The Roofing Book

Permitting Authorities / Community and Development Services (CDS)

Community and Development Services (CDS)

Adopted code

The joint city-county planning, code-enforcement and building-permitting agency serving the City of Hopkinsville and Christian County, Kentucky, operating as at the last-verified date below under the name Community and Development Services (CDS) and still codified in Hopkinsville's own ordinances as the Hopkinsville-Christian County Planning Commission. The City of Hopkinsville's own codes page states plainly, "The City of Hopkinsville contracts with Community and Development Services (formerly the Planning Commission) to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the general public through enforcement of building and other codes." CDS's own codes-department page lists separate residential building-permit application forms for the City of Hopkinsville, the City of Guthrie, the City of Pembroke, and Christian County, and its Application Guide states plainly, "All construction projects in Hopkinsville and Christian County must obtain a building permit." The City of Oak Grove, also in Christian County, is not part of CDS's territory: Kentucky's own Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction lists Oak Grove's local building inspector as a separate individual from CDS's. Kentucky operates a mandatory, uniform "mini/maxi" residential code, 815 KAR 7:125 (the 2015 International Residential Code as amended by the 2018 Kentucky Residential Code, Third Edition, August 2024), which no Kentucky local government may make stricter or more permissive, so CDS administers the same code content as every other Kentucky jurisdiction; only the permit and inspection layer is a local choice. A local newspaper, the Kentucky New Era, reported on September 11, 2026 that beginning September 21, 2026, "questions regarding building permits within Hopkinsville city limits should be directed to the City of Hopkinsville," with "CDS will continue handling building permit matters for the remainder of Christian County." As of this record's own research, CDS's own site still lists a City of Hopkinsville residential building-permit application among its own forms and no first-party City of Hopkinsville building-permit page independent of CDS was found; this record does not resolve whether that reported transition has taken effect or what body administers Hopkinsville permits after it.

Jurisdiction
City of Hopkinsville and Christian County, Kentucky
Jurisdiction type
district
Address
311 West 9th Street, Hopkinsville, KY 42240
Contact
  • url: https://comdev-services.com/
  • phone: 270-887-4285
Roofing permit required
Required
Registration details
  • state_level: No Kentucky trade license or registration names roofing. Kentucky licenses HVAC, electrical, plumbing, boiler and fire-protection-sprinkler contractors, and each scheme's own scope enumeration was read in full; roofing appears in none of them. Kentucky has no general contractor or home-improvement license, and "contractor" occurs zero times in KRS 198B.010, the Uniform State Building Code chapter's own 25-term definition section. The Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction publishes no roofing division. Kentucky preempts local licensure expressly where it means to, for electricians (KRS 227A.020(6)) and for home inspectors (KRS 198B.726), and enacts no equivalent bar for roofers, so a local roofer registration remains a live possibility in any given Kentucky jurisdiction and must be checked at that level.
  • local_level: No CDS-specific roofing contractor registration or license was found. CDS's own residential building-permit application for the City of Hopkinsville requires only that "all contractors and subcontractors to be employed on this project must have a current business license issued by the City of Hopkinsville and are in compliance with Kentucky Law regarding to Workers Compensation and Unemployment Insurance." A general business license is not a trade-specific credential. This record does not assert that no roofing-specific registration exists anywhere in Hopkinsville or Christian County, only that none was found in the materials reviewed this session; confirm with CDS at 270-887-4285.
Permit process note
A local newspaper, the Kentucky New Era, reported on September 11, 2026 that Community and Development Services was relocating its office to 311 West 9th Street, with regular services resuming September 21, 2026, and that, quoted, "Beginning Sept. 21, questions regarding building permits within Hopkinsville city limits should be directed to the City of Hopkinsville. CDS will continue handling building permit matters for the remainder of Christian County." As of this record's own research, conducted before that date, CDS's own codes-department page still listed a City of Hopkinsville residential building-permit application among the forms it administers, alongside separate forms for the City of Guthrie, the City of Pembroke, and Christian County, and no independent City of Hopkinsville building-permit page was found. Which office actually issues a Hopkinsville roofing permit after September 21, 2026 was not established this session; a contractor should call CDS at 270-887-4285 or the City of Hopkinsville directly to confirm before relying on this record. The City of Oak Grove, also within Christian County, is served by its own building inspector rather than by CDS.
Adopted code
The 2015 International Residential Code, as amended by the 2018 Kentucky Residential Code, Third Edition (August 2024), mandatory statewide under 815 KAR 7:125 section 2(1): "the 2015 International Residential Code for One (1) and Two (2) Family Dwellings (IRC) shall be the mandatory state residential building code for all single-family dwellings, two (2) family dwellings, and townhouses constructed in Kentucky, except that the Kentucky amendments in the 2018 Kentucky Residential Code shall supersede any conflicting provision in the 2015 IRC." The code's own R101.3 adds, "Local governments shall not adopt or enforce any other building code for detached single family dwellings, two-family dwellings and townhouses," so no CDS-specific or Hopkinsville-specific technical amendment exists or could lawfully exist. CDS administers this same statewide code for both the City of Hopkinsville and the rest of Christian County under an interlocal city-county arrangement; its own codes-department page also lists residential building-permit forms for the smaller Christian County cities of Guthrie and Pembroke. One statewide carve-out applies on some Christian County properties: KRS 198B.010(4) excludes from the definition of "building," and therefore from the code, a farm dwelling or other farm building or structure incident to a farm's operation and maintenance if it sits outside a municipality's boundary and is not used retail, as a workplace for ten or more people, or for timber storage; this record does not decide whether any particular Christian County property qualifies.
Drip edge
Required — Required statewide by Kentucky's own enacted text, with an alternate-methods allowance. The Kentucky Residential Code's Section R905.2.8.5, Drip edge, reads: "A drip edge shall be provided at eaves and gables of shingle roofs. Adjacent pieces of drip edge shall be overlapped a minimum of 2 inches. Drip edges shall extend a minimum of 0.25 inch below the roof sheathing and extend up the roof deck a minimum of 2 inches. Drip edges shall be mechanically fastened to the roof deck at a maximum of 12 inches on center... Alternate methods to the standard metal drip edge may include site formed coil stock that creates a drip line as intended by the code. Wood, composite, and manufactured trim installed on the fascia shall create a drip line to prevent water from running back under the shingles, which will meet the requirements of the drip edge." Because Kentucky bars a local government from adopting or enforcing any other building code for a one- or two-family dwelling (KRC R101.3), this applies identically inside CDS's territory; no CDS-specific amendment was found or would be lawful. About drip edge
Impact-resistant roofing
Not required — Not required by Kentucky's statewide residential code, and no other code may lawfully impose one here. A full counted read of both the Kentucky Residential Code amendment packet and the Kentucky Building Code amendment packet returns zero occurrences of "UL 2218," "Class 4," "Class IV," "impact," and "hail." Because KRC R102.2 provides that "a local ordinance shall not establish any additional or contradictory building construction standard than those adopted in this code," and KRC R101.3 bars a local government from adopting or enforcing any other building code for a one- or two-family dwelling, this negative reaches every jurisdiction inside CDS's territory, not merely the state layer. An insurer's premium discount for an impact-rated shingle is not a code mandate.
Repair permit threshold
No dollar or square-footage threshold for roofing specifically is published by CDS, and Kentucky state law points in two directions at once. CDS's own Application Guide states in its Plan Submission Process, "All construction projects in Hopkinsville and Christian County must obtain a building permit," with no dollar or percentage carve-out for roofing found in that guide or in CDS's residential or commercial permit application forms. The same guide's fee schedule prices a City of Hopkinsville building permit for "Single-family dwellings, residential additions and accessory structures" at "$0.13 per square foot," rather than by a repair-versus-replacement distinction, while a Christian County building permit is a flat "$200." Separately, Kentucky's own statutes pull in opposite directions on whether a roof replacement is inside a permit requirement at all: KRS 198B.010(21) defines "ordinary repair" to include, by name, "the replacement or installation of nonstructural components of the building such as roofing... that does not alter the structural integrity," and KRS 198B.010(11) then excludes "ordinary repair" from the definition of "construction," the term KRS 198B.060(8) attaches the permit requirement to. Against that, the Kentucky Residential Code's own scope at R101.2 reaches "alteration... replacement, repair," and neither CDS's forms nor the KRC's own R105.2 exempt list names roofing as excused. This record states both tests without deciding which one governs a particular reroof; call CDS at 270-887-4285 to confirm treatment of a job at the margin.
Wind design criteria
Basic ultimate wind speed 115 mph for all Kentucky counties, including Christian County, with a 15 psf ground snow load. Kentucky replaces the model climatic table with its own "Table R301.2 (1) - Design Snow, Climatic and Geometric Design Criteria for Kentucky Counties." Its wind design row reads, "Basic ultimate wind speed, V-ult shall be 115 mph (51.4 m/s) for all Kentucky counties. Topographic effects shall be investigated." Christian County does not appear on the table's list of counties assigned the higher 20 psf ground snow load (Boone, Boyd, Bracken, Campbell, Carroll, Floyd, Gallatin, Grant, Greenup, Henry, Kenton, Knott, Leslie, Letcher, Lewis, Martin, Mason, Trimble), so it carries the table's default 15 psf figure. The same table lists weathering as "SEVERE for all Kentucky counties," termite protection as "MODERATE TO HEAVY for all Kentucky counties," and sends seismic design to Table R301.2.2.1. Footnote d warns that Section 301.2.1.3 converts this ultimate figure to a nominal design wind speed for methods that use one; do not apply 115 mph directly to a nominal-basis calculation. Kentucky bars a local government from adopting a different residential code, so this table applies identically inside CDS's territory.
Roof layer limit / recover
This record does not state a layer classification. Kentucky's statewide residential code amendment packet was read in full and amends nothing at an R908 section number or any other reroofing/recover provision: "R908" returns zero occurrences across the packet's text, and IRC Chapter 8 does not appear in the code's table of contents at all. No CDS-specific instrument on the point exists, or could lawfully exist, since Kentucky bars a local government from adopting or enforcing any other building code for a one- or two-family dwelling (KRC R101.3). Rather than borrow a layer count from the base 2015 IRC at its own R908.3.1.1 numbering, which nobody on this project has separately opened and captured for this record, this field leaves the question open and points to the unamended base code's roof-assemblies chapter as the place the answer would come from.
Deck & sheathing requirements
No local rule, and the statewide code makes no amendment to roof sheathing. Kentucky's residential code is mandatory statewide under 815 KAR 7:125 section 2(1), and local governments including CDS's member jurisdictions are barred from adopting a different building code for one- and two-family dwellings and townhouses (KRC R101.3, R102.2). The state's own amendment packet was read in full: IRC Chapter 8 (Roof-Ceiling Construction) does not appear anywhere in the Kentucky code's table of contents, and anchored counts for "R802" and "R803" both return zero across the amendment text. The packet's only "Chapter 8" hit is a cross-reference to "815 KAR Chapter 8" (HVAC contractor licensing), not IRC Chapter 8. So the base 2015 International Residential Code's roof-sheathing provisions apply in this jurisdiction unmodified; this record points to that chapter rather than restating span or fastening figures nobody on this project has read against a Hopkinsville or Christian County-specific instrument, because none exists to read.
Sales & use tax
6.00% statewide, with no local component anywhere in Kentucky, including Hopkinsville and Christian County. KRS 139.200 provides, "A tax is hereby imposed upon all retailers at the rate of six percent (6%) of the gross receipts." Kentucky's Department of Revenue states plainly, "There are no local sales and use taxes in Kentucky," and no provision of KRS Chapter 139 authorizes a county, city or district sales tax. The contractor, not the homeowner, owes the tax on materials: 103 KAR 26:070 section 2(1) provides that "all sales to contractors, subcontractors, builders, or owners of building materials, fixtures, and supplies which are to be incorporated or fabricated into any structure or improvement to real estate by the process of erecting, remodeling, replacing, or repairing the structure or improvement are subject to the sales or use tax at the time of sale to the contractor"; roofing is named as trade item 8 and material item (k) in that same regulation's own enumerations. A roofing contractor working in Hopkinsville or Christian County pays the 6% tax when buying materials and does not separately charge sales tax to the homeowner on the finished job, which is realty rather than a retail sale.

Related guides

Denver-Metro Roofing Permits Filing a Hail Insurance Claim Colorado Hail Season Prep Hiring a Contractor

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