Glenwood Springs building permits
VerifiedDepartment contacts, adopted codes, permit types, fees, and gotchas for Glenwood Springs, Colorado.
Last verified 2026-07-06 · Source · Embed this page’s badge · Version history
Building department
- Address
- 101 W. 8th Street, Second Floor, Glenwood Springs, CO 81601
- Phone
- 970-384-6450
- Building@cogs.us
- Office hours
- Glenwood Springs City Hall Hours: 7:30 AM to 5:30 PM, Mondays-Thursdays (closed Fridays), per the City's Contact Us footer. Building Department direct line 970-384-6450; Fax 970-945-8582; Inspection Line (24-hour automated request system) 970-384-6432; Building Official Victor Meraz, 970-384-6410.
- Website
- Official site
- Permit portal
- Apply online at Glenwood Springs's portal
Inspection guide
See how inspections work in Glenwood Springs — 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.
- 2021 International Building Code (IBC), with local amendments — adopted by Ordinance No. 06, Series of 2022 (effective 90 days after second publication, passed 03/03/2022), repealing and reenacting Title 060 of the Glenwood Springs Municipal Code in its entirety
- 2021 International Residential Code (IRC), with local amendments
- 2021 International Plumbing Code (IPC), with local amendments
- 2021 International Mechanical Code (IMC), with local amendments
- 2021 International Property Maintenance Code (IPMC)
- 2021 International Existing Building Code (IEBC)
- 2021 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC)
- 2021 International Fire Code (IFC), with Appendices D (Fire Apparatus Access Roads), H (Hazardous Materials Management Plan/Inventory Statement), and J (Building Information Sign) adopted
- 2021 International Fuel Gas Code (IFGC)
- 2021 International Swimming Pool and Spa Code (ISPSC)
- 2020 National Electrical Code (NEC) and 2020 National Electrical Safety Code — administered exclusively by the State of Colorado, not the City (see localAmendments)
- Colorado Wildfire Resiliency Code (CWRC, based on the 2024 International Wildland-Urban Interface Code) — state-mandated statewide program (C.R.S., administered by the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control); the City's own Building Department page states enforcement in Glenwood Springs 'Starts Wednesday, July 1st, 2026,' consistent with the statewide April 1, 2026 local-adoption deadline and July 1, 2026 full-compliance deadline for jurisdictions with mapped Wildland-Urban Interface area
- IBC Appendices adopted: Appendix C (Group U-Agricultural Buildings), Appendix E (Supplementary Accessibility Requirements), Appendix G (Flood-Resistant Construction), Appendix I (Patio Covers), Appendix J (Grading)
- IRC Appendices adopted: Appendix AE (Manufactured Housing Used As Dwellings), Appendix AF (Radon Control Methods), Appendix AG (Piping Standards for Various Applications), Appendix AH (Patio Covers), Appendix AJ (Existing Building and Structures), Appendix AM (Home Day Care), Appendix AQ (Tiny Houses), Appendix AT (Solar-Ready Provisions)
- Full Title 060 (Construction Building Codes and Regulations) text available via library.municode.com/co/glenwood_springs; Ordinance 2022-06 PDF hosted directly by the City
Permit types & fees
Residential Building Permit (New Construction, 4 or Fewer Units)
Required for new construction of a residential home, townhome, duplex, triplex, or fourplex (any combination not exceeding four units total) within Glenwood Springs city limits. Reviewed under the 2021 IRC/IBC as locally amended by Ordinance 2022-06, plus the City's own snow/wind/frost design criteria. Electrical work on the project is permitted and inspected separately by the State of Colorado, not the City.
Residential Addition / Remodel Permit (Including New Accessory Structures)
Required for the alteration, repair, or expansion of an existing residential building, and for new accessory structures exceeding 120 sq ft, within Glenwood Springs city limits. Reviewed under the 2021 IRC as locally amended by Ordinance 2022-06. Purely cosmetic work (paint, flooring, fixture replacement not moving plumbing/walls/electrical) does not require a permit.
Electrical Permit (Issued by the State of Colorado, Not the City)
All electrical permits, inspections, and requirements within Glenwood Springs are handled exclusively by the State of Colorado (DORA Electrical Board), per Municipal Code §105.2 (IBC) and §R105.2 (IRC) as amended by Ordinance 2022-06. The City of Glenwood Springs does not itself issue or inspect electrical permits, though electricians must still register with the City.
Plumbing Permit
Required for installation, alteration, or repair of plumbing systems in Glenwood Springs. Governed by the 2021 International Plumbing Code (IPC) as locally amended by Ordinance 2022-06. Contractors must hold a current Colorado DORA plumbing license AND be registered with the City of Glenwood Springs (COGS).
Mechanical / HVAC Permit
Required for the erection, installation, alteration, repair, relocation, or replacement of heating, ventilating, cooling, refrigeration, and other heat-producing appliances in Glenwood Springs. Governed by the 2021 International Mechanical Code (IMC) as locally amended by Ordinance 2022-06.
Roofing Permit (Re-Roofing)
A separate permit is required for re-roofing (re-covering or replacing an existing roof covering) in Glenwood Springs, per §R908.1 of the 2021 IRC as locally amended. Table 1-A sets a specific flat fee for re-roofing distinct from the standard valuation-based calculation.
Solar PV Permit
Required for installation of solar panels in Glenwood Springs. As one of the few U.S. communities powered by 100% renewable energy, the City states it will make every reasonable effort to accommodate solar energy harvesting on private property, and publishes the strongest processing-time commitment of any permit type in this file: issuance within 10 days of a complete application.
EV Charger / Electric Vehicle Charging Station Permit
Installing a Level 2 (240V) EV charging circuit or EVSE unit in Glenwood Springs is electrical work, and per Municipal Code §105.2 (IBC)/§R105.2 (IRC) as amended by Ordinance 2022-06, ALL electrical permits and inspections within the City are handled exclusively by the State of Colorado DORA Electrical Board -- the City of Glenwood Springs does not itself issue or inspect electrical permits, mirroring how the City routes all other electrical work (identical mechanism already documented in this file's electrical-permit entry). Unlike solar PV, which requires a separate City structural/racking Building Permit (Table 1-A, up to $500 residential), a simple wall-mounted or pedestal EV charger with no new structure does not trigger a City building permit -- only the State electrical permit applies.
Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) Permit
Required for construction of an ADU (a separate, complete rentable dwelling unit contained within or attached to a single-family home, or detached on the same property) in Glenwood Springs. Governed by the Development Code, Municipal Code §070.030.040, and requires BOTH a separate ADU Permit (Planning) and a standard building permit.
Demolition Permit
Required for demolition of any building or structure inside Glenwood Springs city limits, per the City's Building Permits page ('The Alteration, repair, movement, or demolition of any building or structure inside City limits requires a building permit'). A CDPHE Demolition Notification Application Form is required in addition to the City's own demolition permit application.
Fence / Retaining Wall Permit
Fences over 6 feet high and retaining walls over 4 feet in height require a building permit in Glenwood Springs; fences at or under 6 feet and retaining walls at or under 4 feet are generally exempt from the BUILDING permit requirement (subject to a separate, stricter ZONING height cap on fences: 4 feet in a front yard, 6 feet in a side/rear yard).
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)
- 3units
2 buildings · $1.1M valuation
- Trailing 12 months
- 22units
12 of 12 months reported · #45 in Colorado coverage by units
- Year to date (2026 YTD through 2026-05)
- 3units
2 buildings · $1.1M valuation
5 month(s) reported to Census
- Full year 2025
- 24units
17 buildings · $8.8M 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
- Glenwood Springs is a home-rule city with its OWN Building Department (101 W. 8th Street, Second Floor) — it is NOT served by Garfield County's permitting program. Garfield County is a brand-new county for this corpus as of this file.
- UNUSUAL AUTHORITY SPLIT: the City of Glenwood Springs does NOT issue or inspect electrical permits at all — that authority belongs exclusively to the State of Colorado (DORA Electrical Board), per Municipal Code §105.2/§R105.2 as amended by Ordinance 2022-06. Electricians must still hold a (free) City contractor registration, but the permit itself is a state-only process. This mirrors the model seen in Durango elsewhere in this corpus.
- As of February 24, 2025, ALL building permit, contractor license, and most planning applications moved to the Tyler EnerGov customer self-service portal — paper and emailed applications are no longer accepted. Any older, paper-era document references (like the ADU Guide's 2009 IRC and 2021-dollar fee figures) should be treated as historical context, not current authoritative figures; the 2022-adopted Title 060 ordinance text and current fee pages in this file supersede them.
- Solar panel permits carry the single strongest, most explicit review-timeline commitment published by the City for any permit type: 10 days from a complete application, per the Solar Panel Permits page. No other permit type in this file has a comparably specific SLA — most trade and structural permits have a genuinely unpublished timeline (Colorado is home-rule with no statewide clock).
- Building Permit Fee Table 1-A (Municipal Code §060.020.020, current as amended by Ordinance 2022-06, effective 2022) sets base permit fees, a flat $60/$80 re-roofing fee, a flat $60 demolition fee, and the $50/hr-capped solar fee — always cite Table 1-A specifically rather than a generic valuation assumption, since several permit types have their own flat fee that departs from the standard valuation schedule.
- Plan Review Fee is 65% of the building permit fee, charged SEPARATELY from and IN ADDITION TO the permit fee itself — don't quote only the Table 1-A permit fee as the full cost of a plan-reviewed project.
- Retaining walls over 4 feet (measured bottom-of-footing to top-of-wall) require a Colorado-licensed engineer's or architect's stamp — a notably LOWER trigger height than some peer Colorado jurisdictions in this corpus (e.g. Durango and Golden both use a higher threshold).
- Fence height has a two-layer rule: the BUILDING code exempts fences up to 6 feet from needing a permit at all, but the separate ZONING code caps front-yard fences at just 4 feet (6 feet side/rear) — a fence can be permit-exempt yet zoning-noncompliant, so both rules must be checked independently.
- The Colorado Wildfire Resiliency Code (statewide program, based on the 2024 International Wildland-Urban Interface Code) begins enforcement in Glenwood Springs on July 1, 2026, per the City's own Building Department Special Announcement — layered on top of the locally adopted 2021-edition I-Codes, not a replacement for them.
- ADUs require a genuinely two-part size test (300-1,000 sq ft AND ≤55% of the principal dwelling's floor area, whichever is more restrictive) plus a separate Planning-reviewed ADU Permit alongside the standard building permit — and an existing, undocumented 'mother-in-law unit' cannot legally be rented until the Building Department issues a Certificate of Occupancy that specifically identifies it as an ADU.
- A site-wide SCAM ALERT is posted on cogs.us warning of fraudulent emails and fee requests impersonating the Building/Planning Departments — direct applicants to verify any payment request by calling 970-384-6450 before paying.
- The Fence/Retaining Wall permit fee is not clearly published as its own Table 1-A line item, unlike demolition, re-roofing, and solar which each have explicit flat fees — genuinely unresolved at this review; confirm directly with the Building Department (970-384-6450) rather than assuming the standard valuation schedule applies.