Silver Cliff building permits
VerifiedDepartment contacts, adopted codes, permit types, fees, and gotchas for Silver Cliff, Colorado.
Last verified 2026-07-06 · Source · Embed this page’s badge · Version history
Building department
- Address
- 612 E. Main Street, Silver Cliff, CO 81252 (mailing: PO Box 154, Silver Cliff, CO 81252)
- Phone
- 719-783-3034
- Office hours
- Monday through Thursday, 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (Building & Zoning page); the Residential Building Permit Packet's inspection-request instructions separately list Monday-Thursday 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. at Town Hall — both ranges are published by the Town on different documents and are reproduced here rather than reconciled. Town Hall general line 719-783-2651 (per excavation/driveway permit forms) in addition to the Building & Zoning direct line 719-783-3034. Current Building & Zoning Official listed as Chris McKellip on the live webpage; the downloadable Building Permit Application PDF (dated 10/2023) lists a prior official, Isaac Selden (cell 719-371-8215); the Residential/Commercial code packets (also on file) list a still-earlier official, Roger Camper — reflecting Silver Cliff's very small-town staff turnover. The live webpage listing is treated as current.
- Website
- Official site
Inspection guide
See how inspections work in Silver Cliff — sequence, scheduling & re-inspection fees.
Codes adopted
Colorado has no statewide-mandated building code edition. Under the Colorado Constitution's home-rule provisions (art. XX, home rule for municipalities since 1902; home rule for counties since 1970), building codes and zoning are an enumerated home-rule charter power, so cities and counties adopt and amend their own construction codes independently — predominantly the I-Codes, with editions and local amendments varying by jurisdiction. The one statewide floor is for energy: HB22-1362 (2022) created the Energy Code Board (jointly appointed by the Colorado Energy Office and the Department of Local Affairs) and requires that, on or after July 1, 2023 and before July 1, 2026, any municipality or county that adopts or updates a building code must adopt and enforce an energy code achieving performance equivalent to or better than the 2021 IECC together with the board's Model Electric Ready and Solar Ready Code (which includes electric-ready, EV-ready, and solar-ready provisions); from July 1, 2026 onward the floor shifts to the board's Model Low Energy and Carbon Code or an equivalent. Electrical and plumbing permitting defaults to the Colorado State Electrical Board and State Plumbing Board (within DORA's Division of Professions and Occupations) — the state issues permits and inspects statewide except in counties/jurisdictions that operate their own certified Electrical or Plumbing Inspection Program, in which case the local program has authority instead. Always confirm the currently adopted code edition, local amendments, and inspection authority (state board vs. local program) with the specific jurisdiction before submitting plans.
- 2006 International Building Code (IBC) — Town of Silver Cliff, 'Building Code of the Town of Silver Cliff' (Section 101.1), per the Town's downloadable 2006 International Commercial Building Code document
- 2006 International Residential Code (IRC) — 'Residential Code for One- and Two-family Dwellings of the Town of Silver Cliff' (Section R101.1), per the Town's downloadable 2006 International Residential Code document
- 2018 International Zoning Code — per the Town's Building & Zoning webpage summary listing
- Referenced codes incorporated by the 2006 Commercial code (Section 101.4): ICC Electrical Code (installation of electrical systems); International Fuel Gas Code (gas piping/appliances); International Mechanical Code; International Plumbing Code (including International Private Sewage Disposal Code for private sewage disposal systems); International Property Maintenance Code (existing structures); International Fire Code (fire prevention); International Energy Conservation Code (energy efficiency design/construction, 2006 edition — see local energy-efficiency requirements below)
- Note on code currency: both the Residential and Commercial permit packets on file are 2006-cycle documents; the Town's live Building & Zoning webpage (fetched 2026-07-06) independently confirms '2006 International Building Codes' and '2006 International Residential Code' as currently listed and does not reference any later cycle — this is treated as the governing, currently-adopted edition for this file rather than assumed to have silently updated, since both the live webpage and the downloadable code packets agree on the 2006 cycle (unlike larger jurisdictions in this corpus where a live page and a static PDF have been observed to disagree).
Permit types & fees
Residential Building Permit (New Construction)
Required for new construction of one- and two-family dwellings and townhouses (not more than three stories above grade) in the Town of Silver Cliff. Reviewed under the Town's adopted 2006 International Residential Code (IRC) plus the Town's local design criteria (40 psf ground snow load, 110 mph wind exposure C, 40-inch minimum frost depth) and 2006 Minimum Energy Efficiency Requirements. Issued by the Town of Silver Cliff Building & Zoning Department.
Residential Addition / Alteration / Repair Permit
Required for additions, alterations, and repairs to existing one- and two-family dwellings in Silver Cliff. Reviewed under the 2006 IRC per R102.7.1: additions/alterations/repairs must conform to the requirements for a new structure without requiring the existing structure to fully comply, provided they do not render the existing structure unsafe or adversely affect its performance.
Electrical Permit (State of Colorado)
Electrical work in Silver Cliff is permitted and inspected by the State of Colorado (State Electrical Board, Division of Professions and Occupations / DORA), not the Town of Silver Cliff. The Town's own adopted Commercial Building Code Permit Requirements document explicitly lists a 'State rough electrical' inspection as a required step, and Custer County does not appear among the Colorado counties listed as having their own local electrical inspection program on the DORA Electrical and Plumbing Permits Homepage.
Plumbing Permit (State of Colorado)
Plumbing work in Silver Cliff is permitted and inspected by the State of Colorado (State Plumbing Board, DORA), not the Town of Silver Cliff, per the same jurisdictional evidence as the Electrical Permit: the Town's own Commercial Permit Requirements document requires a 'State rough...plumbing' inspection, and Custer County is absent from DORA's list of counties with their own local plumbing inspection program.
Roofing Permit (Re-Roof)
Required for re-roofing work in the Town of Silver Cliff, applied for on the same combined Building Permit Application form under the 'Roof' checkbox. Reviewed under the 2006 IRC/IBC as adopted, with the Town's local design criteria (residential: 40 psf snow load; commercial: 50 psf snow load) governing structural/roofing requirements.
Solar Permit
Required for solar installations in Silver Cliff. 'Solar' is one of the explicit checkbox categories on the Town's combined Building Permit Application form, alongside a dedicated 'Solar' fee line-item on the same form.
Demolition Permit
Required for demolition of any building or structure in the Town of Silver Cliff. 'Demolition' is an explicit checkbox category on the Town's combined Building Permit Application form.
Commercial Building Permit
Required for new commercial construction and commercial alterations in the Town of Silver Cliff. Reviewed under the Town's adopted 2006 International (Commercial) Building Code with commercial-specific design criteria (50 psf ground snow load, 110 mph 3-second gust wind speed, Seismic Category C, Severe weathering, 40-inch frost line depth, 10 degrees F winter design temp) and mandatory ADA, Fire Code, parking, and restroom compliance review.
EV Charger / EVSE Permit
Silver Cliff has no distinct electric-vehicle-charging-station permit type or fee line-item. Installation of an EV charging station (EVSE) is treated as electrical work: the charging circuit/panel work is permitted and inspected by the State of Colorado (State Electrical Board, DORA) exactly as with all other electrical work in Town (see the Electrical Permit entry in this file), and any associated structural/mounting work is filed on the Town's combined Building Permit Application under the 'Alteration' checkbox — the same form used for Solar, which likewise has no dedicated fee beyond its own 'Solar' line-item. Silver Cliff's population (609, 2020 Census) is far below the 10,000-population threshold that triggers Colorado HB24-1173's mandatory EV-charger permitting standards and 3-business-day decision timeline for municipalities, so the Town is not a 'covered municipal permitting agency' required to adopt a model EV-charger permit code or distinct review process under that law. The State's own Electrical Permit Application/Fee Schedule (DORA, State Electrical Board, effective 5/15/2019 — the most recent version located and still the operative published schedule) shows an EV charger circuit, which is not 'enclosed living area,' is billed under the State's Table B ('Commercial and other fees,' i.e. installations not based on square footage) at a $90.00 base fee for a job valuation of $2,000 or less, plus $8.00 per additional $1,000 of valuation (rounded up), payable to the State of Colorado — not the Town.
New residential construction activity
New privately-owned residential construction onlyHousing units authorized by building permits for new privately-owned residential construction — this is not total permit volume (no commercial permits or remodels).
- Latest month (2026-05)
- 0units
0 buildings · $0 valuation
- Trailing 12 months
- 6units
12 of 12 months reported · #58 in Colorado coverage by units
- Year to date (2026 YTD through 2026-05)
- 2units
2 buildings · $850,000 valuation
5 month(s) reported to Census
- Full year 2025
- 5units
5 buildings · $1.4M valuation
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey (BPS), 2026-05 vintage. Census survey data — separate from the permit-requirements verification above. All Colorado building activity
Tips & gotchas
- Silver Cliff runs its OWN independent Building & Zoning Department — it is not administered by Custer County and does not share a building department with the adjacent Town of Westcliffe, despite the two towns being immediately adjacent and sometimes informally associated in tourism/visitor materials (e.g. 'Custer County, Westcliffe, Silver Cliff' tourism branding). Confirm which of the three separate authorities (Silver Cliff, Westcliffe, or Custer County unincorporated) governs a given parcel before assuming county or Westcliffe rules apply.
- Electrical AND plumbing permits/inspections in Silver Cliff are handled by the STATE of Colorado (State Electrical Board and State Plumbing Board, DORA), not the Town — this is explicitly confirmed by the Town's own Commercial Building Code Permit Requirements document, which lists 'State rough electrical and plumbing complete and approved' as a required inspection step, and by Custer County's absence from DORA's published list of counties with their own local electrical/plumbing inspection programs.
- No itemized, publicly published Building Permit fee schedule (valuation table or flat-fee table) could be located anywhere — not on the Town's website, document center, Municode library page (blocked by a persistent 403 even via full-header curl retry), or general web search. The Town's own adopted code says only 'FEES SEE TOWN OF SILVER CLIFF FEE SCHEDULE' without publishing that schedule online, and the Building Permit Application form itself has blank dollar-amount fields for Building Permit, Additional Valuation, 3% Use Tax, Solar, Excavation, and Plan Review fees. Only the Excavation/Driveway-Access Permit fee schedule is itemized and published. Applicants should call the Building & Zoning Office (719-783-3034) directly for a current fee quote.
- Silver Cliff's local design/climatic criteria genuinely differ between residential and commercial scopes: residential uses 40 psf ground snow load / 110 mph exposure C / 40-inch frost depth; commercial uses 50 psf ground snow load / 110 mph 3-second gust / Seismic Category C / Severe weathering / 40-inch frost depth / 10F winter design temp. Use the correct table for your project type.
- A 3% Town of Silver Cliff Use Tax applies to building materials purchased without paying local sales tax (e.g., materials delivered from an outside jurisdiction), including a defined 52% portion of the retail cost of manufactured/modular homes; it must be paid before the final Certificate of Occupancy/Completion is issued, and the applicant must keep purchase/receipt records available for audit.
- Silver Cliff's adopted codes are a 2006 vintage (2006 IBC/IRC, referencing 2006-cycle IECC/IMC/IPC/IFGC/IFC as incorporated codes) plus a separately adopted 2018 International Zoning Code — this is a notably older code cycle than many larger Colorado jurisdictions in this corpus (which have moved to 2021 or 2024 cycles); confirm current adoption status directly with the Building & Zoning Office before relying on 2006-cycle provisions for anything safety-critical, since a small town's static PDF packets can lag an actual local ordinance update that has not yet been reflected online.
- The Town's population (609 at the 2020 census; ACS 2019-2023 estimate approximately 707-783) is well under the 2,500-population threshold referenced in Colorado HB22-1362 for small-jurisdiction treatment on the statewide energy-code floor — however, no Town document reviewed mentions HB22-1362 by name, and the Town's own energy-efficiency requirements on file are a standalone 2006-cycle local standard (R-49 ceiling / R-19 wall / R-10 foundation minimums), not a current-model IECC adoption. This is reported as an open, unresolved point rather than an assumed exemption.
- Silver Cliff's Building & Zoning Official contact name varies across the Town's own documents by vintage: the live webpage (as of this review) lists Chris McKellip; the Building Permit Application PDF (10/2023 revision) lists Isaac Selden; the Residential/Commercial 2006 code-adoption packets list Roger Camper — consistent with normal staff turnover in a town of this size. The live webpage listing is treated as current for this file.
- Water heater replacements are processed at the counter per the Town's own FAQ page — a streamlined path distinct from the standard building-permit review track.
- A site visit with the applicant and site plans in hand is a mandatory prerequisite to permit issuance (to verify property lines and setback requirements) — this is a genuinely distinct step from plan review itself and should be scheduled proactively.