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Change of Use / Occupancy Permit — Townsend, Montana · Requirements sheet
Reviewed 2026-07-22 · Source: https://townsendmontana.net/
PermitBase is an independent reference and is not affiliated with any government agency. Requirements change and vary by project — confirm current details with the building department before you submit.
Change of Use / Occupancy Permit in Townsend, Montana
The City of Townsend's own department description confirms the city 'has adopted Building Codes, has a building inspector and Zoning,' but no standalone change-of-use, change-of-occupancy, or Certificate of Occupancy application, fee, or zoning ordinance document was found published after checking the City's official website (its full page sitemap was enumerated directly), the Chamber/community site (townsendmt.com), the City's Planning Board agenda page, and the Townsend municipal-code platform (a non-browsable ordinance-drafting interface, per the gap already documented elsewhere in this file). Because Townsend is Montana DLI-certified for Building (B) within city limits, a change of occupancy or use involving construction work or an IBC/IEBC occupancy-classification change is understood to route through the same general Building Permit process (Building Official James Schauber) documented elsewhere in this file, reviewed under the 2021 International Existing Building Code (IEBC) Chapter 10 (Change of Occupancy) as statewide-adopted. Any zoning-side review of the proposed use itself would separately involve the City's Planning Board, whose meeting agendas and minutes are published online, but whose zoning ordinance text and use tables were not located published anywhere online. This is a genuine documentation gap, not an inferred fee or timeline.
Reviewed 2026-07-22 · Source
When you need this permit
- Contact Building Official James Schauber, (406) 431-8319, for any change of occupancy or use involving construction work or an occupancy-classification change under the IBC/IEBC, since Townsend is DLI-certified for Building (B) within city limits
- Reviewed against 2021 International Existing Building Code (IEBC) Chapter 10 (Change of Occupancy), as statewide-adopted effective June 11, 2022 and enforced locally for the Building trade by Townsend's certified building official
- A zoning-side review of a proposed new use (e.g., whether a use is permitted in a given district) may separately require review by the Townsend Planning Board, whose meeting agendas and minutes are published at townsendmontana.net/committees-and-boards/, though no zoning ordinance text, use-table, or dedicated use-classification application was found published online
- No standalone Certificate of Occupancy application form, change-of-use fee, or zoning use-classification fee distinct from the general (also unpublished) Building Permit fee process was found published by the City of Townsend
Required documents
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Fee schedule
Certificate of Occupancy / Change of Use FeeNo change-of-use or Certificate-of-Occupancy-specific fee line was found published by the City of Townsend after checking townsendmontana.net (full site sitemap), townsendmt.com, and the municipal code platform. The general (also unpublished) Building Permit fee process is presumed to apply. Contact Building Official James Schauber, (406) 431-8319.
Not published — contact the department
Review timeline
Plan review
Not published — contact the department
Inspection process
- 1
Final Inspection
Made after the space is ready for its new occupancy/use and all conditions required for permit issuance are satisfied, consistent with the general Building Permit final-inspection framework; forms the basis for any Certificate of Occupancy issued by Building Official James Schauber.
Tips
- Townsend has no single published 'change of use' or 'Certificate of Occupancy' form — a commercial tenant change involving construction or an occupancy-classification change is understood to be submitted to Building Official James Schauber under the general Building Permit process, reviewed against the 2021 IEBC Chapter 10 (Change of Occupancy).
- A proposed new use may also need review by the Townsend Planning Board (agendas/minutes published at townsendmontana.net/committees-and-boards/) if the use's permissibility in the applicable zoning district is in question — no zoning ordinance text or use table was found published to confirm this process independently.
- No review-timeline figure or fee schedule is published for this process; contact Building Official James Schauber, (406) 431-8319, directly.
Frequently asked questions
Townsend requires a change of use / occupancy permit for: Contact Building Official James Schauber, (406) 431-8319, for any change of occupancy or use involving construction work or an occupancy-classification change under the IBC/IEBC, since Townsend is DLI-certified for Building (B) within city limits; Reviewed against 2021 International Existing Building Code (IEBC) Chapter 10 (Change of Occupancy), as statewide-adopted effective June 11, 2022 and enforced locally for the Building trade by Townsend's certified building official; A zoning-side review of a proposed new use (e.g., whether a use is permitted in a given district) may separately require review by the Townsend Planning Board, whose meeting agendas and minutes are published at townsendmontana.net/committees-and-boards/, though no zoning ordinance text, use-table, or dedicated use-classification application was found published online; No standalone Certificate of Occupancy application form, change-of-use fee, or zoning use-classification fee distinct from the general (also unpublished) Building Permit fee process was found published by the City of Townsend. If your project isn't listed, confirm with City of Townsend — city-certified for Building (B) and Swimming Pool (SP) only; Electrical, Plumbing, and Mechanical permits are issued directly by the Montana Department of Labor & Industry Building Codes Bureau. Building Official of record: James Schauber. at (406) 266-3911 (City Office, general); (406) 431-8319 (James Schauber, Building Official) before starting work.
Townsend does not publish a plan-review timeline for this permit. Contact City of Townsend — city-certified for Building (B) and Swimming Pool (SP) only; Electrical, Plumbing, and Mechanical permits are issued directly by the Montana Department of Labor & Industry Building Codes Bureau. Building Official of record: James Schauber. at (406) 266-3911 (City Office, general); (406) 431-8319 (James Schauber, Building Official) for current turnaround.
You'll need: Building Permit Application (change of occupancy / use scope). See the required-documents checklist on this page for details on each.
Townsend requires 1 inspection(s) for a change of use / occupancy permit, in order: Final Inspection. Schedule each through City of Townsend — city-certified for Building (B) and Swimming Pool (SP) only; Electrical, Plumbing, and Mechanical permits are issued directly by the Montana Department of Labor & Industry Building Codes Bureau. Building Official of record: James Schauber. ((406) 266-3911 (City Office, general); (406) 431-8319 (James Schauber, Building Official)).
Apply through City of Townsend — city-certified for Building (B) and Swimming Pool (SP) only; Electrical, Plumbing, and Mechanical permits are issued directly by the Montana Department of Labor & Industry Building Codes Bureau. Building Official of record: James Schauber. at City of Townsend, 110 Broadway, Townsend, MT 59644 (general city administration); Building Official James Schauber, (406) 431-8319 (also principal of Schauber Surveying, Inc., 64 Jack Farm Rd, Townsend, MT 59644). Phone: (406) 266-3911 (City Office, general); (406) 431-8319 (James Schauber, Building Official), email: kari@townsendmontana.net (City Clerk/Treasurer Kari Williams); jenny@townsendmontana.net (Deputy Clerk Jenny Barnett). Office hours: City Office, 110 Broadway, Townsend, MT 59644 — Monday-Wednesday 7:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m., Thursday 7:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m., Friday 8:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m., per the City of Townsend Contact Us page. No separate published office hours were found for the Building Official specifically; contact James Schauber directly at (406) 431-8319.. Official information: https://townsendmontana.net/.
Townsend, Montana has adopted: Montana has a mandatory statewide building code administered by the Montana Department of Labor & Industry (DLI) Building Codes Bureau, amended by the Administrative Rules of Montana (ARM) Title 24, Chapter 301. Cities, counties, and towns may become 'certified' to locally administer permitting and inspection for all or part of the code (building, plumbing, electrical, mechanical, swimming pool, WUI, etc.); non-certified trades within a certified jurisdiction, and all trades in non-certified areas, fall under direct state administration by the DLI Building Codes Bureau. Source: Montana DLI Building Codes Bureau, Certified City, County and Town Programs and Current Codes pages (bsd.dli.mt.gov/building-codes-permits).; Townsend is a Montana DLI-certified jurisdiction for Building (B) and Swimming Pool (SP) ONLY within Townsend city limits — James Schauber is the certified building official of record, (406) 431-8319. Townsend is NOT certified for Electrical (E), Plumbing (P), or Mechanical (M); those permits are issued directly by the state DLI Building Codes Bureau for all addresses within Townsend city limits. Source: Montana DLI Building Codes Bureau, 'CITY CODES BUILDING OFFICIAL PHONE JURISDICTION' certified-jurisdictions PDF (https://bsd.dli.mt.gov/_docs/building-codes-permits/certified-city.pdf), updated 04/22/2026 — Townsend row reads 'B, SP / James Schauber / 431-8319 / City Limits'; independently cross-confirmed against the DLI 'Certified City, County and Town Programs' HTML page (bsd.dli.mt.gov/building-codes-permits/certified-government), same B, SP result. Legend on the PDF: B = Building, P = Plumbing, M/G = Medical Gas, E = Electrical, M = Mechanical, SP = Pool, W = WUI (Wildland-Urban Interface).; The City of Townsend's own website (townsendmontana.net) does not publish a dedicated building-permit application form, fee schedule, or online permitting portal as of this research pass — its public-facing content states only that 'The City has adopted Building Codes, has a building inspector and Zoning' and that permits are required for 'building, large repairs, roofing, installing fences, etc.' No city-specific Construction Permit Application PDF (of the kind published by East Helena, for example) was located on townsendmontana.net or the Chamber/community site townsendmt.com after checking the homepage, Notices & Information page, Contact Us page, and the Forms/Applications/Taxes page. Source: City of Townsend homepage, https://townsendmontana.net/; Townsend Notices & Information, https://townsendmontana.net/notices-information/.; 2021 International Building Code (IBC) — statewide edition effective June 11, 2022, adopted by the Montana DLI Building Codes Bureau and enforced locally within Townsend by its DLI-certified building official for the Building trade. Source: Montana DLI Building Codes Bureau, Current Codes page, bsd.dli.mt.gov/building-codes-permits/current-codes.; 2021 International Residential Code (IRC) — statewide edition effective June 11, 2022, applicable to one- and two-family dwelling construction within Townsend city limits under the city's certified Building program. Source: Montana DLI Building Codes Bureau, Current Codes page.; 2021 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) — statewide edition effective June 11, 2022, applicable to new construction reviewed under Townsend's local Building program. Source: Montana DLI Building Codes Bureau, Current Codes page.; 2021 International Existing Building Code (IEBC), 2021 International Swimming Pool and Spa Code (ISPSC), and 2017 ICC A117.1 Accessibility Standard — statewide editions effective June 11, 2022, applicable within Townsend as the locally-enforced editions for the Building and Swimming Pool trades the city is certified for. Source: Montana DLI Building Codes Bureau, Current Codes page.; 2021 International Mechanical Code (IMC), 2021 International Fuel Gas Code (IFGC), 2021 Uniform Plumbing Code (UPC), and 2020 National Electrical Code (NEC) all apply within Townsend city limits as the statewide-adopted editions (effective June 11, 2022) but are administered directly by the Montana DLI Building Codes Bureau (Helena), not the City of Townsend, because Townsend holds no local certification for those trades. Source: Montana DLI Building Codes Bureau, Current Codes page; DLI Building Codes Bureau Electrical/Plumbing/Mechanical Permits pages.. Local amendments apply — see the Townsend overview page for the full list.
Townsend has no standalone Certificate of Occupancy or change-of-use application published online. Because the city is DLI-certified for Building (B), a change of occupancy involving construction work or an IBC/IEBC occupancy-classification change is understood to be handled by Building Official James Schauber as part of the general Building Permit process, under 2021 IEBC Chapter 10. Contact him directly at (406) 431-8319.
Possibly, if the proposed use's permissibility in the zoning district is in question — the Townsend Planning Board publishes its agendas and minutes online, but no zoning ordinance text or use-table was found published to confirm a specific use-classification process. Contact City Hall, (406) 266-3911, to confirm whether Planning Board review applies to a specific change of use.
Sources & verification
Key facts verified against official sources. Last reviewed 2026-07-22.
Fees, timelines, and adopted codes are researched from each jurisdiction's published records — see how we verify. Requirements change and vary by project, so always confirm the current details with the Townsend building department before you submit. PermitBase is an independent reference and is not affiliated with any government agency.
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