Calhan building permits

Building department

Address

556 Colorado Avenue, P.O. Box 236, Calhan, CO 80808-0236

Phone

719-347-2586

Email

townclerk@calhan.co

Office hours

Monday-Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM MT. Fax: 719-347-2581. The Town Clerk (Cindy Tompkins) handles day-to-day building permit issuance and business licensing; the Public Works Department (created under Calhan Municipal Code 6.01.010) holds oversight of the building permit and inspection program under the Public Works Director.

Website

Official site

Inspection guide

See how inspections work in Calhan — 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.

• Pikes Peak Regional Building Code (PPRBC), 2023 Edition, 2nd Printing, as amended, together with Appendix A and Appendix B, as published by Pikes Peak Regional Building Department, 2880 International Circle, Colorado… Show full textShow less

  Pikes Peak Regional Building Code (PPRBC), 2023 Edition, 2nd Printing, as amended, together with Appendix A and Appendix B, as published by Pikes Peak Regional Building Department, 2880 International Circle, Colorado Springs, CO 80910 — adopted by reference as the Town of Calhan Building Code under Calhan Municipal Code Sec. 6.01.020, 'and all secondary codes duly described or referenced therein.' This is the CURRENT governing code, adopted via an emergency ordinance whose text (Calhan Municipal Code Sec. 6.01, Section 16 'Emergency Clause') states the provisions 'must be effective prior to July 1, 2026 in order to limit the excessively burdensome energy code requirements that will increase the costs of development in the Town' — i.e. Calhan deliberately moved off standalone 2018-cycle ICC codes and onto the PPRBC bundle (which itself packages current-cycle IBC/IRC/IMC/IPC/IFGC/IECC/NEC secondary codes) specifically to get ahead of the statewide HB22-1362 energy-code floor before it tightened further on 7/1/2026.

• Building Code Amendments (Calhan Municipal Code Sec. 6.01.040): RBC112 (Dangerous Buildings) is deleted in its entirety; RBC312 (Enumeration Code) is deleted in its entirety.
• Permits, permit fees, and inspections are governed by Sections RBC105, RBC108, and RBC109 of the (PPRBC) Building Code per Calhan Municipal Code Sec. 15.08.020.K.1, as repealed and reenacted by the same emergency ordinance.
• SUPERSEDED (repealed in their entirety by the same ordinance, Sections 6-14, but historically the town's prior locally-adopted 2018-cycle code suite, still referenced on the town's own website/permit-program page as of… Show full textShow less

  SUPERSEDED (repealed in their entirety by the same ordinance, Sections 6-14, but historically the town's prior locally-adopted 2018-cycle code suite, still referenced on the town's own website/permit-program page as of the last verification): International Building Code 2018 (former Calhan Municipal Code Article 5); International Mechanical Code 2018 (former Article 6); International Fire Code 2018 (former Article 7 — Article 7/Fire Code was NOT listed among the repealed articles in the ordinance's Sections 6-14 and its current status is unresolved, see tipsAndGotchas); National Electrical Code 2020 (former Article 8, repealed); International Plumbing Code 2018 (former Article 9, repealed); International Energy Conservation Code 2018 (former Article 10, repealed); International Residential Code 2018 (former Article 11, repealed) — this article's amendment schedule included Calhan's own local Climatic/Geographic Design Criteria table (30 psf ground snow load, 115 mph wind speed no topo effects, Seismic Design Category B, Severe weathering, 30-inch frost depth, slight-to-moderate termite, winter design temp 1F, ice barrier underlayment required, air freezing index 1,000, mean annual temp 45F) and several plumbing/mechanical/fuel-gas amendments (18-inch minimum burial for plastic gas/fuel piping, 20 psig/20-minute test parameters, 12-inch trap-arm and cleanout-related amendments); International Fuel Gas Code 2018 (former Article 12, repealed); International Existing Building Code 2018 (former Article 13, repealed). NOTE: the Town's own public-facing building_code_permits.php webpage still describes the adopted code as plain 'International Building Code 2018' as of the last verification — this is stale relative to the actual codified ordinance text, which governs. Direct code citation (RBC-prefixed sections) confirms the current PPRBC adoption is authoritative.

• Fire Protection Impact Fee (Calhan Municipal Code Article 14, NOT repealed by the above ordinance — remains standing): imposed under CRS 29-20-104.5 authority (as amended by HB16-1088) on new development served by the Calhan Fire Protection District. This is a development impact fee collected at building-permit application, not itself a building-permit type.

Permit types & fees

• Residential Building Permit (New Construction)

  Calhan's printed Building Permit Application does not include a pre-printed line item for new single-family residential construction (unlike Re-Roof, Siding, Water Heater, Furnace, Remodel, and Demolition, which are explicitly listed with flat or value-based fees). New construction is handled through the form's open 'Other' line and reviewed under the Town's adopted Pikes Peak Regional Building Code (PPRBC), 2023 Edition, 2nd Printing, per Calhan Municipal Code Sec. 6.01.020. The Town's website (www.calhan.co) hosts a separate, official, dated Town of Calhan Fee Schedule ("Updated 11/10/25") reachable from the site's own top-level Fee Schedule menu link, distinct from the permit-application form. That Fee Schedule lists 'Building Permit' as its own governing line item with the current value stated verbatim as 'TBD based on project' — i.e. the Town's own official, current fee document affirmatively confirms that new-construction/general building-permit fees are project-specific rather than a published flat/schedule figure, rather than this simply being an omission from the intake form.

  See fee schedule→

• Remodel Permit

  Covers additions and remodels to existing structures in Calhan. Listed explicitly on the Town's Building Permit Application as 'Remodel — Value Based,' meaning the permit fee is calculated from project valuation rather than a flat rate, determined by contacting the Town office.

  See fee schedule→

• Electrical Permit (State-Administered)

  Calhan does not run its own electrical inspection program. The Town's own Building Permit Application states explicitly: 'ELECTRICAL PERMITS ARE ISSUED THROUGH THE STATE OF COLORADO.' All electrical permitting and inspection in Calhan is handled by the Colorado State Electrical Board, a division of DORA, under the statewide default rule for jurisdictions without a certified local electrical program (CRS 12-23-117 et seq.).

  See fee schedule→

• Plumbing Permit (State-Default, Unconfirmed Local Program)

  Calhan's Building Permit Application and Building Code & Permits page do not list a distinct plumbing permit type, fee, or inspection process — only Water Service and Sewer Service utility-tap line items (Town-administered utility connections, not IPC permits) appear on the application form. Because Calhan shows no evidence of running its own certified plumbing inspection program (unlike its self-run building/roofing/mechanical program), plumbing work is documented here as defaulting to the Colorado State Plumbing Board (DORA) under the statewide default rule, consistent with the Town's identical, explicitly-stated treatment of electrical work. DORA's 'Verify Plumbing Job Site Jurisdiction' tool at dpo.colorado.gov/EandP/Permits lists El Paso County among the counties DORA excludes from State Plumbing Board jurisdiction because they have their own local plumbing inspection program — DORA's own list links that El Paso County exclusion directly to pprbd.org (Pikes Peak Regional Building Department). But PPRBD's own site states verbatim it does 'not service the townships of Ramah or Calhan' — so DORA's county-level exclusion list, read literally, would misroute a Calhan plumbing job to a local department (PPRBD) that explicitly refuses to serve Calhan, while DORA's own materials contain no Calhan/Ramah-specific carve-out (unlike the Town's own electrical statement, which is unambiguous). This is a genuine conflict between two official Colorado sources, not resolved by either agency's public-facing materials. The State Plumbing Board's general Permit and Inspection Information page (dpo.colorado.gov/Plumbing/PermitInspectionInfo) states only that the state 'employs inspectors who inspect in 27 counties' without naming them or addressing sub-county municipal carve-outs. Confidence remains partial; applicants should confirm directly with the Town, DORA, or PPRBD before applying.

  See fee schedule→

• Furnace Permit

  Covers furnace installation/replacement in Calhan. Listed explicitly on the Town's Building Permit Application as a flat-fee line item.

  From$150.00→

• Re-Roof Permit

  Covers re-roofing work in Calhan. Listed explicitly on the Town's Building Permit Application as a flat-fee line item.

  From$150.00→

• Demolition Permit

  Covers demolition of structures in Calhan. Listed explicitly on the Town's Building Permit Application as a flat-fee line item, with an explicit note that a Colorado state demolition permit is also required.

  From$200.00→

• Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Permit

  Calhan's printed Building Permit Application has no pre-printed line item for solar or photovoltaic installations — the Town's PDF form lists only Re-Roof, Remodel, Siding, Water Heater, Furnace, and Demolition as named types, plus an open 'Other' line. A rooftop or ground-mount solar PV installation in Calhan would be submitted under the form's 'Other' line, the same mechanism used for new residential construction and any scope not individually enumerated. Because Colorado imposes a statewide cap on local solar permit fees (C.R.S. § 24-48.5-113, enacted via HB21-1284) of $500 for a residential system and $1,000 for a commercial system, any fee the Town does charge under 'Other' for a solar PV permit is legally capped at that statutory ceiling regardless of what a general valuation-based calculation would otherwise produce.

  $500→

• EV Charger / EVSE Permit

  Installation of an electric vehicle charger (EVSE) at a Calhan property is electrical work, and the Town of Calhan does not issue electrical permits at all — the Town's own application form states this in bold and directs all electrical permitting to the Colorado State Electrical Board (DORA), the same routing that applies to every other electrical trade permit in Calhan. There is no Town-issued EV-charger-specific permit or fee.

  See fee schedule→

• Commercial Building Permit (PPRBD-Administered as of July 1, 2026)

  As of July 1, 2026, the Town of Calhan no longer administers its own building permits. The Town's Building Code & Permits page states: 'All building permits for Calhan and Un-incorporated El Paso County will go through Pikes Peak Regional Building Department as of July 1,2026. Please contact them at (719-327-2880) for all building permits.' PPRBD's Commercial Plan Review packet (revision-dated 07/01/26) lists Calhan by name among the jurisdictions it 'provides services to' (alongside Colorado Springs, El Paso County, Fountain, Monument, Manitou Springs, Green Mountain Falls, Palmer Lake, and Woodland Park) and includes 'Calhan 719-347-2586 www.calhan.co' in its plan-review contacts table; pprbd.org's site-wide footer likewise reads 'Serving Colorado Springs, El Paso County, Fountain, Woodland Park, Manitou Springs, Monument, Green Mountain Falls, Palmer Lake, and Calhan.' This supersedes the pre-July-2026 self-administered Town program described elsewhere in this record. Note that PPRBD's older 'We do not service the townships of Ramah or Calhan' statement still appears un-updated in the body of PPRBD's Homeowner Permits page — the dated 07/01/26 packet and both sites' current routing statements control. It also completes the arc of Calhan's own emergency ordinance, which adopted the PPRBC 2023 specifically to be 'effective prior to July 1, 2026.' Under PPRBD, 'Commercial' is defined as any type of building except one- and two-family dwellings, townhomes, and their accessory structures; condominium and apartment projects are classified as Commercial. New commercial construction (including additions) follows PPRBD's Commercial Plan Review process with mandatory professional plan review before permit issuance.

  From$50.00valuation-based→

• Commercial Tenant Improvement / Remodel Permit (PPRBD-Administered as of July 1, 2026)

  Tenant improvement work in Calhan IS a genuinely distinct process under PPRBD, which has administered all Calhan building permits since July 1, 2026 (see the commercial-building-permit entry for the fully-sourced administration handoff). PPRBD publishes a dedicated Commercial Remodel handout — separate from its Commercial Plan Review (ground-up/additions) packet and from a further separate change-of-occupancy handout — covering interior remodels and tenant finish, with its own lighter submittal list. PPRBD's core/shell phasing rules also make TI permits structurally distinct: the Commercial Plan Review packet states verbatim, 'Each separate tenant will require an interior finish plan and permit, which may require additional modifications to the core and shell elements.' Fees run through the same valuation-based PPRBD fee schedule as other building permits (there is no separate TI fee table), with the permit fee driven by remodel project valuation rather than new-construction square-footage valuation data.

  From$50.00valuation-based→

• Sign Permit

  Calhan has never had a distinct sign ordinance or zoning-based sign-permit process. Chapter 15 (Land Use) defines 'SIGNS' in its general definitions section (15.03 — 'any form of publicity directing attention to an individual activity, business, service, commodity or product...'), but the term appears substantively only once more in the entire 69-page chapter, in the manufactured-home-park subdivision article (15.08.K), which requires 'Street signs and advertising signs to be used upon or in conjunction with the manufactured home park' to be submitted to the Board for approval at the time the subdivision plan is submitted — a narrow, park-specific plat requirement, not a general sign-permit mechanism. Chapter 18, titled 'Zoning,' contains no zoning districts, use tables, or sign standards of any kind — its four articles regulate only medical marijuana, retail marijuana, marijuana clubs, and personal cultivation of marijuana, plus a fifth on camping — corroborating the Town's own stated position elsewhere on its site that 'We do not have zoning inside our town limits.' The Town's Fire Protection Impact Fee exemptions (Calhan Municipal Code Sec. 6.14.140) separately list 'signs' among exempt minor improvements alongside fences/walls/pools, further indicating the Town has never treated signage as a fee-triggering building-permit line item. Because PPRBD has administered all Calhan building permits since July 1, 2026 (see the commercial-building-permit entry), a sign erected on a Calhan property today is permitted through PPRBD's own general process rather than any Town mechanism: PPRBD's current official Fee Schedule (Table E: Other Fees, item C) publishes a flat, non-valuation 'Sign Permit Fee (Base Fee)' of $30.00 plus $25.00 for each sign inspection beyond the first, covering the building-code aspects (structural attachment/footing, electrical connection if illuminated). No local Calhan zoning-based size, height, or placement standard applies, because none exists.

  From$30.00→

• Fire Sprinkler / Fire Alarm Permit

  Fire sprinkler and fire alarm system installation or modification in Calhan follows PPRBD's general dual-track model, per PPRBD's contractor-licensing materials: a PPRBD-licensed Fire Alarm Contractor or Fire Suppression Contractor 'authorize[s] the contractor to obtain permits from the Fire Authority' (the jurisdiction's fire-code enforcement agency) for the fire-alarm/suppression work itself, and separately obtains 'a rough-in permit from the Building Department' (PPRBD). PPRBD's Commercial Plan Review packet (07/01/26 revision — the same document that sources the commercial-building-permit and TI entries) states plainly, 'The International Fire Code and amendments are adopted by the Fire authority. Contact those agencies,' so fire-code enforcement sits outside PPRBD itself. PPRBD's 'Fire Authority' contacts table in that same packet names Colorado Springs Fire Department, Cimarron Hills Fire, Fountain Fire, Manitou Springs Fire, Palmer Lake Fire, Security/Stratmoor Hills Fire, and Green Mountain Falls, but does NOT list Calhan Fire Protection District anywhere, despite Calhan appearing by name in the same packet's 'Development Services (Zoning)' contacts table directly above it — a real gap in PPRBD's current published materials. The Calhan Fire Protection District is a real, active combination department (six full-time firefighters plus volunteers, covering 255 square miles in El Paso and Elbert Counties; 719-347-3057, 725 4th Street, Calhan CO 80808, calhanfire@qwestoffice.net, calhanfire.org) that publishes a 'Fire Prevention Division' section on its own site with a fee calculator — but that calculator and the surrounding page content are oriented toward open-burning permits (El Paso and Elbert County), not fire sprinkler/alarm plan review or permit fees, and no sprinkler/alarm fee schedule appears on the District's own site. PPRBD's general Fee Schedule carries no sprinkler- or alarm-specific fee line item in any of its tables, consistent with sprinkler/alarm permit fees being set by the Fire Authority rather than by PPRBD. Contact the Calhan Fire Protection District for its plan-review and permit requirements before budgeting this work.

  From$10.00→

• Change of Occupancy / Change of Use Permit

  Since PPRBD assumed administration of all Calhan building permits on July 1, 2026 (see the commercial-building-permit entry), a change in a structure's occupancy classification for a Calhan property is processed under PPRBD's dedicated 'Change of Occupancy or Use' handout (2023 PPRBC, Section RBC 110.1.2; current revision dated 11/01/24). This is explicitly a distinct process from PPRBD's Commercial Plan Review (ground-up) and Commercial Remodel/TI tracks — the commercial-tenant-improvement-permit entry already notes that 'Change of occupancy is NOT covered by the Commercial Remodel process — PPRBD handles it under a separate handout/process.' The handout requires a full Code Study Form and Building Code Analysis (occupancy classification, mixed-occupancy status, fire areas, presence of sprinklers and the specific code basis relied on, allowable-area and height-increase justification, egress/occupant-load calculations), architectural plans (floor plans, a Life Safety Plan if two or more exits are required, reflected ceiling plans, exterior elevations, sections, wall/assembly details, and door schedules), and structural documentation for any modified framing, with electrical/mechanical/plumbing scope referred out to PPRBD's separate trade-specific Commercial Plan Review handouts. A 'Pre-Existing, Non-Conforming Occupancy Classification' provision exempts a use that can be documented (via county assessor's records, lease/ownership agreements, or past utility bills) as unchanged for more than twelve years from having to meet the full change-of-occupancy analysis. No standalone 'change of occupancy' fee line item exists anywhere in PPRBD's published Fee Schedule — the work is billed through the same valuation-based Building Permit Fee and 28% Plan Examination Fee mechanism already documented for PPRBD's other Calhan commercial permits.

  See fee schedule→

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