Fayette County, Indiana - Area Plan Commission

Fayette County, Indiana (the unincorporated county and the City of Connersville)

county

401 N Central Ave, Lower Level, Connersville, IN 47331

Required

WHERE AND WHEN. The Area Plan Commission office is on the lower level of the Fayette County Courthouse, 401 N Central Ave, Connersville, IN 47331, on 765-825-9808, fax 765-827-4352, email [email protected], with Bill MacDaniel as Executive Director. The County gives its hours as weekdays 8:30am to 4pm, Wednesday until 5pm, closed daily for lunch from 12pm to 1pm. Some of the County's downloadable application forms print other details, an office at 111 West 4th Street on the residential form and a fax of 765-827-6629 on others, so use the details on the County's Area Planning page. HOW TO APPLY. Applications are made through the County's online Citizen Permit Portal, and the County's instructions are to prepare the listed documents first: "Prepare additional documents PRIOR to filling out an Application", then "Fill out ALL applicable fields" and "Upload Required Documents and Submit". It warns that "Any permit submitted without required documentation will cause a delay or denial of the application." On the residential application the documents are a scaled site plan; construction plans that "demonstrate compliance with the Indiana Building Codes"; a Fayette County septic or well permit where one is used; a drive permit for a new drive or curb cut "from the Connersville Highway Department, City Street Department, or Indiana Department of Transportation"; "Approval from the Connersville Drainage Board for properties within their jurisdiction"; a copy of any deed restrictions and restrictive covenants; and a flood plain development permit where the parcel is in a 100 year floodplain. Much of that is aimed at new building, so ask the office which items a re-roof needs. The County "will not issue permits for any project that is in violation of deed restrictions or restrictive covenants." The application treats the property owner as the applicant, "For the purposes of this permit the applicant is the owner of the property", with signature lines for the owner and for the owner's agent. INSIDE CONNERSVILLE the City's own code, section 150.07, provides that "All permits shall be issued by the Building Commissioner", that the fees go "to the County Auditor to the credit of the General Fund of Fayette County", and that the permit is kept "in a full and conspicuous place on the site of the work until the work shall be finished and finally inspected". INSPECTIONS. The application states that "All inspections must be made at least 24 hours in advance", that "The property owner is ultimately responsible for ensuring that all required inspections are scheduled and made", and that "No Certificate of Occupancy will be issued unless all construction work passes all required inspections." A permit "will expire if no work is commenced within six months of issuance."

STATE-SET, AND NEITHER THE COUNTY NOR THE CITY PUBLISHES AN EDITION OF ITS OWN. Indiana's residential code is the state's. The rule is 675 IAC 14-4.4, which provides at 675 IAC 14-4.4-1 that "That certain document being titled the 2018 International Residential Code for One and Two Family Dwellings, first printing August 2017, published by the International Code Council ... is hereby incorporated by reference as if fully set out in this rule save and except those revisions made in this rule", and that "This rule shall be known as the 2020 Indiana Residential Code." The rule was readopted by a filing of November 18, 2025, Indiana Register 20251210-IR-675240566RFA. The Indiana State Building Commissioner states its reach in terms, in guidance of February 25, 2020 on Indiana Department of Homeland Security letterhead: "The 2020 Indiana Residential Code is in full force and effect statewide." The County's own residential permit application asks for construction plans and details "that demonstrate compliance with the Indiana Building Codes" and names no edition. IC 22-13-2-3(c) provides that "A city, town, or county may not adopt an ordinance that conflicts with or includes more stringent or detailed requirements than the commission's rules", and IC 22-13-2-3(a)(2) gives those rules precedence over "any ordinance or other regulation adopted by a political subdivision that covers the same subject matter as the commission's fire safety rules or building rules". Where a local instrument cites the Indiana Administrative Code, IC 22-13-2-3(b) makes the citation float forward: it "shall be construed to include all amendments as of the date that the reference is written and any later amendments to that provision, unless accompanied by a reference to a specific edition or supplement to the Indiana Administrative Code". WHAT WAS NOT READ. The City of Connersville's codified Chapter 150, Building Code, was read at section 150.07 only. Its adoption provisions were not read, so which edition that chapter names is not stated here, and neither the County nor the City has published a statement of which edition it enforces beyond the application's reference to the Indiana Building Codes. The City's codification is Supplement 2025 S-33, which states "Local legislation current through Ord. 7039, passed 1-6-25". ONE VOCABULARY WARNING. The County's paper application for a "Residential Class II Structure" is headed "One and Two Family Residential Structure Permit Application": Class II, or Class 2, is Indiana's STRUCTURE class for one and two family dwellings, and it has nothing to do with a fire class or an impact class of roof covering.

Required — STATE-SET, NOT COUNTY-SET, AND UNCONDITIONAL ON A SHINGLE ROOF. The Indiana State Building Commissioner publishes the adopted Section R905.2.8.5 first-hand, on Indiana Department of Homeland Security letterhead, in the guidance of February 25, 2020 headed "ICE/WATER SHIELD & METAL DRIP EDGE IN CLASS 2 CONSTRUCTION with ASPHALT SHINGLES": "A drip edge shall be provided at eaves and rake edges of shingle roofs. Adjacent segments of drip edge shall be overlapped not less than 2 inches (51 mm)." The same passage requires drip edges to extend below the roof sheathing and back up onto the deck and to be mechanically fastened at not more than 12 inches on center, and closes "Underlayment shall be installed over the drip edge along eaves and under the drip edge along rake edges." The Indiana rule amends Section R905.2.8 only by deleting the word approved, at 675 IAC 14-4.4-86, and does not touch R905.2.8.5. A local ordinance cannot vary it: IC 22-13-2-3(c) provides that "A city, town, or county may not adopt an ordinance that conflicts with or includes more stringent or detailed requirements than the commission's rules." It applies whether or not the particular job needs a permit. About drip edge

Not required — NOT REQUIRED BY THE TABLE IN FAYETTE COUNTY, BUT THE SHINGLE MANUFACTURER CAN STILL REQUIRE IT. Indiana deletes the model climatic table and substitutes its own county-by-county table: 675 IAC 14-4.4-5 directs "Delete TABLE R301.2(1) and the corresponding footnotes and substitute to read as follows", and the substituted table runs one row per county. Row 21 is Fayette, and it carries "No" in the column headed "Ice Shield Underlayment Required". Twenty-seven of Indiana's ninety-two counties carry "Yes" there and Fayette is not one of them. The Indiana State Building Commissioner sets out the qualification in the February 25, 2020 guidance on Indiana Department of Homeland Security letterhead: Sections R903.1, R904.1 and R905.1 require roofing to be installed in accordance with the manufacturer's installation instructions, so "there are specific counties in which it is always required (per Table R301.2(1)), and specific counties in which it is required only when the roofing manufacturer's written installation instructions require it (per Sections R903.1, R904.1 and R905.1)." Fayette County is in the second group: the table does not compel an ice barrier here, and the shingle manufacturer's printed instructions still can. IC 22-13-2-3(c) bars a city, town or county from an ordinance more stringent or detailed than the state rules. About ice & water barrier

Not required — NO ROOF, DECK OR MID-ROOF STAGE IS PUBLISHED. The County's residential application sets out its required inspections as a numbered list, noting that "Inspections required will depend on the type of project", and the list was read in full: footing; foundation; concrete floors; sill plate and anchor bolts; framing, "prior to installing house wrap and insulation"; electric system rough-in; electric service; mechanical system rough-in; plumbing system rough-in; plumbing pressure test; and final inspection. None of the eleven is a roofing, tear-off or deck stage, and the online version of the same application carries the same eleven. Do not read the absence of a roof stage as no inspection at all: the application states that "No Certificate of Occupancy will be issued unless all construction work passes all required inspections", that "All inspections must be made at least 24 hours in advance", and that "The property owner is ultimately responsible for ensuring that all required inspections are scheduled and made." Inside Connersville, section 150.07(C) of the City code requires the permit to be kept on site "until the work shall be finished and finally inspected". Ask which stages a roofing permit carries when it issues.

Not required — No impact-resistance requirement applies in Fayette County. The 2020 Indiana Residential Code, 675 IAC 14-4.4, makes four amendments touching the model code's roofing chapter and not one of them concerns impact: 675 IAC 14-4.4-84 directs "Delete the text of the last sentence of SECTION R902.4 without substitution"; 675 IAC 14-4.4-85 and 675 IAC 14-4.4-86 each delete the word approved, from Sections R905.2.6 and R905.2.8; and 675 IAC 14-4.4-87 deletes the word printed from Section R905.2.8.4. Nothing in the rule imposes a UL 2218, Class 4, Class IV or FM 4473 impact rating. The County's residential application, read in full, asks for the roof system's framing, sheathing and roof-to-wall attachment details and specifies no roof covering rating of any kind. IC 22-13-2-3(c) provides that "A city, town, or county may not adopt an ordinance that conflicts with or includes more stringent or detailed requirements than the commission's rules." The City of Connersville's codified Chapter 150 was read at section 150.07 only. Two things that get mistaken for an impact mandate in Indiana: "Class II" on the County's residential application, which is Indiana's structure class for one and two family dwellings rather than any rating of the roof covering; and an insurer's premium discount for an impact-rated shingle, which is a private contract term and not a code requirement.

NO DOLLAR OR SQUARE-FOOTAGE THRESHOLD IS PUBLISHED, AND INSIDE CONNERSVILLE THE CITY'S CODE TIES THE REPAIR PERMIT TO THE EXTERIOR AND THE STRUCTURE. IN THE COUNTY: the County's online Residential Class II Structure Permit Application lists "Roof" among its project types, alongside "Repair" and "Remodel", and its general provisions open "No work of any kind may start until a permit is issued." The application states no fee and no size or cost below which a job is excused. INSIDE CONNERSVILLE: the City's own Building Code, section 150.07(A), provides: "A permit, using forms furnished by the Building Commissioner as approved by the County Commissioners, shall be obtained before beginning new construction, or altering or repairing existing buildings or structures if the alterations or repairs affect the exterior perimeter, and/or structural strength of such buildings or structures. All permits shall be issued by the Building Commissioner." The code does not say, in terms, whether a like-for-like re-covering that leaves the deck and framing alone is a repair that affects the exterior perimeter or the structural strength of the building, so settle that with the Area Plan Commission office on (765) 825-9808 before the tear-off. Section 150.07(B) adds that no permit issues without the fee, which is paid to the Building Commissioner "who shall forthwith pay over such fees to the County Auditor to the credit of the General Fund of Fayette County, daily", and that "no part of the fees shall be returnable to the applicant, unless specifically authorized by the Building Commissioner." PERMITS LAPSE AT SIX MONTHS ON BOTH SIDES: the County's application states "The permit will expire if no work is commenced within six months of issuance", and section 150.07(D) makes a City permit "null and void unless work thereon is under way within six months of the date of issuance of such permit." Section 150.07 dates from Ord. 3139, passed 5-3-93, and is codified in Supplement 2025 S-33, "Local legislation current through Ord. 7039, passed 1-6-25".

115 mph. Indiana replaces the model IRC Table R301.2(1) with its own county-by-county table at 675 IAC 14-4.4-5, which opens "Delete TABLE R301.2(1) and the corresponding footnotes and substitute to read as follows". Row 21 is Fayette County, and it gives 115 in the column headed "Wind Speed", in miles per hour. All ninety-two county rows carry the same figure, so 115 mph is the one statewide Indiana roofing number. The same row gives seismic design category A, ground snow 20 psf, a 30 inch foundation depth, a winter design temperature of 2 degrees F, decay Slight to Moderate, termite Moderate to Heavy, weathering Severe, an air freezing index of 1500 or less and a mean annual temperature of 51.5 degrees F. Wind exposure category is still decided site by site rather than set by the county or the state: the table's own footnote a reads "Wind exposure shall be determined on a site-specific basis in accordance with SECTION R301.2.1.4." Indiana amends that section at 675 IAC 14-4.4-4 for a site where multiple dwellings or other structures "are to be constructed as part of a subdivision or master-planned community", so on a part-built subdivision settle the exposure category for the particular lot. IC 22-13-2-3(c) bars a city, town or county from an ordinance more stringent or detailed than the state rules.

NO COUNTY LAYER RULE, AND INDIANA LEAVES THE MODEL CODE'S CAP STANDING. The residential code in Fayette County is the state's: 675 IAC 14-4.4, the 2020 Indiana Residential Code, which incorporates the 2018 International Residential Code and then amends it section by section. The full text of the rule as published in the Indiana Administrative Code was read and counted for the model code's reroofing and roof recover section: SECTION R908 does not occur in it once. The rule's only amendments reaching the model roofing chapter are four word and sentence deletions, and none of the four goes near a layer count: 675 IAC 14-4.4-84 deletes the last sentence of SECTION R902.4; 675 IAC 14-4.4-85 and 675 IAC 14-4.4-86 each delete the word approved, from SECTION R905.2.6 and SECTION R905.2.8; and 675 IAC 14-4.4-87 deletes the word printed from SECTION R905.2.8.4. So the base International Residential Code rule on recovering an existing roof applies in Fayette County exactly as the adopted edition publishes it. Base-code rule, read at 2018 International Residential Code Section R908.3.1.1, Roof recover not allowed, and quoted here rather than left behind the ICC paywall: a roof recover "shall not be permitted" where "the existing roof has two or more applications of any type of roof covering." One existing layer may be recovered; a second existing layer means a tear-off to the deck. Neither the County nor the City of Connersville can cut that shorter. IC 22-13-2-3(c) provides that "A city, town, or county may not adopt an ordinance that conflicts with or includes more stringent or detailed requirements than the commission's rules", and IC 22-13-2-3(a)(2) gives the commission's rules precedence over "any ordinance or other regulation adopted by a political subdivision that covers the same subject matter". BEFORE QUOTING AN OVERLAY RATHER THAN A TEAR-OFF: that section carries further conditions besides the layer count, so read it in full in the adopted edition and settle the existing layer count with the Area Plan Commission office on (765) 825-9808 first. The City of Connersville's codified Chapter 150, Building Code, was read at section 150.07 only.

NO COUNTY SHEATHING RULE, AND INDIANA'S ONE CHANGE TO ROOF SHEATHING IS A PAPERWORK POINT. The 2020 Indiana Residential Code, 675 IAC 14-4.4, makes a single amendment to the roof sheathing provisions. It is at 675 IAC 14-4.4-82, headed "Section R803.2.1; identification and grade", and it reads in full: "Delete the words 'or certificate of inspection issued by an approved agency' from the text of SECTION R803.2.1 without substitution." So in Indiana roof sheathing panels are identified by their grade mark, and the alternative route of a certificate of inspection from an approved agency is gone. That section was filed November 26, 2019 at 20191225-IR-675190330FRA and readopted by a filing of November 18, 2025 at 20251210-IR-675240566RFA. Nothing else in the rule reaches the deck: its roof-assemblies amendments are the four word and sentence deletions described in this record's layer field, at SECTION R902.4, SECTION R905.2.6, SECTION R905.2.8 and SECTION R905.2.8.4. The County writes no sheathing rule of its own. Its Residential Class II Structure Permit Application carries a "Roof System Information" block asking for the truss or joist rafter system and its stamped engineering drawings, rafter and joist dimensions and maximum spans, beam and header dimensions, "Roof sheathing dimensions" and "Roof to wall attachment method", so the County wants the sheathing and the roof-to-wall connection described on the application, but it prescribes no thickness, span rating or fastening schedule anywhere on the form, and the code answer is the state's. It could not be otherwise: IC 22-13-2-3(c) provides that "A city, town, or county may not adopt an ordinance that conflicts with or includes more stringent or detailed requirements than the commission's rules." ONE PRACTICAL POINT ON A TEAR-OFF. The County's published inspection list runs eleven stages and none of them is a deck or roof stage, so if a tear-off exposes rotten or delaminated decking there is no scheduled visit at which it will be seen. Agree with the Area Plan Commission office on (765) 825-9808 how replaced decking is to be inspected before it is covered. The City of Connersville's codified Chapter 150, Building Code, was read at section 150.07 only, so whether the City adds anything on sheathing is not established here.

7.00% statewide, with no county or city add-on in Fayette County. Indiana levies a single state sales tax rate. The Department of Revenue's own page listing the taxes that vary by county, the innkeeper's tax, the food and beverage tax and the local income tax, closes with the sentence "The sales tax for the entire State of Indiana is 7%." None of those county taxes is a sales tax, so there is no local percentage to add to a materials invoice. WHO PAYS IT DEPENDS ON THE SHAPE OF THE CONTRACT, NOT ON THE ROOF. Indiana Department of Revenue Sales Tax Information Bulletin #60 (March 2024) names roofing in its own list of contractors, "persons engaged in building, concrete work, carpentry, plumbing, heating and cooling, electrical work, roofing, plastering, tile work", and then splits on contract form. A "Time and Material Contract" means "a contract in which the cost of construction material and the cost of labor or other charges are stated separately"; a contractor working under one "is a retail merchant that is selling the construction material that it incorporates into real property, and must be registered with the department and collect sales tax on the material portion of their contracts". A contractor working under any other form, such as a lump sum, "must pay sales or use tax on their construction material" and they "do not collect sales tax from their customers". On labour the bulletin adds that "Installation charges separately stated on an invoice are not included in gross retail income." The bulletin says of itself that "Any information that is not consistent with the law, regulations, or court decisions is not binding on either the department or the taxpayer", so settle the contract form with an accountant.