Crested Butte building permits
VerifiedDepartment contacts, adopted codes, permit types, fees, and gotchas for Crested Butte, Colorado.
Last verified 2026-07-06 · Source · Embed this page’s badge · Version history
Building department
- Address
- 507 Maroon Ave, Crested Butte, CO 81224 (Building Department mailing address: PO Box 39, Crested Butte, CO 81224)
- Phone
- (970) 349-5338
- Office hours
- Monday-Friday 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Building Official Astrid Matison (ext. 116, amatison@crestedbutte-co.gov). Building Inspector Josh Staab (ext. 127, jstaab@crestedbutte-co.gov). Community Development Director Mel Yemma (ext. 119, melyemma@crestedbutte-co.gov). BOZAR/Planning questions: planning@crestedbutte-co.gov, (970) 349-5338 ext. 121.
- Website
- Official site
Inspection guide
See how inspections work in Crested Butte — 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.
- 2024 International Building Code (IBC), Chapters 1-35 without appendices — adopted by reference, Town Code Chapter 18, Article 1 (Sec. 18-1-10), pursuant to Title 31, Article 16, Part 2, C.R.S.
- 2024 International Residential Code (IRC) — Town Code Chapter 18, Article 2 (Sec. 18-2-10), with extensive local amendments including an all-electric mandate and Table R301.2 climatic design data (Sec. 18-2-30)
- International Existing Building Code (IEBC) — Town Code Chapter 18, Article 2.5
- International Green Construction Code (IgCC), selected sections — Town Code Chapter 18, Article 1.5 (Sec. 18-1.5-30), applicable to new commercial construction
- 2021 International Mechanical Code (IMC), including Appendix A — Town Code Chapter 18, Article 3 (Sec. 18-3-10)
- 2021 International Plumbing Code (IPC), including Appendices C and E — Town Code Chapter 18, Article 4 (Sec. 18-4-10)
- 2023 National Electrical Code (NEC) — Town Code Chapter 18, Article 5 (Sec. 18-5-10), adopted with no local amendments
2024 International Fire Code (IFC), including Appendices B-M — Town Code Chapter 18, Article 6 (Sec. Show full textShow less
2024 International Fire Code (IFC), including Appendices B-M — Town Code Chapter 18, Article 6 (Sec. 18-6-10), adopted by Ordinance No. 9, Series 2025, § 2(Exh. A), effective September 15, 2025, superseding the 2021 IFC. Enforced with Crested Butte Fire Protection District (CBFPD) coordination; local amendments include IFC Sec. 507.1 as amended, requiring an approved monitored fire suppression system throughout any occupancy or structure wherever the water supply cannot provide the required fire flow (Occupancy R-3 single-family dwellings excepted), and IFC Appendix B105.1 as amended, setting a 1,500 gpm minimum fire-flow requirement for one- and two-family dwellings, R-3/R-4 buildings, and townhouses
- 2025 Colorado Wildfire Resiliency Code (CWRC), 8 CCR 1507-39 — Town Code Chapter 18, Article 6.5 (Sec. 18-6.5-10), established statewide July 1, 2025; Town enforcement begins June 1, 2026 per the Town's own CWRC Summary Sheet
- 2021 International Fuel Gas Code (IFGC), including Appendices — Town Code Chapter 18, Article 7 (Sec. 18-7-10), with local amendments requiring high-efficiency direct-vent sealed-combustion appliances only (deleting IFGC's alternative combustion-air provisions)
- 2021 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC), without appendices — Town Code Chapter 18, Article 9, Sec. 18-9-40; new construction is additionally required to achieve DOE Zero Energy Ready Home (ZERH) certification per the Town's 2024 Building Code Information page and fact sheet, effective for permits starting January 1, 2026
- Colorado Model Electric Ready and Solar Ready Code — referenced throughout the Town's 2024 Building Code fact sheet for EV-ready parking, solar-ready zones, and electric-ready gas-appliance provisions
- Full Town Code Chapter 18 (Building Regulations) text hosted at townofcrestedbutte.colorado.gov (Town Code Chapter 18 Revised PDF, Supp. No. 22) and mirrored on library.municode.com/co/crested_butte
Permit types & fees
Residential Building Permit (New Construction)
Required for new single-family homes, duplexes, and accessory dwelling units within Town of Crested Butte limits. Reviewed under the 2024 IRC as locally amended (Town Code Chapter 18, Article 2), including the Town's Table R301.2 climatic design criteria (100 lbs/sq ft flat roof snow load, 115 mph wind design speed, 36-inch frost line, Seismic Design Category C), the all-electric building mandate, DOE Zero Energy Ready Home (ZERH) certification requirement, and mandatory BOZAR historic/design review approval before a building permit application may even be submitted.
From$28.42Residential Addition / Remodel Permit
Required for additions and remodels to existing residential structures in Crested Butte. Reviewed under the 2024 IRC and International Existing Building Code (IEBC) as locally amended (Town Code Chapter 18, Articles 2 and 2.5); Level 3 alterations (renovating more than 50% of the work area) trigger additional electric-ready, EV-ready, and solar-ready requirements. BOZAR approval is required before submittal for any exterior-affecting work.
From$28.42valuation-basedElectrical Permit
Required for electrical installation, alteration, or repair in Crested Butte. Governed by the 2023 National Electrical Code (NEC), adopted by Town Code Chapter 18, Article 5 with no local amendments. No standalone electrical permit fee schedule is published separately; electrical work fees are billed under the general Building Permit valuation-based fee table (Appendix A referenced in Town Code Sec. 18-5 fees provision).
See fee scheduleElectric Vehicle Charging Station Permit
The Town of Crested Butte does not publish a standalone EV charger/EVSE permit application or fee line distinct from its general Electrical Permit -- checked the Building Department page, Town Code Chapter 18 Article 5 (Electrical Code), and the 2026 Fee Schedule directly; none name a separate EV charger permit or fee. Installing or retrofitting an EV charger (or completing the wiring to an already-provisioned EV-Ready circuit) is electrical work and is processed as a standard Electrical Permit under the 2023 NEC as adopted (Town Code Sec. 18-5), billed on the same valuation-based Building Permit fee table used for all electrical work in Crested Butte. This is distinct from the EV-Ready parking-space wiring mandate that applies automatically to new residential construction and Level 3 alterations (documented in the residential-building-permit and residential-addition-remodel entries) -- that mandate provisions the circuit/receptacle during new construction, while this entry covers permitting an EV charger installation itself, whether as part of new construction or a standalone retrofit to an existing home.
See fee schedulePlumbing Permit
Required for plumbing installation, alteration, or repair in Crested Butte. Governed by the 2021 International Plumbing Code (IPC), including Appendices C and E, adopted by Town Code Chapter 18, Article 4. The Town's Licensing & Permitting page publishes a combined Plumbing and Mechanical Permit Application for work such as water heater replacement, gas fireplaces, heat recovery ventilation systems, and kitchen hoods.
See fee scheduleMechanical / HVAC Permit
Required for heating, cooling, ventilation, and gas appliance installation or replacement in Crested Butte. Governed by the 2021 International Mechanical Code (IMC), including Appendix A, adopted by Town Code Chapter 18, Article 3, and the 2021 International Fuel Gas Code (IFGC) for gas-fired equipment, which mandates high-efficiency direct-vent sealed-combustion appliances only.
From$100.00Roofing Permit (Re-Roof)
Required for re-roofing work in Crested Butte, reviewed under the 2024 IBC/IRC as adopted, with mandatory ice barrier underlayment per Table R301.2. If the parcel falls within a mapped Class 1/Class 2 Colorado Wildfire Resiliency Code fire hazard area and the re-roof replaces more than 25% of the existing roof covering, the entire roof must meet CWRC Class A roof-covering and valley-flashing requirements. BOZAR/historic design review applies to visible roofing material changes given the Town's historic district status.
From$28.42valuation-basedSolar PV Permit
Required for solar photovoltaic installation in Crested Butte, using the Town's dedicated Solar Permit Application. Requires drawings showing panel locations, solar specifications with required emergency shut-off and electrical code requirements, and a structural engineer stamped letter confirming the existing roof will remain structurally sound. Because solar panels are exterior/visible improvements in a historic district, BOZAR approval is also required alongside the standard building permit process.
See fee scheduleBuilding Relocation and Demolition Permit
Required to demolish or relocate any primary or accessory structure larger than 200 square feet in Crested Butte. This is a BOZAR-reviewed Development Permit process (Building Relocation and Demolition Permit Application), given the Town's National Historic District status, rather than a standalone Building Division demolition track.
From$120valuation-basedCommercial Building Permit (New Construction, Alteration & Tenant Improvement)
Required for all commercial construction in the Town of Crested Butte — new commercial and mixed-use buildings, additions, alterations, changes of use, and tenant improvements — under Town Code Sec. 18-13-40(a) ('No building or structure shall be erected, constructed, structurally altered, moved, demolished or changed without first obtaining a building permit'). Reviewed under the 2024 IBC (Chapter 18, Article 1), the IEBC for work on existing buildings, and the Town's IgCC Article 1.5 green-construction provisions for new commercial construction. Crested Butte has no separate commercial permit application or tenant-improvement permit type: the Town's own Jan-June 2026 issued-permit report shows commercial interior projects run through the single Building Permit process classified as 'Alteration Level 1 Commercial', 'Alteration Level 2 Commercial', or 'Commercial Change of Use'. Because most of downtown sits in the B1/B2/B3 Business Districts inside the National Historic District, commercial building permit applications are automatically classified 'special review' at BOZAR (Town Code Sec. 16-22-110(b)), the Town's historic/architectural review board — BOZAR approval is required BEFORE the building permit application may be submitted.
From$28.42Sign Permit
Required for most business identification, freestanding, projecting, and wall signage in Crested Butte under Town Code Chapter 16 (Zoning), Article 18 — Signs (Sec. 16-18-10 through 16-18-100). Uniquely among the permit types, a sign permit is issued jointly by the Building Inspector AND the Board (BOZAR), reflecting the Town's National Historic District status; the fee is a flat $20.00 plus $2.00 per square foot of sign area above 10 square feet, confirmed identically on both the Town's dedicated Sign Permit Application form and its 2026 Fee Schedule. Article 18 also carries its own genuine insubstantial-determination shortcut (Sec. 16-18-100) distinct from, but structurally parallel to, the BOZAR-wide insubstantial process already documented in the commercial-building-permit entry.
From$20.00Fire Sprinkler and Fire Alarm System Permit
Fire sprinkler and fire alarm/detection system work in Crested Butte is permitted, plan-reviewed and inspected by the Crested Butte Fire Protection District (CBFPD), a special district separate from the Town's own Building Department. CBFPD does not charge a standalone per-sprinkler-head or per-device fee: its Plan Review & Fee Schedule (effective 4/1/2022) bundles fire suppression and monitored fire alarm system plan review and inspection into a single gross-floor-area-based 'New Construction and Alterations' fee covering the whole project. CBFPD approval is also a genuine precondition to the Town issuing the underlying building permit at all: per CBFPD's published Plan Submittal Process, CBFPD reviews and approves plans first, sends an approval letter to both the applicant and the Town Building Department, and only then does the Town issue the building permit.
From$700Change of Use Permit
Crested Butte has no standalone 'change of use permit' by that name. A change of use is instead folded directly into the Town's single Building Permit requirement: Town Code Sec. 18-13-40(a) requires a building permit before any structure is 'erected, constructed, structurally altered, moved, demolished or changed,' and the Town's own issued-permit reporting system tracks these projects with a distinct classification — 'Commercial Change of Use' — within the same BLD permit series used for new construction and alterations. This is confirmed by a real worked example from the Town's own Custom City Report: permit BLD2026-00008 at 129 Elk Ave (applicant Pinnacle Inc.), received 02/04/2026 and issued 02/06/2026 at a $342,000 valuation, tracked with Type of Use 'Commercial,' Type of Work 'Alteration,' and Type of Permit 'Commercial Change of Use.' This entry gives change-of-use its own dedicated reference; the underlying process is otherwise identical to the commercial-building-permit entry.
From$28.42
Crested Butte's permit history isn't searchable here yet
This page covers what the permit requires. What we don't have for Crested Butte yet is the record of permits actually issued — the history you'd search by street address. That is a gap in our coverage, not a statement about any particular property.
Your email, and the place — never an address. We only use it to tell you when Crested Butte lands. Privacy.
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 (2026-07)
- 0units
0 buildings · $0 valuation
- Trailing 12 months
- 6units
12 of 12 months reported · #64 in Colorado coverage by units
- Year to date (2026 YTD through 2026-07)
- 5units
5 buildings · $9.6M valuation
7 month(s) reported to Census
- Full year 2025
- 4units
4 buildings · $5.1M valuation
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey (BPS), 2026-07 vintage. Census survey data — separate from the permit-requirements verification above. All Colorado building activity
Tips & gotchas
- Crested Butte is a home-rule town with its OWN Building Department — Gunnison County itself holds no building-permit jurisdiction inside any incorporated town in the county. Mt. Crested Butte, a separate incorporated town nearby, runs its own distinct building department with its own (notably higher, 155 psf) snow load — do not conflate the two towns.
- BOZAR (Board of Zoning and Architectural Review) approval is a HARD PREREQUISITE to submitting a building permit application for essentially any project with exterior scope, per Town Code Sec. 18-13-40(b)/(d) — this is a genuinely distinct historic/design-review process from Building Division plan review, not a rubber-stamp attachment. The Town's own published schedule states all formally reviewed BOZAR projects take at least 2 months, covering staff review, two DRC meetings, two weeks of public notice, and a monthly BOZAR hearing.
- New construction in Crested Butte is subject to an all-electric mandate for permits from January 1, 2026: no combustion equipment for space heating, water heating, or cooking, with a narrow solid-fuel fireplace exception. Residential projects must also achieve DOE Zero Energy Ready Home (ZERH) certification, and commercial projects must meet IgCC plus electric-ready, solar-ready, and EV-ready provisions. Size the electrical service and select equipment around this before ordering anything gas-fired.
- Design criteria (Table R301.2): 100 lbs/sq ft flat roof snow load, 115 mph wind design speed, Seismic Design Category C, 36-inch frost line, -16 F winter design temp, mandatory ice barrier underlayment, 3,500 air freezing index, 8,921 ft Manual J elevation — genuinely distinct from (and in several respects milder on snow load, harsher on winter design temp/air freezing index than) neighboring mountain-resort towns like Breckenridge or Telluride; do not reuse another jurisdiction's design table.
- The 2025 Colorado Wildfire Resiliency Code applies in Crested Butte only within mapped Class 1 (lower intensity) and Class 2 (higher intensity) fire hazard zones per the State Wildfire Resiliency Map Viewer, with enforcement beginning June 1, 2026. Check your parcel on the map viewer -- this is a mapped-zone trigger, not a blanket town-wide requirement the way Breckenridge adopted it. Separately, slate and concrete roof tile are disallowed town-wide regardless of zone, under the Town's Design Standards and Guidelines.
- A Gunnison County building contractor license (separate from any Town of Crested Butte business license) has been required on every building permit since February 1, 2023 — a countywide credential administered outside the Town itself.
- No standalone electrical, plumbing, or (mostly) mechanical permit fee schedule exists — most trade work is billed under the same general valuation-based Building Permit fee table (2026 Fee Schedule), except Mechanical Permit ($100 flat), Mechanical Exhaust Hood ($200 flat), and Solid Fuel Burning Device Application ($100 flat), which do carry their own flat fees.
- The Town publishes NO numeric Building Division plan-review turnaround for any standard permit type anywhere in Town Code Chapter 18, the 2026 Fee Schedule, or the Building Code Information/Fact Sheet pages. The only genuinely published, closely-adjacent numeric figures found were the BOZAR/DRC 'at least 2 months' design-review floor (a prerequisite gate, not Building Division review) and a standalone 30-day review commitment specific to the Outdoor Energy Usage (REMP) Permit application (Town Code Sec. 18-9-90(2)(c)) when NOT bundled into a building permit.
- Construction must be completed within 1 year of commencement (with up to a 6-month extension for good cause) or the building permit expires and a new permit — reflecting remaining work's valuation — must be obtained (Town Code Sec. 18-13-60).
- The Town's Licensing & Permitting page describes its online permitting system as 'Coming soon! Online permitting and payment by Cloudpermit.' Confirm current submittal mechanics — paper/email versus the Cloudpermit portal — with the Building Department, since this is an active transition.
- The Town's public-facing domain moved from crestedbutte-co.gov to townofcrestedbutte.colorado.gov, and the old domain now 301-redirects to the new one. Third-party listings still show an older Building Department street address, 508 Maroon Ave, that does not appear on the Town's current site; use the address on the Town's own permit-report letterhead instead — PO Box 39 for Building Department mail.
- Accessory Dwelling Units and most fences/retaining walls are NOT modeled as standalone permitTypes in this record: ADUs run through the standard Building Permit / BOZAR process (with a genuine fee waiver available under a Qualified Resident restrictive covenant, Sec. 18-13-30(b)), and fences under 6 feet / retaining walls under 4 feet are explicitly exempt from requiring a building permit at all under locally amended IBC/IRC Sec. 105.2 — no separate Building Division fee/timeline track exists for either that would justify its own permitType entry.