Community Development

Macomb, Illinois

Permits

A building permit is your assurance that your building or structure has been reviewed and inspected for compliance with minimum building codes, zoning ordinance, and environmental requirements. By obtaining a building permit, you are helping to ensure that all structures and buildings are safe, sound and worthy of the often considerable investment they represent. Obtaining permits for all appropriate work, hiring licensed contractors, and getting the right inspections done on time can save time, work, and money in the long-run, especially when it comes time to sell a property.

Contractor Registration
All contractors must register with the Office of Community Development before working in the City of Macomb. More specifically, any person desiring to engage in the business of building, constructing, remodeling, repairing, altering, removing or demolishing buildings must register with the City before doing so. Similarly, carrying out a business of installing or altering electrical equipment, plumbing work, heating & cooling work, or tree trimming work for a profit requires a contractor registration. Registrations must be renewed on a yearly basis.

Note: Registration is for paid contractors, not for Macomb residents working on their own properties.

A contractor registered with the City is required to submit a Certificate of Liability Insurance ($50,000 property damage, $100,000 personal injury to one person, and $300,000 personal injury to more than one person, or in lieu thereof, bodily injury and property damage combined $300,000 each occurrence, $300,000 aggregate). Additionally, if the contractor has employees, a Certificate of Workers Compensation Insurance must be submitted.

The registration fees are as follows:

General building: $25.00/yr (Please Note: Contractors must submit a copy of their Illinois Roofing License in order to obtain permits for roofing work)

Electrical: $25.00/yr (Fee waived if a copy of the current electric license from any other Illinois city is submitted)

Plumbing: No fee (Current Illinois State Plumbing License required with copy to be submitted)

Mechanical (Heating & Cooling): $25.00/yr

Tree trimming: $25.00/yr

Building Permits

The erection, alteration or repair of a building within Macomb City limits requires for a building permit to be filed. Activities that require a building permit include:

Work on roofs, decks, windows, bathrooms, fences, and anything else that can be considered an alteration or repair to a structure.
Mining, dredging, filling, grading, and paving also require permitting.
Activities considered general maintenance do not require building permits. These include:

Painting, application of sealants or protective treatments.
Carpet work and any other general maintenance.
The permit fee is based on the estimated cost of the project and uses the following schedule.

Penalties

If an owner or contractor fails to obtain a building permit before beginning construction, the building permit fee shall double.

Enterprise Zone

Any property listed in the enterprise zone (see enterprise zone below) still requires a building permit, but the fee is waived for those properties. In other words, there are no building permit fees for any construction in the Enterprise Zone.

Please check with the Office of Community Development to verify that a property is in the Enterprise Zone before beginning a project.

Contractors

Any paid contractor carrying out the work must be registered with the City (see Contractor Registration Below). Homeowners doing work on their own properties do not need to be registered.

Building Plans

The erection or modification to a commercial or institutional building requires the submission of building plans. Erection or modification to residential structures should include a sketch of the changes that can be drawn on an aerial map provided by the City upon request (see GIS Center).

When a building permit is issued, a colored paper sign is given to be displayed visibly in the project location. The permit is valid for 6 months.

Electrical Permits

In addition to, or independently from a building permit, any electrical wiring and connections require an electrical permit to be filed. In other words, an electrical permit is always required if any electrical work is going to be done. Please contact the Office of Community Development at (309) 833-4944 if you have any questions.

Plumbing Permits

The City of Macomb requires a permit for any plumbing installation, alteration or change in any building or structure. After a permit has been issued, no change in the plans or specifications shall be made unless such change has first been submitted to and approved by the plumbing inspector. Again, all plumbing work does require a plumbing permit.

The plumbing inspector shall be notified by the person doing the work when any plumbing work is begun and when it is ready for inspection. All work shall be left uncovered and convenient for examination until inspected and approved. The plumbing inspector or his designate shall examine the work within one day of receipt of notice that the work is ready for inspection. All defective materials and work must be replaced and corrected. Upon completion and final inspection of the work, a certificate of approval shall be issued. Again, the plumbing inspector does need to inspect any plumbing work that is done – please contact the Office of Community Development at (309) 833-4944 if you have any questions.

Right Of Way Permits

Any use of the public right-of-way (ROW) in the City of Macomb requires a permit. Any public street or public sidewalk is a right-of-way. Right-of-way means a parcel of land or easement, either public or private, on which an irrevocable right-of-access has been recorded for vehicles or pedestrians or both. A public right-of-way is one that has been dedicated for public use and may include streets, alleys, or sidewalks. Common ROW uses and fees are as follows:

Street cut/Excavations ($100.00)

Curb/Gutter/Sidewalk/Driveway/Alley Excavations ($50.00)

Heavy Hauls ($25.00)

Street Closures (25.00)

Driveway/Sidewalk Repair without Excavation ($25.00)

Temporary Driveway ($25.00)

Other ROW uses ($25.00)

The filing of a ROW permit for a street excavation requires a security/bond deposit of $5000.00 to be deposited unless the company is a registered franchise. Similarly, curb/gutter/sidewalk/driveway/alley excavations require a $1000.00 security/bond to be filed.

In addition, ROW permits require the review and approval of the Public Works Department to be finalized.

Please contact the Office of Community Development at (309) 833-4944 if you have any questions.

Excavation for Development Permit

Any development activity, including excavation and drilling operations, requires a $25 permit to be obtained from the Community Development Office. Even if excavations are completely within private property, the $25 ROW other use permit is still required.

Sign Permits

The placement, alteration or relocation of any permanent or temporary sign requires a permit to be filed. Signs that use electrical wiring also require an additional electrical permit to be filed in addition to the sign permit (see electrical permit).  The sign permit application requires the submittal of the proposed sign location, size specifications, and a drawing of the sign.

The placement of a temporary sign requires no fee. The fee for a permanent sign is based on the building permit fee schedule (see building permits).

Demolition/Moving Permit

The demolition or movement of a building in the City of Macomb requires a demolition permit.

The fee for a demolition permit is $10.00

Before a building can be demolished, all utilities must be capped off and the water department must pull the water meter away. The permit requires the approval of the Office of Community Development, the water manager, the wastewater manager, operations manager, and the business office.  If the demolition is done prior to approval, a $500.00 fine will be issued.

Water-Sewer Service Form

All connections to the public water or sewer systems need to receive permission and permits before tapping into the public system.

No one shall make a sewer or water connection to a public sewer and water system without obtaining a plumbing number from the building and zoning office. Upon approval, a permit shall be issued to a licensed plumber. A separate permit must be issued for each service connection and each building, residence, etc., and also for each branch connection when more than one connection is made by one service pipe.

The water-tap procedure is to be completed is as follows:

Licensed Plumber Obtains a Plumbing number and Water-Sewer Service Form from the Office of Community Development.
The property owner must wait until Business Office has a completed Owner Form before any further action can be taken.
A plumber must arrange for the tap to be made, at least 2 business days in advance.
Property Owner or Plumber contacts Public Works at (309) 833-2821 when service is ready for inspection.
Property Owner or Plumber contacts the Office of Community Development for an inside inspection.
Customer or Plumber contacts the Business Office at (309) 833-2031 when service installation is complete and ready to be activated, at least two hours prior to installation. An appointment will have to be made and someone will have to be present. A penalty fee of up to $750.00 will be charged to anyone who activates a water service without contact with the Business Office.

The Sewer service procedure is to be completed is as follows:

Licensed Plumber Obtains a Plumbing number and Water-Sewer Service Form from the Office of Community Development.
Customer or Plumber contacts the Waste-Water Superintendent at (309) 833-4325 when the sewer has been tapped and is ready for inspection, as well as the Building Inspector at (309) 833-4944 when the lateral is ready for inspection.

Heating-Air Conditioning Permit

Any installation of heating or air conditioning equipment requires a permit from the building inspector. Repairs to existing units where costs total less than $100.00 do not require a permit.

Heating-air conditioning permits can be issued to registered contractors (see contractor registration) and to property owners doing the work themselves.

Temporary Use Permits (Conditional Uses/Certificate of Occupancy)

Temporary uses are intended to occasionally permit some activities which would not normally be permitted. Temporary uses may include the temporary installation of construction trailers, equipment storage, portable lavatories, tents, and temporary sales. All temporary uses shall be conducted behind the building setback line except as otherwise permitted by the city council.

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