Do You Need a Building Permit?
Many repairs around your home will require a building permit which you can obtain from the Alachua County Office of Code Enforcement, Building Inspection Division, or your local Building Department if you reside within a municipality.
EPD staff generally only review building permits associated with exterior activities to ensure that the project and the property are in compliance with the Alachua County Land Development Regulations Code related to natural resources.
The process:
The Building Department of the Growth Management Department administers building permits. Each building permit request undergoes a pre-application screening (PAS). At this stage of the process, Natural Resources staff review the request to ensure that the project and the property are in compliance with land development regulations, and inform the property owner of any code requirements related to protection of the resources on their property.
If you have specific questions related to environmental resources on your property, contact a Natural Resources staff member at 352-264-6800.
For general building permit questions, please visit the Building Department website where you can find contact information and answers to general questions, or call 352-374-5243.
Notices Now Required for Some Building Permit Applications:
After several meeting and workshops, the Alachua County Board of County Commissioners adopted Ordinance 13-05 on May 14, 2013 requiring a notice about regulated natural resources be placed in the public record for some building permit applications. The County has been requiring deed restrictions and similar permanent protective instruments as part of the building permit approvals on undeveloped land since 2009. On May 14, 2013 the BOCC amended Section 406.103(a)(3) of the Alachua County Unified Land Development Code (ULDC) by replacing the permanent protection requirement with a requirement for a notice to be placed in the public record (i.e. The Clerk of Court records) at the time of building permit approval on property that is undeveloped and not a bona-fide agricultural property. The notice may also be required if the application is proposing to impact regulated natural resources, whether the property is already developed or not. The Alachua County ULDC recognizes regulated natural resources as wetlands and surface waters and associated upland buffers, 100-year floodplain, significant geological features, listed-species habitat, significant upland habitat, and strategic ecosystems.
The intent of the notice is to provide an acknowledgement by the owner that sensitive natural resources are on the property and are currently regulated by the County ULDC and provide information in the public record so that future property owners and interested buyers will know that these resources are on the property and may be regulated. Current County regulations protect these regulated natural resources and require county approval be obtained prior to initiating any alternation or development activity that may impact regulated natural resources. Contact us if you have any questions.