Severance building permits

Building department

Address

3 S. Timber Ridge Parkway, P.O. Box 339, Severance, CO 80546

Phone

970-692-7315

Email

building@townofseverance.org

Office hours

Monday-Friday, 8:00 am - 5:00 pm. General Permit Clerk / Town Hall line also published as 970-686-1218 (fax 970-686-6250) on Building Department PDF forms; primary Building Department contact line is 970-692-7315. Plan review and inspections are contracted out to SAFEbuilt Colorado, which uses its own contact channel (see inspections note).

Website

Official site

Permit portal

Apply online at Severance's portal

Inspection guide

See how inspections work in Severance — 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 Residential Code (IRC) — Town of Severance 'Design Criteria Town of Severance' document (SAFEbuilt/Town primary source, DocumentCenter/View/1106), Residential Construction section
• 2024 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) — same source, Residential Construction section
• 2023 National Electrical Code (NEC) — same source, listed under both Residential and Commercial Construction sections
• 2024 International Building Code (IBC) — same source, Commercial Construction section
• 2024 International Plumbing Code (IPC) — per the 2024 Client Design Criteria document (SAFEbuilt/Town, Commercial Construction section); HOWEVER, the Town's own codified Municipal Code (library.municode.com/co/severance, Chapter 18, Article 4, Sec. Show full textShow less

  2024 International Plumbing Code (IPC) — per the 2024 Client Design Criteria document (SAFEbuilt/Town, Commercial Construction section); HOWEVER, the Town's own codified Municipal Code (library.municode.com/co/severance, Chapter 18, Article 4, Sec. 18-4-10, successfully retrieved live via browser rendering on 2026-07-23) states: 'The International Plumbing Code, 2018 Edition... is hereby adopted by reference as the Town of Severance Plumbing Code' (Ord. 2019-07 § 4; Ord. No. 2025-27, § 6, enacted Dec. 9, 2025) — i.e. the codified ordinance readopted/carried forward the 2018 IPC edition even in the same Dec. 9, 2025 recodification that moved most other codes to 2024. The codified Municipal Code (the Town's actual adopted law) is treated as authoritative over the SAFEbuilt client-facing summary sheet for this fact; IPC is 2018, not 2024, in Severance.

• 2024 International Mechanical Code (IMC) — per the 2024 Client Design Criteria document (SAFEbuilt/Town, Commercial Construction section); HOWEVER, the Town's own codified Municipal Code (Chapter 18, Article 3, Sec. Show full textShow less

  2024 International Mechanical Code (IMC) — per the 2024 Client Design Criteria document (SAFEbuilt/Town, Commercial Construction section); HOWEVER, the Town's own codified Municipal Code (Chapter 18, Article 3, Sec. 18-3-10, retrieved live 2026-07-23) states: 'The International Mechanical Code, 2018 Edition... is hereby adopted by reference as the Town of Severance Mechanical Code' (Ord. No. 2025-27, § 4, enacted Dec. 9, 2025) — the same Dec. 9, 2025 recodification ordinance that adopted 2024 IBC/IRC/IECC/IFGC/IPMC/IEBC left IMC at the 2018 edition. The codified Municipal Code is treated as authoritative over the SAFEbuilt summary sheet; IMC is 2018, not 2024, in Severance.

• 2024 International Fuel Gas Code (IFGC) — same source, Commercial Construction section
• 2024 International Energy Code — same source, Commercial Construction section (listed as a separate line from the 2024 IECC entry under Residential; the Town's document does not clarify whether these are intended as the same document cited twice or two distinct adoptions, so both are recorded as they appear on the primary source)
• 2024 Pool and Spa Code — per the 2024 Client Design Criteria document (SAFEbuilt/Town, Commercial Construction section); HOWEVER, the Town's own codified Municipal Code (Chapter 18, Article 12, Sec. Show full textShow less

  2024 Pool and Spa Code — per the 2024 Client Design Criteria document (SAFEbuilt/Town, Commercial Construction section); HOWEVER, the Town's own codified Municipal Code (Chapter 18, Article 12, Sec. 18-12-10, retrieved live 2026-07-23) states: 'The International Swimming Pool and Spa Code, 2018 Edition... is hereby adopted by reference as the Town of Severance Swimming Pool and Spa Code' (Ord. No. 2025-27, § 9, enacted Dec. 9, 2025). The codified Municipal Code is treated as authoritative; ISPSC is 2018, not 2024, in Severance. (No standalone swimming-pool permit-type entry exists in the permitTypes array, so this correction is recorded here only; the 2024 Swimming Pools Guide, DocumentCenter/View/203, is a generic SAFEbuilt trade guide and does not itself state a code edition or fee/timeline figure.)

• 2024 International Property Maintenance Code — same source, 'Other Adopted Codes' section
• 2024 International Existing Building Code — same source, 'Other Adopted Codes' section
• State Codes (as listed on the Town's own Design Criteria document): Electric Ready, Solar Ready, EV Ready — consistent with Colorado HB22-1362's statewide energy/electrification floor (2021 IECC-derived electric-ready,… Show full textShow less

  State Codes (as listed on the Town's own Design Criteria document): Electric Ready, Solar Ready, EV Ready — consistent with Colorado HB22-1362's statewide energy/electrification floor (2021 IECC-derived electric-ready, solar-ready, EV-ready provisions, effective window July 2023-July 2026); confirmed independently by the '2026 SAFEbuilt Residential Application Checklist' (DocumentCenter/View/1149), which requires EV-ready (min. 40A circuit within 3ft of a car space), Solar-ready (roof-plan solar zones, prewire routing, truss dead-load verification), and Electric-ready (pre-wire location/note and full electric-appliance load calculation for new single-family, two-family, and townhome dwellings) documentation for permit submittal, and by the New Commercial Plan Submittal Procedure (DocumentCenter/View/182), which states 'EV ready, Solar ready and Electric ready are now required to be shown on plans.'

• Note on a separate SAFEbuilt-published document: the '2023 NEC Photovoltaic System Submittal Requirements' guide (DocumentCenter/View/210, last revised 08.11.2023) states 'Applicable current codes are the 2023 NEC, 2018… Show full textShow less

  Note on a separate SAFEbuilt-published document: the '2023 NEC Photovoltaic System Submittal Requirements' guide (DocumentCenter/View/210, last revised 08.11.2023) states 'Applicable current codes are the 2023 NEC, 2018 International Codes' — this conflicts with the Town-specific 2024 Client Design Criteria document and appears to be a generic/stale SAFEbuilt template not yet updated to Severance's current 2024 code cycle; the Town's own jurisdiction-specific Design Criteria document (2024, explicitly labeled 'Severance') is treated as authoritative for this record rather than the generic PV guide.

• A note on sourcing: a Citizen Portal article — a third-party, AI-generated meeting summary, not an official Town/.gov document — describes a Severance Town Council work session at which building official Russ Weber… Show full textShow less

  A note on sourcing: a Citizen Portal article — a third-party, AI-generated meeting summary, not an official Town/.gov document — describes a Severance Town Council work session at which building official Russ Weber (SAFEbuilt) briefed Council on the 2024 ICC model codes and state-mandated changes, and reports that no formal adoption ordinance/vote occurred at that specific work session; Council directed staff to return with a formal adoption package excluding wildfire-resiliency provisions pending clarification. Because it is not an official source, that article is not cited for any fact here; it is noted only as context for why a formal Chapter 18 adoption-ordinance number from Municode's Severance library (library.municode.com/co/severance) is not independently confirmed. The Town's own primary-source Design Criteria and permit-guide PDFs (all dated 2026 or explicitly labeled '2024 IRC'/'2024 International Codes') serve as the governing record of the currently-adopted codes.

• The codified Municipal Code on Municode states: 'SEVERANCE MUNICIPAL CODE Codified through Ordinance No. Show full textShow less

  The codified Municipal Code on Municode states: 'SEVERANCE MUNICIPAL CODE Codified through Ordinance No. 2025-27, enacted December 9, 2025' (Supp. No. 15, online content updated June 29, 2026); that ordinance repealed and re-enacted Chapter 18 Articles 1-10 and 12 in full. Ord. No. 2025-27 is the December-2025 code-adoption ordinance, and cross-checking every article against the SAFEbuilt Design Criteria PDF surfaces three code-edition corrections: IMC and IPC are codified at the 2018 edition (not 2024) per Ord. No. 2025-27 §§ 4 and 6, and the Swimming Pool and Spa Code is codified at the 2018 edition (not 2024) per Ord. No. 2025-27 § 9 — see the corrected codesAdopted entries above. IBC, IRC, IECC, IFGC, IPMC, and IEBC are independently confirmed at the 2024 edition per the same ordinance (Sec. 18-1-10, 18-2-10, 18-8-10, 18-6-10, 18-9-10, 18-10-10), and the NEC is confirmed at 2023 (Sec. 18-4-40, Ord. No. 2023-09). Chapter 18, Article 11 (Building Permits, Sec. 18-11-10 'Issuance' and Sec. 18-11-20 'Surcharge') contains only permit-issuance criteria and the administration surcharge (30% of inspection fees or $30.00, matching the Administration Fee line above) — no permit-type-specific review-timeline SLA and no demolition-specific fee or process are codified anywhere in Chapter 18, confirming from the Town's own adopted law (the strongest available primary source) that the review-timeline and demolition-fee gaps noted across these permit types are genuine publication gaps. Separately, Ordinance No. 2025-08 adopted the 2024 International Fire Code.

Permit types & fees

• Residential Building Permit (New Construction)

  Required for new single-family, two-family, and townhome construction in the Town of Severance. Reviewed under the 2024 IRC and 2024 IECC (as adopted per the Town's Design Criteria document) plus the state-mandated Electric Ready/Solar Ready/EV Ready provisions. All plan review and inspections are performed by SAFEbuilt Colorado under contract to the Town; permits are applied for online via the Community Core portal.

  See fee schedule→

• Residential Addition / Remodel / Accessory Structure Permit

  Required for home additions, basement finishes, kitchen remodels, structural modifications, accessory structures (over 120 sq ft or over a 10-ft peak), and similar residential renovation work in Severance, including Accessory Dwelling Units built as an addition or accessory structure. Reviewed under the 2024 IRC as adopted; SAFEbuilt Colorado performs plan review and inspections.

  See fee schedule→

• Electrical Permit

  Required for electrical installation, alteration, or modification work in Severance. Governed by the 2023 NEC as adopted. Severance does NOT run its own local electrical licensing/examination program — electricians must hold a current Colorado State (and Master) Electrical license, contemporaneously verified against the DORA State Electrical Board per the Town's Contemporaneous Review procedure; the local Contractor License Application confirms this trade is 'Verified through the State, no fee.'

  See fee schedule→

• Plumbing Permit

  Required for plumbing installation, alteration, or modification work in Severance. The Town's SAFEbuilt-published 2024 Client Design Criteria document labels this '2024 IPC' for commercial work (IRC plumbing provisions govern residential work), but the Town's own codified Municipal Code (Chapter 18, Article 4, Sec. 18-4-10) states the IPC is adopted at the 2018 Edition (Ord. 2019-07 § 4; Ord. No. 2025-27 § 6, enacted Dec. 9, 2025) — the codified ordinance is treated as authoritative for this fact. Like electrical, Severance does NOT run its own local plumbing licensing program — plumbers must hold a current Colorado State (and Master) Plumbing license, contemporaneously verified against the DORA State Plumbing Board.

  See fee schedule→

• Mechanical / HVAC Permit

  Required for HVAC, furnace, boiler, and mechanical equipment installation or replacement in Severance. The SAFEbuilt-published 2024 Client Design Criteria document labels this '2024 IMC and 2024 IFGC' for commercial work (residential mechanical work follows the 2024 IRC's mechanical provisions), but the Town's own codified Municipal Code (Chapter 18, Article 3, Sec. 18-3-10) states the IMC is adopted at the 2018 Edition (Ord. No. 2025-27 § 4, enacted Dec. 9, 2025) — the codified ordinance is treated as authoritative for this fact. The IFGC is independently confirmed at the 2024 edition (Chapter 18, Article 6, Sec. 18-6-10, Ord. No. 2025-27 § 5), matching the Design Criteria document.

  See fee schedule→

• Re-Roof Permit

  Required for re-roofing work in Severance (one permit per building on the property). Governed by the 2024 IRC as adopted; the Town publishes a dedicated 2024-IRC Residential Re-Roofing guide (SAFEbuilt, published 1.1.2026).

  See fee schedule→

• Rooftop Solar / Photovoltaic Permit

  Required for solar panel installation or replacement in Severance. Electrical work governed by the 2023 NEC; a dedicated SAFEbuilt Photovoltaic System Submittal Requirements guide governs structural, electrical, and building-plan submittals, though that guide's own code-currency line ('2023 NEC, 2018 International Codes') appears to be a stale/generic template relative to the Town's current 2024 Design Criteria document.

  See fee schedule→

• Demolition Permit

  Required to demolish any building or structure in Severance. Applied for through the same online Community Core process as other building permits; no standalone demolition-specific fee schedule or guide document was located separate from the general permit process.

  See fee schedule→

• Commercial Tenant Finish / Remodel Permit

  Required for commercial tenant finish and remodel work in Severance. Governed by the 2024 International Codes (2024 IBC/IPC/IMC/IFGC, 2024 IECC, 2023 NEC as adopted). The Town publishes a dedicated Commercial Tenant Finish/Remodel Plan Submittal Procedure distinct from new commercial construction.

  See fee schedule→

• Deck / Covered Patio / Carport Permit

  Required for attached and detached decks, pergolas, patio covers, and carports in Severance. Governed by the 2024 IRC as adopted; the Town publishes dedicated Uncovered Decks & Porches and Patio Covers/Carport guides.

  See fee schedule→

• EV Charger / Electric Vehicle Charging Station Permit

  Severance does not publish a distinct EV-charger fee line or standalone EVSE permit type. Installing an EV charging station circuit is processed as electrical work under the Town's Electrical Permit mechanism already documented in this record: governed by the 2023 NEC as adopted, with electricians verified contemporaneously against their current Colorado State Electrical license (and Master Electrician license) per the Town's Procedure for Contemporaneous Reviews rather than a separate local trade exam. Severance is also one of the Colorado jurisdictions with an explicit, currently-enforced 'EV Ready' new-construction requirement (a minimum 40-amp dedicated circuit within 3 feet of a parking space), documented in the Town's own 2026 SAFEbuilt Residential Application Checklist and New Commercial Plan Submittal Procedure -- meaning many new homes and commercial buildings already have the EV circuit roughed in at construction, with a retrofit EV charger permit needed only when adding the circuit/charger to existing construction.

  See fee schedule→

• Sign Permit

  Town of Severance Land Use Code 2025, Division 4 (Signage), Section 16.5.415 requires a sign permit to erect, move, alter, reconstruct, or repair any permanent or temporary sign, except signs specifically exempted under Section 16.5.420. Town staff (not SAFEbuilt) review sign permits directly against seven listed criteria and may approve, approve with conditions, or deny; denials/conditions are appealable to the Board of Adjustment. Permitted number, maximum area, height, and illumination all vary by sign type and zone district (Residential, Business/Commercial, Town Core, Industrial Sub-District) per Tables 16.5.435.a and 16.5.435.b.

  From$100.00→

• Fire Sprinkler / Fire Alarm System Permit

  Windsor Severance Fire Rescue (WSFR), a Colorado special-district fire protection district serving a roughly 100-110 square mile area including the Towns of Windsor and Severance (headquarters: 100 N. 7th Street, Windsor, CO 80550, 970-686-2626), issues fire alarm and fire sprinkler permits through its Community Risk Reduction Division — entirely separate from the Town of Severance's own SAFEbuilt-administered general building permit process documented elsewhere in this record. Plan review applies the 2024 IFC WSFR Amendments (in effect August 1, 2025). Fees are valuation-tiered per WSFR's own Consolidated Schedule of Rates, Charges, and Fees, and WSFR publishes a specific plan-review turnaround: up to 10 business days from the time of payment.

  From$65.00→

• Change of Use Permit (Site Plan Review)

  The Town of Severance has no standalone 'Change of Use Permit' — Land Use Code Section 16.2.240(b)(3) instead requires full Site Plan Review approval whenever a use changes from one primary use classification to another (the Code's own example: 'a residential use to a commercial use'), reviewed by the Planning Commission (recommendation) and decided by Town Council. Building permits may not be issued for development that doesn't conform to the approved site plan, and a certificate of occupancy will not be issued for a building constructed in violation of an approved site plan. Separately, Section 16.1.120(b) bars changing an already-nonconforming use into a different nonconforming use.

  $2,000.00→

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