Wayne County, New York Building Permit Guide

Building permits in Wayne County come from the town where the land lies, or from the village where a village runs its own code office; the county government lists no building or code enforcement department of its own. The county’s part is narrower: the Highway Department in Lyons issues work permits for county road rights-of-way, including new driveways, which county crews install, and the County Planning Board reviews zoning and site plan actions that towns and villages must refer under General Municipal Law 239-m.

What requires a building permit in Wayne County?

Each town and village works from its own code and application. The Town of Ontario, for example, lists additions, decks, fences, new buildings, signs, sheds, pools and hot tubs, fill and excavation, driveways, roofs, plumbing, electrical and heating systems, generators and solar arrays. Arcadia’s one application covers new homes through stoves and mobile homes. Septic systems are a town matter too: the Town of Lyons, for one, has its own Septic Law in Chapter 247 of its code.

What the towns decide and what the state holds

All of these offices apply the same 2025 Uniform Code and Energy Code. What they set themselves is the local layer: zoning districts and setbacks, which small projects they exempt, septic rules, permit lifetimes and the fee schedule. Ontario’s code, for example, limits permits to six and twelve months with two renewals, while Macedon still posts a 2014 fee schedule that adds escrow and recreation charges to a new house.

Wayne County building department: who handles permitting

The table lists every town and village the Census Bureau counts in the county. A town code office covers land outside any village that has its own office.

Three places need care. Clyde’s village office and Galen’s town code office share the 6 South Park Street building, but Galen’s zoning map covers only the town outside the village, and Clyde enforces the code under its own Chapter 67. The Town and Village of Sodus list the same code office number, 315-812-0609, while Sodus Point, also in the Town of Sodus, runs its own code enforcement office. The Village of Wolcott straddles the Towns of Wolcott and Butler, and its own code enforcement office covers both parts.

What Wayne County itself does

• Highway Department: a highway work permit is required for any work within or immediately next to a county road right-of-way. Applicants return the application with the fee and a site plan to 7227 Route 31, Lyons (315-946-5600), and a county representative calls to discuss the work. Permit holders do their own work at their own expense, except new private driveways, which county forces install. Forms include a driveway permit and a Section 136 Highway Law permit.
• Planning Board: reviews referrals from towns and villages for actions within 500 feet of a municipal line, a county or state road or park, county drainage channels, state or county land, or a farm in an agricultural district. There is no fee, and the county warns that any payment request in its name is a scam.
• Real Property Tax Service: posts tax maps for finding a parcel’s town.

Wayne County permit types and applications

Residential permits

Each office has its own process. Galen’s code officer handles the full range in one post: Uniform Code and Energy Code enforcement, fire safety and property maintenance inspections, floodplain administration and the Multiple Residence Law, as well as the town zoning law. Arcadia files building permits and books inspections through Cloudpermit, Ontario wants an application, a survey map showing distances from lot lines, specification sheets and a workers’ compensation certificate and takes no money until the permit is approved, and Huron meets applicants by appointment. Macedon keeps its building, zoning and planning forms on one page and takes questions at 315-986-5932.

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

Commercial permits

Commercial projects usually need a town or village site plan approval first, and many of them trigger a county referral: a building on a county or state road, near a town line or next to farmland in an agricultural district is the kind of action the Planning Board sees. The County Planning Board meets on the last Wednesday of each month (with one combined meeting on the second Wednesday of December), and referrals are due the Monday a week before.

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

• Zoning: the town or village zoning officer, Zoning Board of Appeals and Planning Board.
• County referral: sent by the local board, not the applicant; the county returns its recommendation within 10 days of its meeting.
• Septic: the town’s septic rules and, in Macedon, a witnessed percolation test.
• Driveway: a county highway work permit for access onto a county road; town and state roads have their own.
• Utilities: sewer connection charges where a district serves the lot, such as Macedon’s $1,000 minimum and Gananda’s $800.

Building permit fees in Wayne County

There is no county building permit fee. Each town and village adopts its own schedule, and the published examples vary widely in form.

Worked example from Macedon’s posted schedule: a 2,200-square-foot new house is 2,200 × $0.10, or $220 for the permit and certificate, above the $200 minimum. The same house also pays the $600 parks and recreation fee and posts a $500 escrow that is refunded after final cleanup and grading. Other towns price the same house under their own schedules.

Trade permits and who may pull them

The county has no licensing office for electricians, plumbers or home improvement contractors. Electrical work is inspected under each town’s own rule: Ontario’s code names three electrical inspection agencies it has deputized, and Arcadia’s pool sheet calls for a third-party electrical inspection. Ontario asks for a workers’ compensation certificate with every application and refuses ACORD forms.

How to get a building permit in Wayne County

Review, corrections and what causes delay

Review times are local: Ontario allows a minimum of 15 working days with no exceptions. Short office hours slow things in several towns; Marion’s code office is open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Galen closes at 1 p.m. on Wednesdays, and the Sodus code office is closed on Fridays. A project that needs a county referral cannot be decided by the local board until the county responds or its time runs out.

Inspections and certificates

Inspections are scheduled with the office that issued the permit. Marion publishes its full sequence: site plan, footers and floor preparation before concrete, foundation walls and footer drains before backfill, then framing, plumbing, HVAC, electrical wiring and insulation before anything is covered, plus wood stove and chimney connections. All wiring there is inspected by an independent agency that certifies it to the town, the town inspects every septic system, and the design engineer must also inspect each new system and certify it was built to the approved plans. Marion needs 24 hours’ notice for the final, which closes the permit with a certificate of compliance, and it considers inspections by appointment on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays; Arcadia books them in Cloudpermit; Ontario issues a certificate of occupancy or compliance after the final inspection, and the building may not be used before it. Macedon charges $25 for a certificate of compliance or occupancy, and its escrow is released after final cleanup, grading and seeding are approved.

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

In Wayne County that code is applied by each town and by the villages that keep their own code officers.

Wayne County permit FAQ

Does Wayne County issue building permits?

No. The town, or a village with its own code office, issues them. The county issues highway work permits for county roads and reviews referred zoning actions.

Who installs a new driveway culvert on a county road?

County forces install new private driveways onto county roads under a highway work permit; other work in the right-of-way is done by the permit holder at their own expense.

Who issues permits in the Village of Newark?

The village’s own code enforcement office at Village Hall, 100 E. Miller Street, not the Town of Arcadia.

Does the county charge for a planning referral?

No. County Planning Board review is free, and the county accepts referrals only from towns and villages, never from applicants.

Who handles septic systems?

The town, under its own rules; Lyons, for example, has a Septic Law in its town code, and Macedon witnesses percolation tests for $125 a lot.

Which office covers Clyde?

The Village of Clyde enforces the code inside the village under its Chapter 67; the Town of Galen’s officer, in the same building, covers the town outside it.

How long does a building permit last?

It depends on the town. Marion permits expire on the date written on the application, and the work must be finished by then; Ontario’s code sets six- and twelve-month limits with up to two renewals.

Are new flood maps coming?

Yes. FEMA’s Community Status Book shows every Wayne County community as participating, with new maps dated November 13, 2026 for most.

Wayne County permit search and official resources

Permit records are kept by the town or village that issued the permit; ask its code office or clerk for copies, or file a Freedom of Information Law request. Arcadia’s Cloudpermit account shows the status of applications filed there.

• Wayne County highway work and driveway permits
• Wayne County Highway Department
• Wayne County Planning Board referrals
• Town of Galen zoning and codes
• Town of Macedon building and zoning
• Town of Macedon fee schedule (PDF)
• Town of Marion code enforcement
• Town of Palmyra code enforcement
• Town of Sodus code enforcement
• Town of Walworth building and code
• Town of Huron building department
• Town of Lyons Septic Law, Chapter 247
• FEMA Community Status Book, New York

Simplify Wayne County 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 Wayne County permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.