Town of Moreau, New York Building Permit Guide

The Town of Moreau Building Department, 351 Reynolds Road (518-792-1030 ext. 5, weekdays 8 am to 4 pm), issues building, fence, pool and septic permits everywhere in the town except the Village of South Glens Falls. Under the fee schedule approved by the Town Board on February 25 and March 11, 2025, a one-family house is $0.23 per square foot with a $150 minimum, and even a fence ($25) or a shed needs a permit.

What requires a building permit in Moreau?

Construction in Moreau falls under Chapter 74 of the Town Code and the state Uniform Code, and any construction, addition, modification or conversion they regulate needs a permit. The department’s own examples make the reach clear: sheds and storage buildings of any size, fences, decks and porches, fireplaces and wood stoves, septic systems and changes to electrical, plumbing, heating or cooling systems are all on the list, along with new homes, garages, additions, attic or storage conversions to living space, pools and structural alterations.

Some permits are not about buildings at all: an open burning permit is $20, and the town issues permits for keeping chickens on its own form.

If a project will disturb an acre or more, the owner must also have coverage under the state DEC stormwater permit for construction before any soil is disturbed. The department says its list is not complete and asks owners to call before starting if in doubt.

What Moreau decides and what the state sets

The Uniform Code and Energy Code set construction standards. Moreau’s own rules include its Zoning Law (Chapter 149, first adopted in 1973), the fence law (Chapter 70), a new swimming pool law (Chapter 127, replaced by Local Law 5 of 2026 on September 8, 2026), flood damage prevention (Chapter 78) and freshwater wetlands (Chapter 82).

Moreau building department: who handles permitting

The Building Department, with a Building, Planning and Development Coordinator, a Building Inspector / Code Enforcement Officer, a code enforcement officer and a clerk, administers the Town Code and enforces the Zoning Law and the subdivision law; the Zoning Board of Appeals and the Planning Board hear the variances, special use permits, subdivisions and site plans those laws require. It covers the town outside the Village of South Glens Falls: of Moreau’s 16,818 residents (Census 2025), 3,704 live in the village, which has its own Building Inspector and Code Enforcement Officer and its own permit forms.

The department’s application forms print a second number for the Building and Zoning Department, 518-792-4762. In the village, the Building Inspector answers questions on the village code, which covers both building and zoning, and the village posts its own building, accessory, fence, pool, sign, stove and temporary structure permit forms.

Moreau permit types and filing rules

Residential permits

Moreau splits its applications by project, most of them revised in 2025: Principal Structure (new houses and additions), Accessory, Deck and Porch, Fence, Pool, Solid Fuel and Chimney, Hydronic Heater, Solar (residential), Septic, Demolition, Driveway, Sign, and Manufactured Home installation and removal. The forms page pairs the manufactured home installation form with a 2020 NYSDOH letter on manufactured housing.

• Fences: a $25 permit before any work. Chapter 70 limits fences at the side and rear of homes in residential districts to 8 feet, not forward of the front building line, and other fences to 48 inches. Fences must be at least 6 inches from any property line and a foot back from the sidewalk, front-yard fences in residential districts must be less than 50% solid, the finished side faces the neighbor and gates open inward. Barbed wire, electric, poultry, snow and similar fences are banned outside the R-3, R-4 and R-5 districts.
• Pools: the new Chapter 127 covers pools, spas and hot tubs holding more than 24 inches of water. The pool wall must be at least 10 feet from side and rear lot lines, and decks, pump houses and equipment at least 10 feet as well unless the zoning code allows less or the equipment sits in an approved sound-reducing enclosure.

A new house uses the 13-page Principal Structure application, filed in three sets (two paper and one electronic). It needs detailed drawings of the foundation, framing, cross sections and elevations; the Energy Code compliance path (prescriptive, REScheck or COMcheck); two signed and stamped engineered plan sets if the structure will be 1,500 square feet or more; a scaled plot plan from a survey or tax map with setbacks, the well or water line and the septic system or sewer; a groundwater form stamped by a licensed design professional; driveway approval from the town, county or state; and an electrical inspection by a New York certified inspection agency. The form also asks whether the site is in a floodplain.

Driveways onto town roads are permitted by the Highway Department at 1543 Route 9 (518-792-5675). The driveway must meet the road at an angle of at least 60 degrees, any later change needs a new permit, and an owner who has the Highway Department install the culvert pays the Town Clerk $400 to cover material and installation.

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

Commercial permits

Commercial and industrial buildings and additions are $0.32 per square foot (minimum $400, or $200 for an addition), and their site plans go to the Planning Board. Local Law 3 of 2026, adopted August 11, 2026, pauses for six months from its effective date applications for any new “warehouse for enclosed storage of goods and materials” in the C-1 and CC-1 districts. In September 2026 the Town Board also added definitions of distribution center and warehousing to the zoning code and rezoned three parcels from R-3 to C-1.

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 building permit

• Zoning Board of Appeals (fourth Wednesday monthly): area variance $75, use variance $150, interpretation $75, special use permit $150.
• Planning Board (third Monday monthly): subdivisions, site plans and special use permits; site plan $250 up to 5,000 square feet and $500 above that; above 10,000 square feet the schedule reads $500 plus $0.05 per square foot.
• Land development activity permit: $150.
• Subdivisions and rezoning: a boundary line adjustment or two-lot subdivision is $150; a residential rezoning petition $400, a PUD or commercial rezoning $1,100 and a SESO rezoning $1,500.
• Stormwater: DEC construction permit coverage for disturbance of an acre or more.
• Flood zones: Moreau participates in the National Flood Insurance Program with a flood map dated August 16, 1995, as does South Glens Falls.

Moreau building permit fees

The Town of Moreau Building Department Fee Schedule 2025 (final version revised March 12, 2025, approved by Town Board resolutions of February 25 and March 11, 2025) charges by square foot with a minimum for each type:

For example, a 2,000 sq ft one-family house is 2,000 × $0.23, or $460, and a 160 sq ft shed is 160 × $0.20, or $32, so the $50 minimum applies. Subdivisions pay $25 a lot at sketch plan, $50 a lot at preliminary and $100 a lot at final review, plus a $1,200 recreation fee for each new dwelling; large-scale solar is $1,500 per megawatt plus $1,000.

Trade permits and who may pull them

Electrical, plumbing and heating. Changes to electrical, plumbing, heating or cooling systems need a building permit from the town, and wood stoves, chimneys and outdoor hydronic heaters have their own forms. For a new house the Principal Structure application requires an electrical inspection approved by a New York certified inspection agency.

Septic. Saratoga County refers residential systems outside realty subdivisions to the local building department, so Moreau issues on-site wastewater permits. Every system must be designed and stamped by a licensed engineer or architect and meet Appendix 75-A of the state health rules. The Building Inspector witnesses the percolation and deep-hole tests, nothing may be built until the permit is approved, and a record drawing with measurements to the tank covers, distribution box and leach-field corners is due after the final inspection.

Insurance and licensing. The town forms ask for workers’ compensation and disability coverage on the state forms (C-105.2 or U-26.3 and DB-120.1 or DB-155) for contractors, or the CE-200 or BP-1 exemption for an owner; ACORD certificates are not accepted. Moreau’s code has no local contractor or trade license.

How to apply for a Moreau building permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

The forms spell out what holds a file up: ACORD insurance certificates are refused, plot plans must show wells, waterways and every existing structure, septic designs must be stamped, and each form carries a revision date, so use the current one. Under Section 74-4I a permit becomes invalid if work has not started within six months and expires 12 months after issue.

Moreau inspections and certificates

Inspections by the Building Inspector are required at several stages of every project, and the property owner is responsible for having each one completed before the next step of construction starts. Septic jobs add the percolation and deep-hole tests, which the Building Inspector must witness, and a final inspection, after which a record drawing is submitted to the department. A certificate of occupancy or certificate of compliance is required before anyone occupies or uses a building that needed a permit.

Pools get particular attention under the new Chapter 127. While a pool is being built, a compliant temporary barrier must be kept up whenever the code requires one, and the pool may not be filled deeper than 24 inches until a permanent or temporary barrier is complete. It may not be used until every barrier, gate, latch, alarm, cover, ladder and drain cover is installed and approved, the electrical, plumbing and gas inspections are done, the Code Enforcement Officer has made the final inspection and the certificate of compliance has been issued; afterwards no one may prop open or disable those safety devices.

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

Moreau permit FAQ

Do I need a permit for a fence in Moreau?

Yes, a $25 fence permit before you start, and the fence must meet Chapter 70’s height and placement rules.

Do I need a permit for a small shed?

Yes. Moreau lists sheds and storage buildings as permit work and Chapter 74 has no small-shed exemption; the fee is $0.20 per square foot with a $50 minimum.

How much is a permit for a new house?

$0.23 per square foot for a one-family house, at least $150, so $460 for 2,000 square feet.

How far must a pool be from the property line?

At least 10 feet from side and rear lines under the 2026 pool law, with decks and equipment also 10 feet back unless an exception applies.

Who issues septic permits?

The town Building Department, for $50, on plans stamped by a licensed engineer or architect.

I live in South Glens Falls. Where do I apply?

To the village’s Building Inspector at 46 Saratoga Avenue (518-793-1455 ext. 105).

How long is a permit good for?

Work must start within six months, and the permit expires 12 months after it is issued.

Permit search and official resources

To see permits or certificates on file for a property, make a request under the Freedom of Information Law through the town’s FOIL page. The adopted fee schedule is also on file in the Town Clerk’s Office.

• Moreau Building Department
• Building Department forms
• Fee schedule page
• Fee Revision II of 2025 (PDF)
• On-site wastewater (septic) permit application
• Town Code Chapter 74, Uniform Code administration
• Town Code Chapter 70, Fences
• Local Law 5 of 2026, swimming pools
• Local Law 3 of 2026, storage facility moratorium
• Freedom of Information requests
• Village of South Glens Falls Building Inspector
• Saratoga County onsite wastewater program
• NYS code adoption notice

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