Town of Parma, New York Building Permit Guide

In the Town of Parma, the Building Department at Town Hall reviews applications, issues building permits and certificates of occupancy, and inspects the work; Luke McGrath is the Building Inspector. Inside the Village of Hilton, the village’s own Building Department permits instead. Most fees are charged by floor area under the schedule effective January 1, 2023: a new house costs $0.25 per square foot, plus an $850 recreation fee and $100 for the certificate of occupancy.

What requires a building permit in Parma?

Chapter 24 of the Town Code, rewritten in 2023, requires a permit for any work the Uniform Code or Energy Code governs: building, enlarging, altering, moving or demolishing a structure, and installing a wood stove, chimney or flue in a home. The town’s fee schedule shows how wide that net is.

An exemption from the building permit does not exempt the work from the code itself, and zoning still applies: detached accessory buildings other than garages go in the rear yard, may be no taller than 15 feet in the NR, MR and WR districts, and are capped at 600 sq ft in NR, 400 sq ft in MR and WR, and 2,000 sq ft in AR and RR (farms excepted).

What the town decides and what the state sets

Construction standards come from the 2025 Uniform Code and Energy Code, which Chapter 24 enforces; Parma could tighten them only with state Code Council approval. The town’s own levers are its zoning law (Chapter 165, replaced in April 2025), Environmental Protection Overlay Districts, flood damage prevention (Chapter 59), the Town Board’s fee schedule and local laws such as the 2026 solar moratorium.

Parma building department: who handles permitting

The Building Department is the town’s code office: the Building Inspector, a code enforcement officer and a combined Fire Marshal and building inspector share the work of plan review, inspections, complaints and fire-safety visits. The Building Inspector is also the town’s floodplain local administrator.

The Village of Hilton

Hilton is the only incorporated village in Parma, and it runs its own Building Department, which provides building inspection, code enforcement and fire marshal services inside the village. Village permits come from the Village Office at 59 Henry Street, Hilton (585-392-4144, Monday to Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.), under the village’s own code and fee schedule; the village says a permit is required for all construction, from sheds, pools, decks and fences to additions, basements and demolition.

Permit types and submission requirements

Residential permits

Parma uses one Building Permit application for every project. It is signed by the owner or the owner’s agent and asks for the tax ID, occupancy classification, estimated cost, the square footage of each new area (floors, bonus room, garage, porch, deck, shed, pool) and whether the job involves electrical wiring, a septic system, excavation or fill, a change of use or piping a drainage ditch. Chapter 24 calls for two sets of construction documents, sealed by an architect or engineer where the Education Law requires, and a site plan from an accurate survey showing distances to lot lines and any flood hazard area. Three common jobs have their own checklists:

• Decks: location on a survey, footing size and depth, ledger attachment, post, beam and joist sizes and spans, height, railing and stair details.
• Pools: location, the fence or barrier (at least 48 inches high, gates self-closing and self-latching) and a water-entry pool alarm; pools and equipment may not sit forward of the front wall of the house, in an easement or across a drainage swale.
• Finished basements: a floor plan with every room, egress window details, insulation R-values and the hardwired, interconnected smoke and carbon monoxide alarms.

Every checklist ends with the contractor’s proof of liability, workers’ compensation and disability insurance.

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

Commercial permits

Business, commercial and industrial buildings are charged $0.30 per square foot (minimum $150) when complete structural and utility plans arrive with the application. Any later plan that was not part of that package, such as electrical, heating, plumbing, sprinkler or an interior build-out, adds $0.10 per square foot. Assembly spaces, schools and hazardous processes need operating permits, and the town performs fire-safety inspections every 12 months in assembly buildings and schools and every 36 months in multiple dwellings and other nonresidential buildings.

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

New commercial and industrial buildings and multi-lot developments go to the Planning Board for site plan or subdivision approval, filed with 10 copies of the maps by noon on the deadline date and page 1 of the short Environmental Assessment Form. Projects that break the zoning rules need an area variance ($300) or use variance ($500) from the Zoning Board of Appeals. Land inside an Environmental Protection Overlay District (large and small wetlands, floodplain and stream corridors on the town’s EPOD maps) needs an EPOD authorization ($100) from the code enforcement officer, or from the Planning Board when it is already reviewing the project. Any development in a mapped special flood hazard area also needs a floodplain development permit; in the A zones, new and substantially improved homes must have the lowest floor at least 2 feet above the base flood elevation. FEMA lists the town as participating, with a July 31, 2024 flood map. A lot without public sewer needs a septic design approved by the Monroe County Department of Public Health (585-753-5060), drawn by a design professional.

Parma permit fees

The Town of Parma building permit fee schedule has been in effect since January 1, 2023 and covers buildings, miscellaneous permits and board fees in one sheet. Fees are paid when the application is filed.

Worked examples. A 300 sq ft deck on an existing house costs $40 + 300 × $0.10 = $70. A 400 sq ft detached garage costs $40 + 400 × $0.15 = $100. A new house with 2,000 sq ft of floor area and a 500 sq ft attached garage pays 2,500 × $0.25 = $625 for the permit, plus the $850 recreation fee and the $100 certificate of occupancy, $1,575 before any sewer tap-in charges.

The same sheet sets the board fees: Planning Board one-lot site plan $100 application, $75 hearing and $100 review; business or industrial site plan $300 application, $75 hearing and $100 review, with engineering review costs above those amounts billed back plus 5%.

Trade permits and who may pull them

No separate town trade permits. Electrical, plumbing and heating work is shown on the town building permit application; there is no separate town plumbing or electrical permit form and no fee row for one. Neither Chapter 24 nor the zoning law sets up a town license for electricians, plumbers or home-improvement contractors.

Electrical inspections. The finished-basement checklist warns that adding outlets and lights brings an electrical inspection, and the zoning law asks for a certificate from an electrical inspection agency recognized by the Town Board before an illuminated sign is approved. The Building Department can tell you which inspection agencies it accepts for a given job.

Insurance. Every requirement sheet asks for the contractor’s liability, workers’ compensation and disability certificates before the permit issues.

Septic and sewer. New and repaired septic systems are designed by a professional, approved and inspected by the Monroe County Department of Public Health, which inspects within 48 hours of a request. Homes on public sewer pay the town and Monroe County (Pure Waters) tap-in charges on the building permit.

How to apply for a Parma building permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

Each checklist says every listed item must be provided before the permit can be approved, so a missing survey, deck framing detail or pool alarm specification stops the review. A permit is void if work does not start within six months and expires 12 months after issuance; renewals cost $50 for each six months on a home. Starting before the permit adds a $150 surcharge.

Ground-mounted and large-scale solar arrays that send most of their power to the grid were placed under a six-month moratorium by Local Law 2 of 2026, which took effect when it was filed with the state on April 27, 2026; its six-month term ran to late October 2026, and the law lets the Town Board renew it by resolution for a cumulative period of up to one more year. Ask whether it was renewed. While it is in force the town will not accept, process or approve applications for such arrays. Roof-mounted solar on a home is not covered.

Parma inspections and certificates

Work must stay exposed until the inspector accepts it, and the permit holder calls the Building Department (585-392-9449) when each stage is ready. Chapter 24 lists the stages: the site before the permit, footings and foundation, slab preparation, framing, the electrical, plumbing and mechanical systems, fire-resistant construction, chimneys and vents, Energy Code items such as insulation and air leakage, manufactured-home set-ups and a final. The inspector may accept a remote video inspection where it shows as much as a site visit. A failed item gets a written list of code sections to fix; the first follow-up visit costs $50 and each later one $75.

A certificate of occupancy ($100 per unit for homes) closes a new building, and a certificate of compliance closes other permitted work. A temporary certificate costs $20 extra and is issued only when weather prevents finishing items with no safety significance, with an escrow of 1.5 times the estimated cost to complete them.

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

Parma permit FAQ

Do I need a permit for a shed in Parma?

Yes, if it is over 50 sq ft: the fee is $40 plus $0.15 per square foot, and it must meet the size and rear-yard rules of your zoning district.

Does a fence need a permit?

Yes. The zoning law requires a building permit for any fence except farm fencing and a short dog-run enclosure; the fee is $50.

How high can a fence be?

In the NR and MR districts, 6 feet in side and rear yards (chain link 4 feet) and 3 feet in front; in AR, RR and WR, 4 feet in side and rear yards, with no front-yard fences in AR and RR.

Does an above-ground pool need a permit?

Yes, any pool that holds 24 inches of water or more, including portable ones: $50 above-ground, $100 in-ground, with a barrier and a pool alarm.

I live in Hilton. Who issues my permit?

If the property is inside the Village of Hilton, the village Building Department at 59 Henry Street; elsewhere in Parma, including Hilton mailing addresses outside the village, the town.

How long is a Parma permit good for?

Work must start within six months and the permit expires 12 months after issuance; a six-month extension costs $50 for residential work.

Can I install solar panels during the moratorium?

Roof-mounted panels on a home, yes ($100 permit). The 2026 moratorium covers ground-mounted or large-scale arrays whose power is not mainly used on site.

Permit search and official resources

Parma has no online permit lookup. Ask the Building Department about an open permit, or request permit files, certificates and inspection records from the Town Clerk with a Records Access Form, delivered in person, by mail, fax or email to townclerk@parmany.org with “FOIL Request” in the subject line.

• Parma Building Department
• Building permit application
• Building permit fees, effective January 1, 2023
• Deck permit requirements
• Pool permit requirements
• Finished basement permit requirements
• EPOD instructions
• Planning and zoning applications
• Town Code Chapter 24, Building Code Administration
• Town Code Chapter 165, Zoning
• Town Code Chapter 59, Flood Damage Prevention
• Local Law 2 of 2026, solar moratorium
• Freedom of Information requests
• Village of Hilton Building Department
• Monroe County onsite wastewater program
• NYS Department of State code adoption notice

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