Town of Geddes, New York Building Permit Guide

In the Town of Geddes, building permits are issued by the Code Enforcement Office at Town Hall, 1000 Woods Road, Solvay (315-468-3600 ext. 8). The town requires a surveyor-stamped plot plan and two sets of plans with most applications, a permit for any fence over 24 inches, and a certificate of approval from Onondaga County Plumbing Control for plumbing work. The Village of Solvay, inside the town, has its own Code Enforcement Office.

What requires a building permit in Geddes?

Chapter 90 of the Town Code says no building or structure may be started or altered without a permit. The only work it lets you do without one is ordinary maintenance and internal rearrangements that involve no structural change, no change to water and drainage lines and no new electric circuits. The town’s application lists the jobs it sees most:

Fences follow Chapter 240, section 42: in a front yard no taller than 4 feet and at least half open (chain link, ornamental iron, rail or picket, never stockade or basket-weave); in side and rear yards no taller than 6 feet, or 8 feet in commercial and industrial districts; no barbed or electrified wire; finished side facing the neighbor; and every enclosed area reachable for fire-fighting. On a corner lot, the parts along a street count as front yard. Pools may not be placed in a front or side yard; on corner lots the Code Enforcement Officer decides the location.

What Geddes decides and what the state sets

The New York Uniform Code and Energy Code are the building standards. Geddes adds its zoning (Chapter 240), its pool chapter (Chapter 195), flood damage prevention (Chapter 115) and, since August 4, 2026, a sump pump rule: no new, modified or extended sump discharge may flow over land toward the road; it must go to the rear yard or, where available, a storm sewer. In October 2026 the Town Board also replaced its stormwater management and storm sewer chapters (Local Laws 9 and 10 of 2026).

Geddes building department: who handles permitting

The Code Enforcement Office is small: Code Enforcement Officer and Fire Marshal David Balcer and a code clerk. It enforces zoning and local laws, reviews permits, runs fire safety inspections and serves as the link between applicants and the Town Board, Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals, checking that projects those boards approve are built as approved.

The Village of Solvay, which shares the 13209 ZIP code and Woods Road with Town Hall, issues its own building permits and posts applications, inspection results and property information on its SmartGov citizen portal. Parcels inside the village line go there; every other parcel in Geddes files with the town.

Geddes permit types and filing rules

Residential permits

The residential building permit application is filled in by computer or in ink, asks whether the project breaks any zoning rule, and names the owner, architect and contractor. It must come with a plot plan stamped by a New York licensed land surveyor, showing the lot, the buildings and their relation to neighbors and streets, plus two complete sets of plans and two sets of specifications from a New York architect or engineer covering structural, mechanical, electrical and plumbing work. When someone other than the owner applies, the code requires the owner’s signed authorization. Insurance must be on state forms, never ACORD certificates: workers’ compensation (C-105.2), disability (DB-120.1) or a CE-200 exemption, with the Town of Geddes at 1000 Woods Road as certificate holder; they may be faxed to 315-488-7583.

Pools use a separate pool permit application with drawings of the lot lines, pool location, fence, lighting, water supply and disposal, and chemical treatment; pools may not be connected to a drinking water line, and the drain outlet may be no more than 3 inches across. Rooftop solar on a house uses the state’s Unified Residential Solar PV Permit.

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

Commercial permits

Commercial work has its own commercial building permit application; projects that need site plan review go to the Planning Board with the site plan review application and the 2026 environmental assessment form. The office inspects public assembly spaces every year and other nonresidential buildings and multiple dwellings at least every three years.

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

What comes before the building permit

• Zoning compliance: every application must include a certificate of compliance with Chapter 240.
• Zoning Board of Appeals for area and use variances, following the board’s submittal schedule and guidelines.
• Planning Board for site plan review, subdivisions, special permits and zone changes.
• Flood plain: Geddes and Solvay both take part in the National Flood Insurance Program; the town’s current flood map is dated November 4, 2016.
• Septic: where there is no sewer, the county Health Department reviews individual sewage systems.

Geddes permit fees

Under Chapter 90, building permit fees are set by resolution of the Town Board, and the pool chapter leaves pool fees to resolution as well; the Code Enforcement Office assesses the fee when it reviews the application and enters it on the form. Two rules are in the code: a resubmitted application after a refusal costs nothing extra, and work begun or finished without a permit pays double the normal fee. Plumbing is paid to the county at its published rates:

Review deposits. Chapter 100 makes applicants for a subdivision, variance, site plan or special permit repay the town’s reasonable legal, engineering and consulting costs. A deposit, set by Town Board resolution, is paid to the Town Comptroller when the application is filed, topped up if it runs low, and the unused balance is returned after final approval. If the deposit is not kept up, reviews, building permits and certificates of occupancy are withheld. The deposit is in addition to any application fee.

Remodeling plumbing in a one- or two-family home starts at $150 on the county sheet. For a typical new house with fewer than 20 fixtures, the county plumbing permit is therefore $225, separate from whatever building fee the town assesses.

Trade permits and who may pull them

Plumbing. In Geddes, as in the rest of Onondaga County, plumbing is regulated by the county’s Department of Water Environment Protection, not the town or the Health Department. Plumbing Control licenses master plumbers, journeymen and apprentices, issues the plumbing permit and inspects the work, and the town’s application says plumbing must be done by a licensed plumber with a county certificate of approval. The exception is an owner-occupant of a single-family home, who may apply in person for a county homeowner permit with proof of ownership and residency, the state WC/DB-100 affidavit that no workers’ compensation coverage is needed, and plans showing every drain and vent line sized to code; the owner answers the reviewer’s questions on materials and fittings, pays the permit and plan review fees, does the work personally and may not work outside the house on water services or building sewers.

Electrical. Wiring must be inspected and approved by a New York certified inspection agency. The town’s acceptable inspectors list names The Inspector, Middle Department Inspection Agency, Central New York Electrical Inspection Service and Atlantic Inland. The town’s pages show no electrician license of its own.

Septic. The Onondaga County Health Department’s Bureau of Public Health Engineering reviews individual sewage system designs and repairs and coordinates with Plumbing Control and the town’s code officer.

How to apply for a Geddes building permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

Once approved, both sets of plans are stamped “approved”: the town keeps one and returns the other with the permit, and that set must stay on site for the inspector. Any change to the plans must be filed and approved before the changed work begins.

The code gives the Code Enforcement Officer 30 days to approve or refuse an application; a refusal comes with written objections, and you may resubmit with no extra fee. The forms page and application spell out what must be in the package: ACORD certificates are refused, and the surveyor-stamped plot plan and both sets of plans are required. A permit lets work start for six months, and the officer may grant up to two three-month extensions for good cause.

Geddes inspections and certificates

The Code Enforcement Officer, or another building inspector, inspects the work as it goes and makes a final examination before any certificate is issued. Electrical inspections are done by the agency you hire, and plumbing inspections by Onondaga County Plumbing Control. A new building receives a certificate of occupancy; an addition or alteration receives a certificate of compliance. The office issues the certificate within 30 days of a written request once the work passes, and no new building may be used before then.

If the work needed an architect or engineer, the certificate of occupancy application must include that professional’s affidavit, or the construction superintendent’s, that the building was built as approved. The officer may also issue a temporary certificate for a finished portion that can be safely occupied. Work that breaks the code or the approved plans can be halted with a stop order.

Fire safety inspections of commercial buildings check exit capacity, exit signs, emergency lighting, smoke and fire alarm systems.

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

Geddes permit FAQ

Do I need a permit for a fence in Geddes?

Yes, for any fence over 24 inches. Front-yard fences are limited to 4 feet and must be open; side and rear fences to 6 feet.

Who issues plumbing permits in Geddes?

Onondaga County Plumbing Control (315-435-6614), not the town. A new one- or two-family home with up to 20 fixtures costs $225.

Can I do my own plumbing?

Only as the owner-occupant of a single-family home, with a county homeowner permit applied for in person, and only inside the house.

Where can a pool go?

Not in a front or side yard. The Code Enforcement Officer decides the location on a corner lot.

Does the town issue permits in Solvay?

No. The Village of Solvay Code Enforcement Office (315-468-1679) handles permits inside the village.

How long do I have to start work?

Six months from the date of the permit, with up to two three-month extensions for good cause.

Where must my sump pump discharge?

Under the August 2026 sump pump law, not over land toward the road. Discharge into the rear yard, into a storm sewer where one is available, or into a swale with a positive grade from the pipe.

What insurance proof does the town accept?

State forms only: C-105.2 for workers’ compensation, DB-120.1 for disability, or a CE-200 exemption. ACORD certificates are not accepted.

Permit search and official resources

Geddes has no online permit search; ask the Code Enforcement Office about a property’s permits, or file the town’s FOIL request form with the Town Clerk’s office (315-468-3600 ext. 2). In Solvay, the village’s SmartGov portal shows applications and inspection results.

• Geddes Code Enforcement Office
• Codes forms and applications
• Residential building permit application
• Commercial building permit application
• Pool permit application
• Fence rules
• Acceptable electrical inspectors
• Town Code on eCode360
• New local laws not yet codified
• FOIL request form
• Village of Solvay Code Enforcement
• Onondaga County Plumbing Control
• Plumbing Control fees
• Onondaga County septic systems
• NYS code adoption notice

Simplify Town of Geddes 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 Geddes permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.