WHAT DOES IT MEAN WHEN YOU TURN IN YOUR PLANS WITH YOUR BUILDING PERMIT APPLICATION?

 

It's a distinction that many do not perceive, but it is important.

When a building permit is turned in, plans are to accompany the application. This is a requirement, but the Clerk, the Planning Commission and the Board simply see that they are submitted.

The Commission and Board review and approve or deny the application based on ZONING only. That is their sphere of authority.

These questions must be answered: Are you allowed the building? Is density cap met? Are you within the total square footage for accessory buildings? If you are housing animals, are they enclosed (building or pen) no closer than 175' from all neighboring residences? If it is an ag building, is it located at least 250' from neighboring residences, and vice versa. This applies for ALL ag buildings, housing animals or not. Do you qualify under the state statute to claim an ag exemption from the building code? Are ALL structures shown on your site plan, and all ALL the setbacks given? (Without the latter, the application should stop at the Clerk until complete and not go forward to the Commission until it is complete.) Are the well and septic shown?

And so on.

So now, regarding your plans, engineered or not: This falls strictly under the authority of the Building Official.

The Building Official is a trained, certified person who is hired by the Township to ensure that the MN Building Code is met. It is the STATE building code, not Eureka's code, although we have adopted the state code and all its amendments. The Building Official is the person who inspects and approves each stage of your building process, including the construction plans. He/she has that authority, not the Board.

SO, if you turn in plans, those plans are reviewed by the Building Official and a plan review fee is assessed. This fee must be paid before the permit is actually issued. Again, the Board does not review or weigh in on, nor do they approve your plans. Nothing should go forward until Inspectron, Eureka's Building official has okayed the plans.

Take the example, next, of an ag building. Since qualified ag buildings are exempt from Building Code inspections, all the Township does for one is review and approve the ZONING for that structure. The zoning review is required, even if inspections are not. As you see, these are two, separate domains.