019 and a Community Rating System class 8 rating, worth a 10% discount on eligible flood policies. The borough’s flooding page points owners to DCA Hazard Mitigation Fund loans of up to $100,000, interest-free.

New Jersey has one Uniform Construction Code for every municipality; the town supplies the enforcing agency, the fee ordinance and the zoning approvals. New Jersey rules

Westwood permit search and official resources

Westwood’s Citizen SDL Portal requires an account login. For copies of permits, plans or certificates on a property, file an Open Public Records Act request with the Borough Clerk (201-664-7100, ext. 100, weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.), who handles requests under Chapter 266 of the Borough Code; property record cards have their own request form.

• Westwood Building Department
• Building forms and checklists
• When and why do I need a building permit or zoning approval?
• Office procedure for permit processing
• Inspection requirements
• Zoning Office and forms
• Residential zoning application
• Zoning certificate of compliance for sale or rental (CCO)
• Business zoning review
• Tree removal permit
• Street opening permit application
• Planning Board
• Citizen SDL Portal
• Request for public records (OPRA)
• Bergen County Planning and Engineering
• DCA roster of local construction offices
• FEMA Community Status Book, New Jersey

Westwood building permit FAQs

Do I need a permit for a fence in Westwood?

Every fence needs zoning approval. A building permit is needed only when the fence is a pool barrier, and privacy fences are capped at 6 feet.

Does a shed need a permit?

All sheds need zoning approval; a shed over 200 square feet also needs a building permit.

Can I do my own electrical or plumbing work?

Yes, in a single-family home you own and live in. Otherwise a New Jersey licensed electrician or plumber must take out the permit.

What do I need to sell my house in Westwood?

A Zoning Certificate of Inspection Compliance with the smoke and CO inspection: $100, or $150 if closing is under two weeks away, with any open permits closed first.

How long does zoning review take?

10 business days from a complete application, and plan review for the building permit does not begin until zoning is approved.

How do I book an inspection?

E-mail the request at least 24 hours ahead with the permit number, owner, address and inspection type; it is done within three business days.

Do I need a permit to remove trees?

Yes, a $60 tree removal permit for up to five trees in 12 months; six or more need board approval with a replacement plan, and one dead tree needs none.

Simplify Westwood Borough permitting with Alliance Permitting

Alliance Permitting is a permit documentation and submission company in New Jersey. 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 Westwood Borough permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.