Town of Kingsbury, New York Building Permit Guide

In the Town of Kingsbury, building permits for land outside the Village of Hudson Falls come from the town Building and Codes Department at Town Hall, 6 Michigan Street, Hudson Falls (518-747-2188 ext. 3006), open weekdays from 8:30 am to 4 pm. Applications are filed on paper with two plan copies, and the fee, paid by check when the permit issues, is 20 cents per square foot for new houses and house alterations, with minimums of $300 for a new house and $150 for alterations. Properties inside the village file with the Village of Hudson Falls instead.

What requires a building permit in Kingsbury?

The department’s list is broad, and it says the list is not complete: call before starting anything you are unsure about.

The building application still lists yard and pool fences among its project boxes, and zoning setbacks apply even where no building permit is needed.

What Kingsbury decides and what the state sets

The Uniform Code and Energy Code are the construction rules; the fee schedule’s first line reminds applicants that local zoning and sanitary codes apply as well. Kingsbury enforces them under Article I of Town Code Chapter 95 (Local Law 4 of 2006), with zoning in Chapter 280 and flood damage prevention in Chapter 145. Fees are set by Town Board resolution under Chapter 130. A construction standard stricter than the Uniform Code would need state Code Council approval.

Kingsbury building department: who handles permitting

Code Enforcement Officer Ross Cortese reviews applications, issues permits and inspects for the town; a second enforcement officer (ext. 3008) handles complaints, which must arrive in writing on the town’s official complaint form with an original signature before they are investigated. The department also coordinates the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals. Kingsbury contains one village, Hudson Falls, home to more than half the town’s residents, and the village runs its own permit process. Fort Edward is a village in the neighboring Town of Fort Edward, not in Kingsbury.

In the village, all building permit applications, including fences, signs, sidewalks and driveways, are processed at Village Hall, and the village Code Enforcement Officer signs the local compliance certificate on each one. The village’s own guidance says decks, porches, pools, fences, garages, most sheds and new homes all need permits there, and that manufactured homes are allowed only in licensed mobile home parks.

Kingsbury permit types and filing rules

Residential permits

The town publishes separate forms for building permits (revised June 2025), pools (October 2022), heating equipment, demolition, signs and sewage disposal systems. Fill in every page of the building permit application in ink, sign it and attach two copies of the plans with material specifications and a plot diagram showing buildings, septic systems and wells, roads and setbacks. Plans must be sealed by a New York architect or engineer unless the job is a new house of 1,500 gross sq ft or less, or an alteration costing $20,000 or less that does not touch structure or public safety.

Proof of workers’ compensation and disability coverage, or a CE-200 exemption, is needed before the permit issues; ACORD certificates are not accepted. A new water source needs well test data before the certificate of occupancy or compliance.

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

Septic and sewage permits

Kingsbury issues sewage disposal permits itself. Any project that adds wastewater design flow needs a sewage disposal system application first, and the building permit is held until the septic permit issues. Designs must be sealed by a licensed professional and meet the county-wide sanitary code (Local Law 1, as amended March 17, 1989) and state Appendix 75-A standards. After the final inspection, the installer files a record drawing measuring the tank covers, distribution box and leach field corners; alternative systems also need the designer’s site observation and written certification.

Commercial permits

Business, mercantile, industrial, assembly and institutional buildings and multiple dwellings use the same application with the occupancy group marked, at 30 cents per square foot. The plan-seal exceptions on the form cover only houses and small alterations. Existing multiple dwellings and non-residential tenants are on the town’s fire safety inspection program at $75 per building or tenant.

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

Projects inside the Village of Hudson Falls

The village publishes its own guide to when a permit is needed, and it differs from the town’s rules in places. Fences always need a village permit, as do new driveways and sidewalks, which must meet the village’s sidewalk standards. Decks, porches and entryways need permits even when an old one is torn down and rebuilt the same way, and structural work such as foundations, re-pitched roofs, new rafters or trusses, headers and load-bearing walls always does. Vinyl or wood siding normally does not, and same-size replacement windows and doors do not, though new or resized openings may. Every wood stove, furnace and solid-fuel chimney needs a permit, all electrical work must be inspected (the village page mentions the New York Board of Fire Underwriters as one agency that does this), and a change of use, such as a house becoming a two-family, needs a permit. The village’s own building permit application is filed at Village Hall with the village Code Enforcement Officer.

What comes before the building permit

• Zoning: setbacks and uses under Chapter 280; variances from the Zoning Board of Appeals, which meets on the fourth Thursday when there is an application.
• Planning Board: site plans and subdivisions, third Wednesday of the month.
• Flood zones: new flood maps for Kingsbury took effect July 21, 2026, so check the parcel against them before design.
• Digging: call 811 before any excavation, as the application requires.
• Stormwater: Kingsbury takes part in the federally mandated program for municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4), which aims to keep pollutants such as eroded sediment out of town storm sewers and drainage ditches; its 2025 annual report is posted on the department page.

Kingsbury building permit fees

The department’s posted fee schedule is dated April 2021; Chapter 130 says the Town Board sets fees by resolution and the Town Clerk keeps the current schedule. Fees are paid by check to the Town of Kingsbury when the permit issues, and most building fees include the certificate.

Worked examples: a new 1,600 sq ft house costs $320 (1,600 × $0.20), above the $300 minimum. A 240 sq ft deck works out to $48 at the square-foot rate, so the $100 minimum applies.

Trade permits and who may pull them

Electrical. Kingsbury lists changes to electrical systems among permit work, and its sewage disposal application states that electrical inspections are performed by a third-party inspector rather than by town staff.

Plumbing and heating. Plumbing and heating changes need a permit, and furnaces, boilers and similar equipment use the town’s heating equipment application. Neither the town’s pages nor its code on eCode360 set a local license for electricians, plumbers or general contractors.

Insurance. Contractors file a C-105.2 or U-26.3 workers’ compensation certificate and a DB-120.1 or DB-155 disability certificate; a homeowner doing the work files a CE-200. These must be on state forms, not ACORD.

How to apply for a Kingsbury building permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

The application cannot be accepted until it is complete, and where a septic permit is needed the building permit waits for it. Under the Town Code a permit becomes invalid if work does not start within 12 months and expires 12 months after issue, so plan to renew longer jobs ($25 the first year). A change to approved plans that adds floor area is charged at the square-foot rate for the extra space.

Kingsbury inspections and certificates

Call the Code Enforcement Officer at ext. 3006 to book inspections. A failed inspection that needs a second visit costs $40. Septic systems get their own final inspection, after which the record drawing is filed.

A certificate of occupancy (new houses) or certificate of compliance (decks, garages, pools and similar work) closes the job; for most residential permits the fee is already in the permit price. New wells need water test results before the certificate issues, and a temporary certificate costs $25. Copies of certificates or a violation search cost $25.

Beyond construction, the department runs periodic fire safety inspections of multiple dwellings and non-residential buildings at $75 per building or tenant; where one owner or tenant has several uses in a single building, one $75 fee covers them all, and buildings listed as Category IV under the state building code pay a flat $75.

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

Kingsbury permit FAQ

I live in Hudson Falls. Which office issues my permit?

If the property is inside the Village of Hudson Falls, the village processes the permit at Village Hall, 220 Main Street (518-747-5426 ext. 207). Hudson Falls mailing addresses outside the village use the town office at 6 Michigan Street.

Do I need a permit for a shed?

Not in the town for a residential storage building of 144 sq ft or less, though setbacks apply. Larger sheds cost 20 cents per square foot, with a $100 minimum.

How much is a permit for a new house?

20 cents per square foot with a $300 minimum, certificate of occupancy included: a 1,600 sq ft house costs $320.

Does the town issue septic permits?

Yes. The Building and Codes Department issues sewage disposal system permits ($75) under the county-wide sanitary code, and holds a building permit until the septic permit is issued.

Do I need stamped plans?

Not for a new house of 1,500 gross sq ft or less, or for non-structural alterations costing $20,000 or less. Other projects need a New York architect’s or engineer’s seal.

Do I need a permit for a fence?

In the town, a fence that is not part of a pool enclosure is exempt from a building permit under Chapter 95, though zoning setbacks still apply. Inside the Village of Hudson Falls every fence needs a village permit.

What if I built without a permit?

The permit then costs one and a half times the regular fee.

Is Kingsbury in the federal flood insurance program?

Yes. FEMA lists both the Town of Kingsbury and the Village of Hudson Falls as participating, with new flood maps effective July 21, 2026.

Permit search and official resources

The Building and Codes Department searches its files for certificates of occupancy or compliance and open violations for $25; ask at Town Hall or call ext. 3006.

• Kingsbury Building and Codes Department
• Building permit application, June 2025
• Sewage disposal system application
• Pool permit application
• Fee schedule, updated April 2021
• Planning and Zoning Boards
• Town Code Chapter 95, Building Construction and Fire Prevention
• Town Code Chapter 130, Fees
• Village of Hudson Falls Code Enforcement
• FEMA Community Status Book, New York
• NYS code adoption notice

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