(A) No person shall erect, enlarge, construct, relocate, substantially improve, repair, place, alter, move or demolish any building, structure, mobile, modular or manufactured home, or any type of industrial or commercial parking lot, or similarly used facility, or initiate any other construction without first obtaining a separate building permit for each building or structure from the Planning and Community Development Department and the permit shall be separate from all other requirements from the Board of Adjustments, Planning Commission, and the City Council. All trade work requires a permit.
(1) The applicant must be a homeowner, or a registered contractor with the city at the time of permit acquisition.
(2) (a) The applicant for any required building or trade permit shall be required to pay permit fees to the city. The fees shall be determined by the total veneer covered square footage of the building area involved in the construction, modification, or repair of the building for which the permit is issued. Each separate level of such area, whether subterranean, surface, or aboveground, shall be figured in determining the total area.
(b) Except trade permits shall be assessed by the total living area.
(3) It shall be unlawful for any person to engage in the business, trade or occupation of construction, unless the lead or general construction contractor holds a current and valid certificate of registration issued by a proper state authority. Construction shall include, but is not exclusive to general, home improvement, and roof contractors. Subcontractors do not need to first obtain a certificate of registration unless otherwise required by ordinance or applicable state regulation. The registration of a business as a contractor shall include all employees of the business.
(4) The City Council, by resolution, shall establish fees associated with first time and renewal registrants. The fees shall be paid at the Planning and Community Development Department and the registration shall not be valid unless it has attached to it or written on it, a receipt or statement showing that the required fee has been paid. Registration fees in a current year are for the period January 1 to December 31 of the year in which registration occurs. Any registration that is lapsed for longer than one month shall apply for a new registration in the same manner and under the same conditions as a new applicant.
(5) Upon application to the Planning and Community Development Department, verification of compliance with applicable state statutes and agency regulations, submittal of proof of liability insurance, submittal of proof of workers’ compensation of satisfactory coverage pursuant to the Workers’ Compensation Act or an affidavit of exemption or self-insurance as authorized pursuant to the Workers’ Compensation Act, and payment of required fees, the Planning and Community Development Department shall register such applicants and issue certificates of registration.
(B) No human-made change to improved or unimproved real estate located within a designated “flood hazard area”, including, but not limited to, buildings or other structures, mining, dredging, filling, grading, paving, excavation or drilling operations, shall be initiated until a separate floodplain development permit has been obtained for each operation from the Planning and Community Development Department.
(C) No mobile home, manufactured home or modular home shall be placed on improved or unimproved real estate without first obtaining a separate building permit for each home from the Building Inspector and the office of the Planning and Community Development Department.
(D) New construction or minor repairs of buildings/structures, 200 square feet or less may be made without obtaining a building permit unless a foundation or concrete slab is constructed. However, all plumbing, electrical, or mechanical work shall not be included in this provision.
(E) All applications for building permits shall be signed and in writing, upon an official blank form supplied by the Planning and Community Development Department and shall be submitted to Planning and Community Development Department along with the required fee.
(F) In addition to the building permit fee, the linkage fee, as defined in Appendix A, Table 1, of this chapter shall be charged for building permit applications on new residential, commercial and industrial construction which shall be appropriated to Parks Department; provided, however, Senior Citizens, Inc., a state non-profit corporation, shall be exempt from the payment of such fees.
(1) In addition to the building permit fee, a traffic impact fee (TIF), if applicable, will be assessed in accordance with Chapter 156 of these regulations.
(2) A fee, which is charged by the Oklahoma Uniform Building Code Commission (OUBCC), will be assessed at the time the permit is issued as defined in Appendix A, Table 1 of this chapter.
(G) The office of the Planning and Community Development Department shall be responsible for the overall coordination of the building permit process within the community. Building permit application forms may be obtained from, and submitted to, the Planning and Community Development Department.
(H) Applications for building permits shall contain all applicable information required on the building permit form and shall be accompanied by drawings of the proposed work (drawn to scale) showing floor plans, structural details, computations and additional information as may be required of the applicant by the Planning and Community Development Department, the Building Inspector(s), the City Manager, this code of ordinances, or the City Council.
(I) Upon receipt of a complete building permit application and the required fees, the Planning and Community Development Department shall review the application to ensure that:
(1) The involved land is properly zoned for the proposed use;
(2) Applicable zoning district provisions, including floodway and floodway fringe district provisions, have been met;
(3) Roadway access is available;
(4) Adequate and sanitary provisions have been made for utilities, and fire protection is also adequate; (No person shall be granted a permit to build a residential structure, without first having complied with the provisions of the state’s minimum standards for residential, sewage treatment systems. These standards shall not supplant existing, more stringent, municipal standards.)
(5) If any, all recorded easements, right-of-way areas, and building lines provided in the stamped and final plat, are not encroached upon;
(6) All other floodplain regulations, if applicable, have been met and the required information provided; and
(7) All other required municipal permits have been obtained.
(J) Building permit applications for development location, demolition or alteration within delineated flood hazard areas, as shown in a scientific and engineering report entitled, The Flood Insurance Study, dated 11-16-2007, with accompanying flood insurance rate maps and flood boundary floodway maps (FIRM and FBFM) and any revisions thereto, which are hereby adopted by reference and declared to be a part of this subchapter as if fully set out herein, shall be reviewed by the Planning and Community Development Department to ensure that all of the following requirements are met. See also § 150.65 of this chapter.
(1) All building sites shall be reasonably safe from flooding. If a proposed building site is in a flood-prone area, all new construction and substantial improvement, including the placement of prefabricated buildings and mobile homes, shall:
(a) Be designed, modified and/or adequately anchored to prevent flotation, collapse or lateral movement of the structure; (All manufactured housing to be placed within Zone A on a community’s flood hazard boundary map shall be anchored by providing over-the-top and frame ties to ground anchors. Over-the-top ties shall be provided at each of the four corners of the mobile home, with two additional ties per side at intermediate points, and manufactured homes less than 50 feet long requiring one additional tie per side. Frame ties shall be provided at each corner of the home, with five additional ties per side at intermediate points, and manufactured homes less than 50 feet long requiring four additional ties per side. All components of the anchoring system shall be capable of carrying a force of 4,800 pounds. Additions to the manufactured home shall be similarly anchored.)
(b) Be constructed with materials and utility equipment resistant to flood damage; and
(c) Be constructed by methods and practices that minimize flood damages.
(2) All new and replacement water supply systems within flood-prone areas shall be designed to minimize or eliminate infiltration of flood waters into the systems.
(3) All new and replacement sanitary sewage systems shall be designed to minimize or eliminate infiltration of flood waters into the systems and discharges from the systems into flood waters.
(4) On-site waste disposal systems within flood-prone areas shall be located to avoid impairment to them, or contamination from them, during flooding.
(5) The Planning and Community Development Department shall utilize all available 100-year flood elevation data to review building permit applications, and shall require that all applications for development within a flood-prone area be accompanied by the elevation of the lowest habitable floor, including basement, of all new or substantially improved structures; and a certificate signed by a registered Oklahoma professional engineer stating that the flood-proofing methods to be utilized are adequate to withstand the flood depths, pressures, velocities, impact and uplift forces, and other factors associated with the 100-year flood, and indicating the specific elevation to which the structure will be flood-proofed.
(6) All new construction or substantial improvement of residential structures within Zones A1-30 on the flood insurance rate map shall have the lowest floor, including basement, elevated one foot above the level of the 100-year flood.
(7) Within Zones A1-30 on the flood insurance rate map, all manufactured housing not in a park or subdivision, all new manufactured housing parks and subdivisions, all expansions to existing manufactured housing parks and subdivisions, and all repairs, reconstruction or improvement of streets, utilities and/or pads in existing manufactured housing parks or subdivisions, shall be located, developed, expanded, or improved according to the following criteria:
(a) All manufactured housing shall be placed, or be capable of being placed, on compacted fill or on pilings so that the lowest floor of the home will be one foot above the level of the 100-year flood.
(b) All lots shall have adequate provisions for surface drainage and access.
(c) All manufactured housing to be elevated on pilings shall be placed on lots large enough to permit steps, provide for piling foundations to be placed in stable or stabilized soils, no more than ten feet apart, and provide for reinforcement of piers more than six feet above ground level.
(8) All new construction or substantial improvement of residential structures located within any AO Zone shall have the lowest floor, including basement, elevated above the crown of the nearest street, one foot above the depth number specified for the area on the flood insurance rate map.
(9) All new construction or substantial improvement of non-residential structures within Zones A1-30 shall:
(a) Have the lowest floor, including basement, elevated one foot above the level of the 100-year flood; or
(b) Be completely flood-proofed, along with attendant utility and sanitary facilities, to one foot above the depth number specified on the flood insurance rate map, so that any space below that level is water-tight, with walls substantially impermeable to the passage of water, and contains structural components capable of resisting hydrostatic and hydrodynamic loads and the effects of buoyancy.
(10) The requirements of this chapter shall also be in effect for building permit applications located within any A99 Zones.
(11) Floodways, as designated on the official flood hazard boundary map, are hazardous areas due to the velocity of flood waters which carry debris and potentially damaging projectiles, and the creation of severe erosion problems. The following provisions apply within designated floodway areas:
(a) Encroachments are prohibited, including fill, new construction, substantial improvements and other developments, unless certification by a professional registered Oklahoma engineer is provided, demonstrating that encroachments shall not result in any increase in flood levels during occurrence of the base flood discharge.
(b) If the provisions of division (K)(12)(a) above are satisfied, all new construction and substantial improvements shall comply with all applicable flood hazard reduction provisions of this code of ordinances.
(K) The Planning and Community Development Department shall have the following additional responsibilities in the review of building permit applications for development, location, demolition, or alteration within a delineated flood hazard area:
(1) Building permit applications shall be reviewed to ensure that all necessary governmental agency permits required by state or federal law have been obtained.
(a) In the case of building permit applications for alteration or relocation of a watercourse, the Planning and Community Development Department shall:
1. Notify adjacent communities and the state’s Flood Insurance Coordinating Office prior to the work and submit copies of the notification to the Federal Flood Insurance Administrator; and
2. Obtain written assurances from the building permit applicant that the floodcarrying capacity within the altered or relocated portion of the watercourse will be maintained.
(b) For the purpose of determining flood insurance risk premium rates, the Planning and Community Development Department shall permanently maintain records of:
1. The elevation of the lowest habitable floor of all new or substantially improved structures; and
2. Flood-proofing certificates, including the specific elevation to which the structures are flood-proofed.
(L) Issuance of a building permit for development within an identified flood hazard area shall not create liability on the part of any municipal official for any flood damages resulting from reliance upon the provisions of this section, or any administrative decision lawfully made thereunder.
(M) If the Planning and Community Development Department is satisfied that the proposed work described in the application and attached materials conform to the requirements of the adopted zoning ordinance, Building Code and other regulations and requirements, he or she shall authorize the issuance of the building permit by signing the application and forwarding it to the Planning and Community Development Department who shall return a copy to the applicant.
(N) (1) If the application or attached materials do not conform to pertinent municipal regulations, the Building Official shall not approve the application, but shall return the application to the Planning and Community Development Department, along with written reason(s) for disapproval. The Planning and Community Development Department shall return the application, with written reason(s) attached, to the applicant.
(2) The applicant may subsequently amend his or her application, if possible, and re-submit it, or initiate other action to correct the deficiencies.
(O) The Building Official and the Planning and Community Development Department shall complete all required review processes in an efficient and effective manner, without unreasonable or unnecessary delay.
(P) A building permit, once approved and issued, shall be construed as a license to proceed with the work and shall not be construed as authority to violate, cancel, alter or set aside any municipal regulations, nor shall the issuance prevent the Building Official from thereafter requiring a correction of errors in plans or construction of a violation of this code of ordinances.
(Q) (1) If the work allowed under an issued building permit has not been initiated and if no inspections have been completed within six months from the issuance date of the permit, the permit shall become null and void, unless a request for an extension is submitted to, and approved by, the Planning and Community Development Department.
(2) If the permit becomes null and void, a new permit must be obtained and the regular fee incident thereto collected, in order for the work to be initiated or resumed.
(R) Planning and Community Development Department shall keep a permanent and accurate accounting of all building permits including all building permit fee payments.
(S) The Planning and Community Development Department may revoke a building permit in case there has been any false statement or misrepresentation as to a material fact in the application or attached materials on which the building permit approval was based.
(T) Building permits shall be conspicuously displayed on the project or site in a manner visible from the street.
(U) The Planning and Community Development Department and the Building Inspector shall monitor municipal utility hook-up requests and shall not allow municipal utilities to be turned on to any unit, structure or project for which a building permit has not been issued.
(V) Appeals from any aggrieved person concerning a decision of the Planning and Community Development Department relative to the granting of building permits, shall be taken to the City Council, who shall act as the Building Permit Board of Appeals.
(W) In the event of any conflict between these building permit provisions delineated herein and any provision(s) of the Building Code adopted by the City Council, the provisions of this subchapter shall prevail.
(2002 Code, § 150.20) (Ord. 235, passed 1-12-1987; Ord. 369, passed 10-14-1996; Ord. 438, passed 11-15-1999; Ord. 457, passed 11-13-2000; Ord. 650, passed 10-12-2009; Ord. 935, passed 3-13-2023; Ord. 970, passed 4-8-2024)