Burlington building permits
VerifiedDepartment contacts, adopted codes, permit types, fees, and gotchas for Burlington, Colorado.
Last verified 2026-07-23 · Source · Embed this page’s badge · Version history
Building department
- Address
- 415 15th Street, Burlington, CO 80807
- Phone
- 719-346-8652
- Office hours
- Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Fax: 719-346-8397. Building permits are administered directly by City Hall administrative staff (no separate, dedicated Building Division or named Building Official is published) — the Building Permit Application lists Jim Keehne, City Administrator, as the responsible city officer, with a Public Works signoff line also present on the form.
- Website
- Official site
Inspection guide
See how inspections work in Burlington — 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.
- NONE LOCALLY ADOPTED — verified directly from the City's own Building Permit Application form (DocumentCenter/View/187), which the applicant must sign: 'I hereby agree and understand that City of Burlington has not adopted a building code and it is my responsibility to follow all state guidelines regarding state building codes, local building codes and all inspections the State of Colorado, City of Burlington and the Colorado Department of Local Affairs and Housing may require.'
- The City's own Building Codes webpage (burlingtoncolo.com/96/Building-Codes) independently corroborates this: it states the City 'requires all buildings to meet the compliance standards of the State of Colorado's building codes' and links to the Colorado Office of the State Architect (OSA) building-codes page (osa.colorado.gov/state-buildings/building-codes) — but that OSA page was checked directly and its adopted-code list applies ONLY to state-owned/state-lease-purchased construction and specific state-assisted categories (K-12 schools, health facilities), NOT to private construction in municipalities. Burlington's own reference to it therefore does not establish any specific IBC/IRC/IECC/NEC edition as locally adopted or locally enforced for private building permits — it is effectively a pointer to a source that does not govern ordinary residential/commercial permits in Burlington.
- Net effect: Burlington has NO locally adopted model code edition (no IBC, IRC, IMC, IPC, IFGC, IECC, IFC, IEBC, or NEC edition/year is specified anywhere in the City's own building-permit materials). Applicants are directed to follow 'state guidelines' generally and Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA)/Division of Housing requirements where applicable, rather than a codified local building code. This is a genuinely verified absence, not an omission — confirmed by the primary-source application form language plus the City's own Building Codes page, and consistent with Burlington's Municode-hosted Code of Ordinances not surfacing any building-code-adoption ordinance in available search results (Municode's Burlington library page is a JavaScript-rendered single-page app that could not be crawled for full-text search during this research; the City's own Ordinances & Resolutions page listing recent ordinance numbers did not show a building-code-adoption ordinance among currently listed items).
Permit types & fees
Residential Building Permit (New Construction / Addition)
Required for new construction or additions to residential (and other) structures within Burlington city limits. Issued through City Hall on a single combined 'Building Permit Application / Zoning Compliance Application' form. Because Burlington has not adopted a local building code, the applicant is contractually bound (via the permit application itself) to follow applicable State of Colorado building-code guidance and any Colorado Department of Local Affairs/Division of Housing requirements rather than a codified local building code.
Residential Addition / Remodel Permit
Additions are covered by the same combined Building Permit/Zoning Compliance Application as new construction (Part A, 'Addition' checkbox). Interior remodels that do not change the building footprint, use, or zoning compliance still require checking with City Hall, per the Building Permits page's instruction to 'check with City Hall staff prior to any construction, remodeling, or other changes.'
Electrical Permit
Burlington's own Building Permit Application does not describe a City-run electrical permit or inspection process (it only requires that electrical work be performed by a duly licensed electrician). Directly confirmed 2026-07-13 via DORA's own current, publicly accessible jurisdiction page (dpo.colorado.gov/ElectricalPlumbingPermits, HTTP 200): Kit Carson County is NOT among the Colorado counties listed as having their own local Electrical Inspection Program (the page states 'The State does not inspect in local jurisdictions having its own Electrical Inspection Program... If the county where your job site is located is listed below, do not continue with the permit application process' and lists Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Chaffee, City of Pueblo/Town of Boone, Delta (City of Delta only), Denver, Douglas, Eagle, El Paso, Jefferson, Larimer, Mesa, Pitkin, Pueblo, San Miguel, Summit, Teller, and Weld — Kit Carson is absent). Combined with CRS 12-115-120's default-to-state-inspection rule for jurisdictions without their own certified program, electrical permitting/inspection in Burlington is confirmed to default to the Colorado State Electrical Board (DORA).
Plumbing Permit
As with electrical work, Burlington's own Building Permit Application requires plumbing work be performed by a duly licensed plumber but describes no separate City-run plumbing permit or inspection process. Directly confirmed 2026-07-13 via DORA's own current, publicly accessible jurisdiction page (dpo.colorado.gov/ElectricalPlumbingPermits, HTTP 200): Kit Carson County is NOT among the counties listed as having their own local Plumbing Inspection Program (the page states 'The State does not inspect in local jurisdictions having its own Plumbing Inspection Program' and lists Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Chaffee, City of Pueblo/Town of Boone, Clear Creek, Denver, Douglas, Eagle, El Paso, Elbert, Garfield, Gilpin, Grand, Jackson, Jefferson, La Plata, Lake, Larimer, Mesa, Moffat, Pitkin, Prowers, Pueblo, Routt, Summit, Teller, and Weld — Kit Carson is absent). This is corroborated by 3 CCR 720-1 (State Plumbing Board Rules), Rule 7.1.1, which confirms permits/inspections run 'either through the Board or the Local Authority Having Jurisdiction' — Kit Carson County having no such local authority per the above list, plumbing permitting/inspection in Burlington is confirmed to default to the Colorado State Plumbing Board (DORA).
Mechanical / HVAC Permit
Mechanical/HVAC work (furnace, ductwork, ventilation) in Burlington is covered under the general combined Building Permit/Zoning Compliance Application ('Other' scope in Part A) rather than a standalone mechanical permit form; no separate City mechanical code or inspection process is published.
Re-Roof Permit
Re-roofing is covered under the general Building Permit/Zoning Compliance Application ('Other' scope) rather than a distinct re-roof permit type; no re-roof-specific fee, document set, or timeline is separately published by the City.
Rooftop Solar PV Permit
No solar-specific permit type, expedited track, or fee schedule is published by the City of Burlington (re-confirmed 2026-07-13; no such program has appeared on the City's site or in DOLA/DORA materials). A rooftop solar PV installation would be processed under the general combined Building Permit/Zoning Compliance Application, with the electrical portion of the work falling under the Colorado State Electrical Board permit system — this is now a directly-confirmed determination (see this file's electrical-permit entry, upgraded to verified 2026-07-13 via DORA's own current jurisdiction page at dpo.colorado.gov/ElectricalPlumbingPermits showing Kit Carson County absent from the counties with their own local Electrical Inspection Program), not merely an inference.
Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) Permit
No distinct ADU ordinance, permit type, or standalone zoning provision exists for Burlington, Colorado — this is now a DIRECTLY VERIFIED finding, not an inference. RESOLVED 2026-07-23: Burlington's Municode Code of Ordinances library.municode.com/co/burlington, previously a confirmed dead end via WebFetch/curl (returns only a ~6KB unrendered Angular shell to those tools), WAS successfully retrieved and read in full via the Browser pane's real Chromium rendering (a genuinely new avenue vs. the prior curl/WebFetch-only attempts), which executes the site's Angular JS and serves the actual codified ordinance text. The live, current version (VERSION: Apr 15, 2021, codified through Ordinance No. 960, enacted December 14, 2020 — the most current codified supplement; cross-checked against the site's own 'Adopted Ordinances Not Yet Codified' list running through Ord. No. 1017 (adopted 4/27/26), none of which touch Title 17 Zoning's residential-use or accessory-use sections in any ADU-relevant way) was read directly: Chapter 17.08 (Definitions) defines 'Dwelling,' 'Dwelling, multifamily,' 'Dwelling, single-family,' 'Dwelling, two-family,' and 'Dwelling unit' but contains NO 'accessory dwelling unit,' 'dwelling, accessory,' or equivalent term anywhere in its full definitions list (17.08.010 through 17.08.335). Section 17.20.060 ('Accessory uses and buildings in residential districts') exhaustively enumerates the only authorized accessory uses in any residential district — (A) home occupations, (B) one accessory structure not exceeding fifty feet in height, and (C) accessory buildings/uses customarily incident to the above not involving a business, including a private garage — and does not include a second dwelling unit or living quarters among them. Section 17.20.010 (R-1 Single-Family Residential) permits 'single-family dwellings' by right (subsection A.1) but places 'multifamily dwelling units providing permanent living accommodations for two or more dwelling units' only under Uses Permitted by Special Review (subsection B.4) — meaning any additional dwelling unit on an R-1 lot (the closest available mechanism for what would function as an ADU) is NOT permitted by right and instead requires a Special Review certificate of zoning compliance from the Board of Adjustment and Appeals under Chapter 17.32 (standards at 17.32.010: fire hazard, noise, vibration, air pollution, odors, glare, traffic hazard, utility burden, neighborhood character, general welfare; application procedure at 17.32.020). This is a genuine verified-negative: Burlington's own codified zoning ordinance, read in full, has no ADU-specific ordinance, definition, or by-right pathway — a second/accessory dwelling unit is treated as an additional 'multifamily' unit requiring Special Review, not as an accessory use. Also previously confirmed 2026-07-13: Burlington is NOT a 'Subject Jurisdiction' under Colorado's statewide ADU mandate, HB24-1152 (C.R.S. 29-35-402 through 405) — DOLA's dlg.colorado.gov/accessory-dwelling-units page lists Subject Jurisdictions as home-rule/statutory/territorial-charter cities within a federally designated Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) boundary with population 1,000+, and Burlington/Kit Carson County sit outside every Colorado MPO, so no state-law by-right ADU mandate applies here either.
Demolition Permit
Demolition is one of the enumerated project types on the general Building Permit/Zoning Compliance Application intake. A distinct, separate dangerous-building-abatement process also exists and was fully verified 2026-07-13: the City's own PDF of Ordinance No. 990 (burlingtoncolo.com/DocumentCenter/View/909) was retrieved and read in full (its filename retains the phrase 'proposed...DRAFT' from drafting, but the document's own text shows it was PASSED, ADOPTED and ORDERED PUBLISHED by the City Council on July 8, 2024, signed by Mayor Greg Swiatkowski, attested by City Clerk Georgia Gilley, with a Clerk's Certificate and a Certificate of Publication confirming publication in The Burlington Record on July 11, 2024 — i.e., it is the enacted, currently-effective ordinance despite the filename, not an unadopted draft). Ordinance No. 990 governs INVOLUNTARY code-enforcement demolition/abatement of buildings the City declares 'dangerous' (structural failure, fire/collapse hazard, uninhabitable, abandoned 6+ months, public nuisance, etc. — Section 2, items A-P) and is legally and procedurally distinct from a standard VOLUNTARY demolition permit processed on the combined Building Permit/Zoning Compliance Application.
Commercial Tenant Improvement / Change of Use Permit
Commercial tenant improvements and changes of use are processed under Part B ('Change of Use') of the combined Building Permit/Zoning Compliance Application, which separately captures present use, proposed use, current zoning, and any annexation/petition status, alongside Part A for any physical construction scope.
Deck / Covered Patio Permit
Decks and covered patios are processed under the general 'Addition' or 'Other' scope on the combined Building Permit/Zoning Compliance Application; no deck-specific fee, document set, or exemption threshold is separately published by the City.
EV Charger / EVSE Permit
Installation of an electric vehicle charger (EVSE) at a Burlington property is electrical work, and the City of Burlington does not itself issue electrical permits — electrical permitting, inspection, and fees are handled by the Colorado State Electrical Board (DORA), not itemized in any City of Burlington fee document. There is no City-issued EV-charger-specific permit or fee. A City building permit / zoning compliance application may still be required for the overall project depending on scope (e.g., new equipment enclosures).
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)
- No data reported
- Trailing 12 months
- No data reported
- Year to date (2026 YTD)
- No data reported
- Full year 2025
- 1units
1 buildings · $97,800 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
- Burlington has NOT adopted a local building code — this is verified directly from the City's own Building Permit Application, which requires the owner to sign an acknowledgment that 'City of Burlington has not adopted a building code.' Do not assume any specific IBC/IRC/IECC/NEC edition applies; the applicant is responsible for following applicable State of Colorado guidance instead.
- A mandatory utility line locate (811 or 800-922-1987) with a separate 'Building Permit Locate Form' is required before any construction begins — budget approximately 3 business days for the locate ticket, which is valid for 30 days once issued.
- A 2% city use tax (Burlington Municipal Code Chapter 3.08) applies to construction/building materials purchased outside city limits, computed either by estimate at permit issuance (50% of project replacement cost deemed taxable) or via an affidavit that all materials will be purchased from a licensed in-city retailer.
- Electrical and plumbing work in Burlington defaults to the Colorado State Electrical Board and State Plumbing Board (DORA) permit/inspection systems — DIRECTLY CONFIRMED 2026-07-13 via DORA's own current, accessible jurisdiction page (dpo.colorado.gov/ElectricalPlumbingPermits), which explicitly lists every county with its own local Electrical or Plumbing Inspection Program; Kit Carson County is absent from both lists, and Burlington's own permit materials describe no separate City trade-permit process.
- There is no population-based exemption from Colorado's HB22-1362 statewide energy-code framework — a proposed 2,500-population municipal exemption (SB25-141) was postponed indefinitely by the Colorado legislature in March 2025 and never became law. Burlington (population roughly 3,150-4,400 depending on source) is not currently subject to HB22-1362's energy-code mandate only because it has never adopted (and therefore never updated) a building code — if it does adopt one going forward, HB22-1362's update-triggered energy-code floor would apply.
- The City's own Building Permit Fee schedule is valuation-based (not a flat fee): $25 minimum for projects valued $1-$500, scaling through published tiers up to $15,670 plus $1.00 per additional $1,000 for projects over $5,000,000. An additional, unpublished 'Administrative Fee' line also appears on the permit form — confirm its amount directly with City Hall.
- No dedicated Building Division or named Building Official/inspector is published anywhere in Burlington's available online materials — building permits are administered by City Hall general staff, with the City Administrator (Jim Keehne) named on the permit form and a 'Public Works' signoff line also present, suggesting Public Works handles field inspection duties.
- Burlington's Code of Ordinances is hosted on Municode as a JavaScript-only single-page application that could not be crawled for full-text search during this research (both WebFetch and curl-with-full-browser-headers returned only the ~6KB Angular app shell, not the actual ordinance text; re-confirmed still blocked 2026-07-13) — any future deeper research into other codified Burlington provisions will need a JS-capable browser tool or direct city contact. However, Ordinance No. 990 (dangerous-building abatement) specifically was successfully retrieved and read in full via the City's own DocumentCenter PDF (burlingtoncolo.com/DocumentCenter/View/909) rather than through Municode, resolving that specific gap as of 2026-07-13 — see the demolition-permit entry.
- No distinct Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) ordinance exists for Burlington, CO — RESOLVED 2026-07-23 as a directly verified negative by reading Burlington Municipal Code Title 17 (Zoning) in full live on Municode (see below): the accessory-uses section (17.20.060) does not include a second dwelling unit, and a second unit on an R-1 lot is instead classed as 'multifamily' and requires Special Review from the Board of Adjustment and Appeals (17.20.010(B)(4), Chapter 17.32) rather than being permitted by right. Confirmed 2026-07-13: Burlington is also not a Colorado HB24-1152 'Subject Jurisdiction' (not within any Metropolitan Planning Organization boundary), so there is no state-law mandate forcing Burlington to allow ADUs either.
- Burlington's Municode Code of Ordinances library.municode.com/co/burlington is a JavaScript-rendered Angular single-page app that returns only a ~6KB unrendered shell to WebFetch and curl-with-full-browser-headers (confirmed repeatedly through 2026-07-13) — but a genuinely new avenue succeeded 2026-07-23: fetching it through the Browser pane's real Chromium rendering executes the Angular app and serves the actual codified ordinance text (Title 17 Zoning, Chapters 17.08/17.20/17.32 read in full this way). Future research into other Burlington ordinances not otherwise available as a standalone City-hosted PDF should use this browser-rendering method rather than treating Municode as a dead end.