Town of Cornwall, New York Building Permit Guide

In the Town of Cornwall outside the Village of Cornwall-on-Hudson, building permits come from the Building Department at 183 Main Street (845-534-9429), open 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays. Applications, plan review, inspection requests and certificates all run through the town’s MuniCollab portal, and new construction is charged $0.75 per square foot with a $150 minimum. The village has its own building department on Shore Road.

What requires a building permit in the Town of Cornwall?

The department’s fee schedule is the clearest list of what it permits, and it reaches well beyond houses and additions:

Chapter 75 exempts clearing or grading of less than 5,000 square feet of contiguous ground (or under 10,000 square feet in total on one parcel), except in the 100-year floodplain, in wetlands, within 200 feet of a wetland or watercourse, or in or within 200 feet of a critical environmental area; excavation or fill under 400 cubic yards is exempt except in wetlands, their 100-foot buffer, the floodplain or a critical environmental area. Site work done under a building permit or a Planning Board approval is also exempt. The chapter defines timber harvesting as the cutting or killing of more than five live trees over 6 inches in diameter, measured 4 feet above the ground, per half acre in any one year.

What the town decides and what the state sets

The Uniform Code and Energy Code set construction standards. Chapter 84 names the town’s Building Inspector as the officer who enforces them in the unincorporated area of the town, which is everything outside the village. The town adds its own zoning (Chapter 158), freshwater wetlands law (Chapter 90), flood damage prevention (Chapter 87), clearing and grading law (Chapter 75) and stormwater rules (Chapter 121). Zoning lets fences and walls up to 6½ feet stand in front and side yards; anything taller must meet the setbacks for buildings. Paved areas other than access drives must stay 15 feet from a street line and 4 feet from lot lines.

The Building Inspector also has a role with trees. Under Chapter 138, when someone files a signed written complaint that a dead, diseased or decayed tree threatens a road or a neighbor’s building, the inspector examines it and reports to the Town Board, which can order the landowner to remove it within 10 days and, after a forestry inspection, have it removed if the owner does not act.

Town of Cornwall building department: who handles permitting

Gary Vinson, the Building & Fire Inspector, heads the Building Department, assisted by an assistant building inspector and a department secretary. The department issues permits, inspects construction, investigates complaints (which must be signed and in writing) and carries out annual fire safety inspections of every non-residential and commercial property in the town. Its page also links the town zoning map and the Chapter 158 zoning regulations.

The Village of Cornwall-on-Hudson

The town contains one incorporated village, Cornwall-on-Hudson, home to 2,990 of its 12,577 residents. The village runs its own Building Department at 260 Shore Road, with a Building Inspector and Code Enforcement Official reached at 845-534-4200, ext. 244, and posts its own building permit application, fee schedule, short-term rental application, Planning Board and Zoning Board. The village adopted a new Building Department fee schedule on August 17, 2026, which adds a $100 non-refundable application fee to every application and charges work done without a permit twice the current fee or $300, whichever is greater. Its zoning, flood insurance community number and tree rules are separate from the town’s, so a Cornwall mailing address is not enough; check whether the parcel is inside the village line.

Town of Cornwall permit types and filing rules

Residential permits

The town moved its building applications to MuniCollab, which handles submission, plan review, inspections and the final certificates, and lets applicants check the status of a file they have already submitted. Under the Workers’ Compensation Law the permit cannot issue without proof of workers’ compensation and disability coverage or an exemption. Pools are permitted together with their barrier: an in-ground pool and its fence is a single $700 permit.

Residential and commercial work is priced by floor area at the same rate, so drawings need to show the square footage of new or altered space. The schedule’s flat deck fee covers decks up to 400 square feet, and its flat shed fee sheds up to 200 square feet.

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

Septic systems and sewer connections

Under Chapter 119, a new private sewage disposal system needs a written permit signed by the town’s Superintendent of Public Works before construction starts. The system must be designed by a New York professional engineer (or a land surveyor practicing under the Education Law exemption), follow the recommendations of the Orange County Health Department or the state Health Department, and is not effective until the Superintendent has inspected it before any underground part is covered. Connections to a town sewer need a separate written building sewer permit from the Superintendent.

Commercial permits

Commercial buildings and alterations use the same $0.75-per-square-foot rate as houses. Owners of non-residential and commercial property should expect the department’s annual fire safety inspection, and businesses with regulated operations need a $100 operating permit. The department also posts a business brochure for owners opening a new business.

For tenant improvements and new commercial builds, Alliance handles commercial permit expediting through issuance. More on this: commercial building permits explained.

What comes before the building permit

• Planning Board and ZBA: site plans, subdivisions and variances go to the town’s Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals; the Town Board’s agendas, minutes and legal notices are posted on the town site.
• Clearing and grading: a Chapter 75 permit costs $1,000; the application must be mailed by certified mail to every adjoining owner, and the Planning Board must approve clearing or grading over one acre, excavation or fill over 1,500 cubic yards, or site work over 20,000 square feet or 400 cubic yards in a wetland, wetland buffer, critical environmental area or the 100-year floodplain. The applicant also pays the Orange County Soil and Water Conservation District’s review fees.
• Wetlands: Chapter 90 requires a permit for regulated activity, such as draining, dredging, filling or building, in a freshwater wetland or its adjacent area within 100 feet, and names the Planning Board as the town’s wetlands agency that decides those permits.
• Stormwater: Chapter 121, adopted in 2010, requires a stormwater pollution prevention plan for land disturbance of one acre or more (or less if it is part of a larger plan of development); projects disturbing 10,000 square feet to one acre still need an erosion and sediment control plan approved by the Stormwater Management Officer, and sites under a plan must be inspected and logged every seven days during work.
• Flood plain: the town takes part in the National Flood Insurance Program, with flood maps dated August 3, 2009, and regulates building in mapped flood zones under Chapter 87; a flood plain permit or letter is $350.

Town of Cornwall permit fees

The department’s posted Building Permit Fees 2022 schedule took effect on April 4, 2022 and bases permit and inspection fees on square footage.

For example, a 2,000 sq ft new house costs 2,000 × $0.75 = $1,500, and a 150 sq ft kitchen renovation works out to $112.50, so the $150 minimum applies. Cell towers ($5,000), new or replacement antennas ($2,500), wind turbines ($1,000), blasting ($250) and a one-year construction trailer ($400) have flat fees.

Trade permits and who may pull them

Electrical. Orange County licenses electricians, and under Orange County Local Law No. 1 of 2024 electrical inspectors working in the county must hold a county-issued license, granted after the Orange County Electrical Board approves their qualifications; the county posts a list of licensed electricians and inspectors. The town’s list of accepted electrical inspectors, updated August 25, 2026, names fourteen firms: Commonwealth Electrical Inspection Services, Swanson Consulting, Middle Department Inspection Agency, New York Certified Electrical Inspectors, Atlantic-Inland, Z3 Consultants, NY Electrical Inspections & Consulting, Electrical Underwriters of NY, Tri-State Inspection Agency, Switch-On-Electric, Northeast Electrical Inspections, Inspections on Time, SAS Electrical Inspection and Hamilton Consulting. The list gives each firm’s address and phone numbers so the owner or electrician can book an inspector directly.

Plumbing and heating. The department permits boilers, furnaces, generators, fuel oil tanks, chimneys and stoves itself. The Town Code has no chapter licensing plumbers or home-improvement contractors.

How to apply for a Town of Cornwall building permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

Because submission and review both run through MuniCollab, check the file there for the department’s requests; incomplete square-footage figures or missing insurance hold up the fee and the permit. A permit can be renewed only once, for $100. Large clearing and grading or wetland projects add Planning Board review and Soil and Water review before the building permit, and the Planning Board must hold a public hearing on clearing or timber harvesting over five acres, excavation or fill over 3,000 cubic yards, grading over five acres, or wetland, buffer or critical-area site work over one acre or 1,500 cubic yards.

Town of Cornwall inspections and certificates

Field inspections run from 9 a.m. to noon on weekdays, and requests go through MuniCollab, which also issues the final certificates. Electrical work is inspected by one of the town’s accepted agencies. Fire inspections, including the annual fire safety inspection of each non-residential property, are also made in the morning window. The department investigates written, signed complaints about work without permits or other code violations, and its complaint form is posted on the department page. Electric car chargers, boilers and furnaces carry a $100 permit, and a construction trailer permit lasts one year and costs $400.

New York building code

New York builds on one statewide code, the Uniform Code, outside New York City; the 2025 edition and 2025 Energy Code took effect on 31 December 2025 (the all-electric provisions remain suspended by court order). Cities, towns and villages administer it, and local standards stricter than the code need Code Council approval. The Uniform Code in New York

Town of Cornwall permit FAQ

How much is a building permit for a new house in Cornwall?

$0.75 per square foot of floor area with a $150 minimum; a 2,000 sq ft house pays $1,500.

Do I need a permit for a shed or fence?

Yes. A shed up to 200 square feet is $150 and a fence $75.

How do I apply?

Through the town’s MuniCollab portal, which also handles plan review, inspections and certificates.

When are inspections done?

Between 9 a.m. and noon, Monday to Friday; fire inspections use the same morning window.

Who can inspect my electrical work?

One of the fourteen firms on the town’s August 2026 list; the electrician must hold an Orange County license.

Do I need a permit to clear land?

Often. Only small jobs are exempt: clearing or grading under 5,000 square feet of contiguous ground, or under 10,000 square feet in total on a parcel, and not in the floodplain, a wetland or a critical environmental area or within 200 feet of a wetland, watercourse or such an area. The permit is $1,000.

Who issues septic permits in the town?

The Superintendent of Public Works, under Chapter 119; the system must be engineer-designed and inspected before it is covered.

I live in Cornwall-on-Hudson. Do I apply to the town?

No. The village Building Department at 260 Shore Road (845-534-7656) handles permits there.

Permit search and official resources

Applicants can check their own file in MuniCollab. A municipal search letter for a property costs $400; other building records can be requested from the Town Clerk under the Freedom of Information Law.

• Town Building Department
• MuniCollab building portal
• Building permit fees, effective April 4, 2022
• Accepted electrical inspectors, August 2026
• Town Code Chapter 158, Zoning
• Town Code Chapter 75, Clearing and Grading
• Town Code Chapter 90, Freshwater Wetlands
• Code of the Town of Cornwall
• FOIL requests (Town Clerk)
• Village of Cornwall-on-Hudson Building Department
• Orange County licensed electricians and inspectors
• FEMA Community Status Book, New York
• NYS code adoption notice

Simplify Town of Cornwall permitting with Alliance Permitting

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