Cassia County - Zoning and Building Department

Cassia County, Idaho

county

1459 Overland Avenue, Room 210, Burley, ID 83318

Required

Required

WHO FILES WHERE. Cassia County's Building Permit Application carries a line for the "Applicable City, if within City Limits" listing Albion, Declo, Malta and Oakley, so work in those towns comes through the County's counter with the city notified. Applications can be filed on paper or through the County's online permit applications page, and a non-refundable plan review fee is due with the application: the County's published administrative fees put residential plan review at $200.00 and price the building permit itself "calculated based on square footage, and IBC 2003 Valuation Table 1". INSPECTIONS. Requests "must be given at least six (6) business hours in advance", and the application prints two inspector mobile numbers to call. The inspections the County names for a building are Site/Setbacks, Footings, Foundation, Sheer Wall, Rough Framing, Energy, Wall Board and Final. That list is written around new construction and does not name a roof or deck inspection, so a reroofing contractor should agree the inspection points with the department when the permit is issued rather than assume. If the work is not ready when the inspector arrives, "a feeof $30.00 per hour (1 Hr. Minimum) will be charged." ELECTRICAL, PLUMBING AND HVAC ARE A STATE MATTER, not a County one, and the County's form says so and gives the State's contacts. The permit "becomes NULL and VOID if work or construction authorized is not commenced within 180 days, or if construction or work is suspended or abandoned for a period of 180 days at any time after work has commenced."

THE 2018 EDITIONS, BY THE COUNTY'S OWN ENACTED CHAPTER, WITH A ROLLING-UPDATE CLAUSE. Cassia County Code Title 11, Chapter 1, "Building Code", section 11-1-1: "The County of Cassia, Idaho, hereby adopts and elects to enforce the provisions of the 2018 Edition of the International Building Code (IBC), including appendices E, G, H, and I; adopting Idaho Manufactured Home Installation Current Standard; Adopting the 2018 Edition of the International Residential Code (IRC), including parts I through IV and IX, and including appendices H, J, Q, and S; adopting the 2018 Edition of the International Existing Building Code (IEBC); adopting the 2018 Edition of the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC); adopting the International Fire Code 2018 Edition; adopting the 1997 Uniform Code for Abatement of Dangerous Buildings." A house is reroofed under the residential code in that list, and the roofing chapter sits inside the parts the County adopted. THE ADOPTION FLOATS RATHER THAN FREEZING, WHICH IS UNUSUAL AND WORTH KNOWING. Section 11-1-2: "The adopted versions of the foregoing codes shall be effective January 1, 2021. The foregoing codes shall be deemed superseded by successive versions of such codes as they are adopted or approved by the state of Idaho effective on the 1st day of January the year following the date any such codes are made effective for the state, unless a different date is required by state statute." So Cassia County follows Idaho automatically: when the state moves to a later edition, the County moves with it on the following January 1 without needing a fresh ordinance. As at the date of this record the state edition is still the 2018 IRC, so 2018 is what governs here. Section 11-1-4 files a certified copy of each adopted code with the clerk of the Board of County Commissioners under Idaho Code 31-715. THE COUNTY'S COMPLETE AMENDMENT LIST IS TWO ITEMS AND NEITHER IS ABOUT ROOFING. Section 11-1-3 amends the adopted codes in exactly two respects: for the building code, a correction to Section 3113.1 on relocatable buildings fixing an incorrect IDAPA number; and for the residential code, a correction to the state rule's reference to the footing tables, deleting "Tables 403.4 Minimum Depth (D) and Width (W) of Crushed Stone Footings (inches), R403.1(1) ... R403.1(2) ... and R403.1(3)". Nothing else in Title 11 amends anything: Chapter 2 adopts the 1997 Uniform Code for the Abatement of Dangerous Buildings and Chapter 3 is a single section requiring a valid building permit before a utility may connect power. All three chapters were read in full. STATE FRAMEWORK. Idaho's residential code is set by the Idaho Building Code Board. IDAPA 24.39.30.600.03 adopts the "International Residential Code, 2018 Edition ... Parts I, II, III, and IX of the 2018 Edition for one (1)- and two (2)-family dwellings", effective July 1, 2024, with the state's own list of amendments; Idaho Code 39-4116(2) requires a local government that issues building permits and performs code enforcement to adopt the Idaho residential code parts I-III and IX by ordinance and bars it from adopting provisions of a later IRC edition the Board has not adopted. Idaho Code 39-4116(6): "Permits shall be governed by the laws in effect at the time the permit application is received." ONE STALE CROSS-REFERENCE ON THE COUNTY'S WEBSITE. The County's Permit Information page, describing when a permit is needed for a detached accessory structure, still says "(see 2012 IRC for exceptions)". The enacted chapter adopts the 2018 edition. Go by the Code.

Required — THE REQUIREMENT REACHES CASSIA COUNTY UNMODIFIED. Cassia County Code Title 11, read in full, adopts the 2018 International Residential Code at section 11-1-1 and amends it in only two respects at section 11-1-3, neither of which touches Chapter 9, Roof Assemblies. IDAPA 24.39.30.600.03, the State of Idaho's own complete list of amendments to the 2018 International Residential Code, does not touch Chapter 9 either. The base 2018 IRC drip edge requirement for asphalt shingle roofs, at Section R905.2.8.5, therefore applies here unmodified. The operative text of that section sits behind the code publisher's paywall; this record does not restate it and does not rely on any third-party republication of it. What is recorded is the sourced fact that the requirement is in force in Cassia County and has not been amended away by either the County or the State. Take the flashing detail, the fastener spacing and the required overlap from the code text itself, and confirm them against the shingle manufacturer's printed installation instructions, which the code makes binding and which are sometimes stricter than the code minimum. Price the drip edge into the bid rather than treating it as an extra. About drip edge

Not required — NO IMPACT-RESISTANCE MANDATE APPLIES IN CASSIA COUNTY. Cassia County Code Title 11, "Building Regulations", was read in full - all three chapters, and within the building chapter all eleven sections including the complete amendment list at 11-1-3. It contains no reference to UL 2218, to a Class 4 or Class IV impact rating, or to FM 4473, and no amendment to Chapter 9, Roof Assemblies. IDAPA 24.39.30.600.03, the State of Idaho's complete list of amendments to the 2018 International Residential Code, carries no such reference either. Neither the County's nor the State's adopted code requires an impact-resistant roof covering. DO NOT CONFUSE THE THREE CLASSES. A Class A, B or C rating is a FIRE classification tested to ASTM E108 or UL 790, and a Class D, F or H rating is a WIND classification tested to ASTM D3161 or D7158. Only UL 2218 or FM 4473 rates a covering for hail IMPACT, and that is the standard a "Class 4" shingle is measured against. An insurance discount for impact-rated shingles, where a carrier offers one, is a matter between the homeowner and the insurer and is not a code requirement in Cassia County.

THE COUNTY'S OWN CHAPTER NAMES REPAIR AND ALTERATION. Cassia County Code section 11-1-5, "Unlawful Acts": "It shall be unlawful to erect, construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, remove, convert, demolish, or maintain buildings or structures in violation of, or without complying with the rules, regulations, and ordinances set forth by the Codes listed in Section 4, hereinabove, as herein adopted and as may be changed, altered, or amended by the each of those respective Codes." Replacing a roof covering is a repair or an alteration of an existing structure, and the codes listed include the 2018 International Residential Code, which the County adopted "including parts I through IV and IX" - Part I being the administrative part that carries the code's own permit requirement and its exempt-work list at Section R105.2. The County amended neither. THE COUNTY'S PERMIT PAGE PUTS IT DIRECTLY. Under "Permits Required": "Building permits are required for any person, firm, or corporation desiring to construct, erect, relocate, or remodel a building covered under the terms of the International Building Code as adopted by the county", and "Building permits are required on any one-story detached accessory structure that exceed 200 square feet in overall floor area (see 2012 IRC for exceptions)". Note that the "2012 IRC" cross-reference on that page is stale - the enacted Code adopts the 2018 edition. THE ONLY EXEMPTION IN THE COUNTY'S OWN CHAPTER IS AGRICULTURAL. Section 11-1-7, "Exemptions", in full: "Agricultural buildings, as defined by the International Building Code, are exempt from the building codes adopted herein but shall remain subject to placement requirements and permits established by zoning regulations." Nothing there reaches a dwelling, and there is no roofing-specific exemption, square footage, dollar value or repair size published anywhere in Title 11. Work on a farm building is a different matter: the County issues an Agricultural Siting Permit for structures "designed and constructed to house farm implements, hay, grain, poultry, livestock or other horticultural products", and says that "If structure used for any purpose other than to house farm implements, hay, grain, poultry, livestock or other horticultural products a building permit is required." THE PENALTY FOR SKIPPING IT IS A DOUBLING. The County's Permit Information page, under "Building Without A Permit": "It shall be unlawful to commence construction of any structure requiring the issuance of a building permit without having first obtained a building permit Failure to procure the proper permit or inspections shall also result in a monetary penalty equal to one hundred percent (100%) of the permit or inspection fee being imposed in addition to the standard fee at the time the permit or inspection is issued or performed". Section 11-1-8 adds that any violation of the chapter is punishable as a misdemeanor. And under section 11-3-1 a utility must refuse to connect power to a structure for which a County building permit is required unless a valid permit is displayed. IF THE JOB IS A SMALL REPAIR. The exempt-work list is the adopted residential code's own, at Section R105.2, unamended by the County; this record does not restate it. Ring the Zoning and Building Department on 208-878-7302 before treating a patch as exempt.

NEITHER CASSIA COUNTY NOR THE STATE OF IDAHO MODIFIES THE MODEL RULE. Cassia County Code Title 11, "Building Regulations", was read in full - all three chapters, and within Chapter 1 all eleven sections, 11-1-1 through 11-1-11, including the whole of the amendment list at 11-1-3. That list has exactly two items: an International Building Code correction on relocatable buildings at Section 3113.1, and a residential-code correction to the state rule's footing table references. Neither touches Chapter 9, Roof Assemblies. Title 11 contains no roofing provision of any kind, no recover or overlay rule and no layer count. IDAPA 24.39.30.600.03, the Idaho Building Code Board's own list of amendments to the 2018 International Residential Code, contains no Chapter 9 amendment either. So the base 2018 International Residential Code recover-versus-replacement rule applies here unmodified. Base-code rule, 2018 IRC Section R908.3.1.1, Roof recover not allowed: a roof recover is not permitted where the existing roof or roof covering is water soaked or has deteriorated to the point that it is not adequate as a base for additional roofing; where the existing roof covering is slate, clay, cement or asbestos-cement tile; or where the existing roof has two or more applications of any type of roof covering. One existing layer may be recovered; a second forces a full tear-off. A LOCAL AMENDMENT WOULD BE UNUSUALLY VISIBLE IF ONE EXISTED. Idaho Code 39-4116(4)(d) lets a county amend this part of the residential code only by ordinance, on a recorded finding that "good cause" for building or life safety exists and that the amendment is "reasonably necessary", after a public hearing noticed in the official newspaper with at least thirty days' written notice to the local chapters of the industry bodies listed in Idaho Code 39-4109(5). No such Cassia County amendment appears in the County's published Code.

NOTHING LOCAL CHANGES THE DECK RULES. Cassia County Code Title 11 was read in full and contains no amendment to Chapter 8, Roof-Ceiling Construction, which carries the residential code's roof sheathing provisions, nor to Chapter 9, Roof Assemblies; its complete amendment list at 11-1-3 has two items, one on relocatable buildings in the building code and one correcting footing-table references in the residential code. IDAPA 24.39.30.600.03, the State of Idaho's complete list of amendments to the 2018 International Residential Code, contains no amendment to either chapter. The base 2018 IRC roof sheathing and decking requirements therefore apply here unmodified, along with the shingle manufacturer's printed installation instructions, which the code makes binding. This record does not restate the code's thickness, span or fastening numbers, which sit behind the code publisher's paywall; take them from the code itself. WHAT THE COUNTY DOES ASK FOR. The Cassia County Building Permit Application requires two sets of plans that include, among other items, "Siding / Roof Pitch" and a "Wall Cross Section", so the roof pitch has to be stated on the drawings. The County's own inspection list on that form runs Site/Setbacks, Footings, Foundation, Sheer Wall, Rough Framing, Energy, Wall Board and Final; a deck inspection is not a separately named item on it, so agree with the inspector when the deck will be looked at if you expect to find rot.

6.0% -- the Idaho state rate, with no local add-on. Idaho Code 63-3619 imposes the state sales tax "at the rate of six percent (6%)". Idaho has only two kinds of local sales tax, and neither reaches roofing work in Cassia County. The first is the resort-city local-option tax, which Idaho Code 50-1044 confines to a resort city "with a population not in excess of ten thousand (10,000)"; the Idaho State Tax Commission publishes the list of cities that levy one, and no Cassia County city appears on it, nor does a county have that authority. The second is an auditorium-district tax, which the Tax Commission states "can charge a local sales tax only for short-term lodging (30 days or less)" and so never reaches roofing work. Idaho counties levy no sales tax at all. HOW A ROOF IS TAXED, WHICH MATTERS MORE THAN THE RATE: the Tax Commission's contractor guidance states that "Idaho sales tax law says contractors are the consumers (end users) of all the goods they use. As a result, they must pay sales tax on all purchases", and it names roofers among the contractors it covers. The roofer pays the 6% on materials at the supply house; the homeowner's invoice carries no sales tax line at all, on materials or on labour, because "a contractor doesn't charge sales tax to the customer" and the tax is absorbed into the bid. The Commission adds that "if sales tax is charged on the bill, the customer can refuse to pay it." A customer's own sales-tax exemption does not carry over to the contractor.