It's rarely one office. It's usually four.
People planning a house or an addition often ask where to "get the permit." In Northern Michigan there isn't one counter that handles it. Zoning, the building permit, well and septic, and soil erosion are handled by different offices, and which offices depends on the county and the township your lot is in.
Permits are applied for by the owner or builder. We don't apply for or manage permits.
Here is how it breaks down in the four counties we work in most.
The order things usually happen in
- Zoning (land use permit) from your township, city, or village. This confirms the building fits the setbacks, height, and lot coverage rules.
- Well and septic from the health department, if the lot isn't on public water and sewer.
- Soil erosion and driveway permits, where they apply.
- The building permit, which usually asks to see all of the above.
Grand Traverse County
Zoning is local: every city, village, and township has its own ordinance. The building permit comes from Grand Traverse County Construction Code for most of the county. Garfield Township is the exception and runs its own building department. Inside Traverse City, the city issues the land use permit and the county issues the building permit. Well, septic, and soil erosion permits come from the county health department, except that Traverse City and Garfield Township handle their own soil erosion permits. Grand Traverse County guide →
Leelanau County
Zoning is handled by each of the eleven townships and three villages. The building permit comes from the Leelanau County Department of Building Safety in Suttons Bay. Well and septic permits come from the Benzie-Leelanau District Health Department, and soil erosion permits from the Leelanau Conservation District. Leelanau County guide →
Antrim County
Antrim is the one that surprises people: not every township has zoning. The county lists seven zoned townships and five villages, and where there is no township zoning you generally go straight to the county for the building permit. That permit comes from the Antrim County Construction Code Department in Bellaire, which also handles soil erosion. Well and septic permits come from the Health Department of Northwest Michigan. Antrim County guide →
Benzie County
Benzie County repealed its county zoning, so each township, village, and the City of Frankfort handles its own. The Benzie County Building Department in Beulah issues building permits and soil erosion permits. Well and septic permits come from the Benzie-Leelanau District Health Department. Benzie County guide →
Why this matters for your drawings
Each of those offices looks at a different part of the project. The township wants a site plan showing setbacks. The health department cares about bedrooms and where the septic field goes. The building department wants the full construction set. Drawings prepared with all of them in mind move through faster than drawings that have to be revised for each office in turn.
Offices and requirements change, so confirm the details for your own parcel. If you're planning a project and want to know which offices you'll be dealing with, reach out and tell us where the lot is.