Consistent with the authority granted to the city under ILCS Ch. 65, Act 5, §§ 11-13-1 et seq. and 11-30-4 and other similar authority:
(A) (1) No person shall erect, alter, enlarge, repair, convert, move, remove, raise, lower, underpin or demolish any building or structure within the city; nor shall any person construct, alter or repair or remove the fixtures of any building, structure or premises without first obtaining a permit from the Building Department to do so. No building permit shall be issued to any person or contractor for the construction of a new building or structure until the sewer and water connection fees have been paid (except accessory buildings and buildings already on city sewer and water). Maintenance and repair work in conformance with § 150.22 is exempt from building permits, but any exterior work within the Historic District must conform to the city's historic preservation ordinance.
(2) No person or company shall erect, alter, enlarge, repair, convert, move, remove, or demolish any portion, interior or exterior, of a commercial or industrial building or structure without first submitting plans to the Building Official for approval. Nor shall any person or company attempt to occupy a commercial or industrial building or structure, or a portion thereof, without first obtaining a certificate of occupancy and conforming with the requirements of all codes that apply to new construction for the proposed occupancy. The Building Official may waive the requirement for construction plans for maintenance projects of simple design or small scale.
(B) Said permit shall be issued to a contractor, who is registered with the city as required in § 150.03 hereof and who is actually doing the work set forth in the application described in § 150.05, except that the owner of the property may obtain a permit for work which said owner is performing individually, with the aid of his/her immediate family, or other volunteers who are not compensated in any way for the work performed as long as said owner/family/volunteers shall complete all of the work described in said application. Further, a property owner acting as his or her own general contractor may employ subcontractors to perform elements of the construction project, but these subcontractors must be registered with the city, and must obtain separate permits for the work they perform. Property owners may perform plumbing work on their own single-family residence, but plumbing work on commercial buildings or residential rental property must be performed by an Illinois State and City of Galena registered plumber.
(C) Once a permit is issued, no person shall engage in the work authorized thereby unless such person is the registered contractor described herein or the owner/family/volunteers of the premises for which said permit was issued, or a minor subcontractor covered by the owner or general contractor's permit.
(D) A permit issued through the presentation of a false or misleading application shall be void. Individuals working under void permits shall be penalized as though no permit was ever issued. No refund shall be made to anyone obtaining a void permit.
(E) Every permit issued by the city shall expire by limitation under the provisions of this chapter after 180 days and at that time all work must cease. Any permittee holding an unexpired permit may apply to the Building Official for an extension for another 180 days at no additional charge before work may be recommenced. The permit shall then expire after the additional 180 days and the permittee may renew the permit to continue construction providing he reapply to the Building Official in writing and he shall pay one-half the amount of the original permit fee.
('69 Code, § 5-3) (Ord. O-88-18, passed 8-8-88; Am. Ord. O-90-03, passed 2-26-90; Am. Ord. O-90-26, passed 11-12-90; Am. Ord. O-96-02, passed 1-8-96; Am. Ord. O-04-30, passed 12-13-04; Am. Ord. O-05-02, passed 2-28-05) Penalty, see § 150.99