City of Huntington Community Development & Redevelopment Department

City of Huntington, Indiana

city

217 W State St, Huntington, IN 46750

Not required

WHERE. The Department of Community Development & Redevelopment is listed on its department page at its Temporary City Offices, 217 W State St, Huntington, IN 46750, on (260) 356-5146, open 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and closed noon to 1 p.m.; its forms still carry the City Building address, 300 Cherry Street. The Building Commissioner is Shad Paul. Properties outside the City limits go to the County's Department of Community Development, 201 N Jefferson St, Room 204, on (260) 358-4840. HOW. Applications are made in person on the Department's paper forms; section 150.05(D) has the Department endeavour to decide within 5 business days, and the Department's own process note says it takes about three to five days to obtain a building permit. Inspections are booked by telephone during business hours with at least 24 hours' notice, and the Roof Alteration form states that the Department does NOT accept inspection requests by email, fax, or voicemail. Fines and re-inspection fees are payable by cash or check only.

THE CITY ADOPTS NO EDITION OF ITS OWN; ITS ADOPTION IS EXPRESSLY FLOATING. Section 150.04(A) of the City's Building Code incorporates the building rules of the State Fire Prevention and Building Safety Commission, Articles 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22, 25 and 28 of Title 675 of the Indiana Administrative Code, and provides that they "shall include later amendments to those Articles as the same are published in the Indiana Register or the Indiana Administrative Code with effective dates as fixed therein". Article 14 is the Indiana Residential Code, and the City's Building Codes page lists it, 675-IAC-14, among the state codes currently in effect. WHAT ARTICLE 14 REACHES. The Indiana Department of Homeland Security's guidance on roofing states that residential construction in Indiana is regulated by the 2020 Indiana Residential Code, 675 IAC 14-4.4, which adopts and amends the first printing of the 2018 International Residential Code. Chapter 150 was read in full and writes no roofing amendment of its own; its local content is permits, fees, inspections, the electrical and plumbing licensing, fences, demolition and unsafe buildings. Nor could it add one: IC 22-13-2-3(c) bars a city from an ordinance that includes more stringent or detailed requirements than the commission's rules. NOTE THE DATE OF THE TEXT READ. The copy of Chapter 150 the City links from its Building Codes page is marked Updated 7/29/2014 and Effective 9/1/2014, so an amendment to Chapter 150 enacted after that and not reflected in the City's current pages would not have been seen.

Required — REQUIRED, BY THE STATE CODE RATHER THAN BY THE CITY. The Indiana Department of Homeland Security's roofing guidance reproduces section R905.2.8.5, Drip edge, as part of the 2020 Indiana Residential Code, and states that "The 2020 Indiana Residential Code is in full force and effect statewide." Huntington adds nothing and removes nothing: Chapter 150 was read in full and contains no drip-edge provision. The requirement applies to a shingle re-roof whether or not the job needs a building permit, since a permit exemption removes the inspection, not the code. About drip edge

Required — REQUIRED IN HUNTINGTON COUNTY BY THE STATE TABLE, AND THE CITY SAYS SO ON ITS OWN FORM. Table R301.2(1) of the Indiana Residential Code runs county by county, and the Huntington row reads Ice Shield Underlayment Required: Yes. The Indiana Department of Homeland Security's guidance explains the effect: "In short, there are specific counties in which it is always required (per Table R301.2(1))". Its reproduction of section R905.1.2 applies the ice barrier to asphalt shingles and other listed coverings, running to a point not less than 24 inches inside the exterior wall line, and exempts detached accessory structures not containing conditioned floor area. The City's Roof Alteration permit form states the local practice for permitted work: "Ice & water shield is required to be installed on all primary structure roof alterations and on accessory structure roof alterations if heated." About ice & water barrier

Not required — NOT REQUIRED, AT EITHER LEVEL OF GOVERNMENT. Chapter 150 of the City's Building Code was read in full and contains no impact-resistance or hail provision: the terms impact, hail, UL 2218, Class 4 and FM 4473 each occur zero times in it, and Class IV appears only as a class of electrician licence. The state rule the City adopts, the 2020 Indiana Residential Code at 675 IAC 14-4.4, was searched across its full text and contains no UL 2218 requirement, no Class 4 or Class IV impact rating and no FM 4473 reference. Its amendments to the roof assemblies chapter touch four sections only, R902.4, R905.2.6, R905.2.8 and R905.2.8.4, and none concerns impact resistance; where the word impact does appear in the rule, it is in a flood provision, an appliance-protection provision and a light fixture's lens specification, none of them on roof coverings. Nor could the City add an impact requirement of its own: IC 22-13-2-3(c) bars a city from an ordinance that includes more stringent or detailed requirements than the commission's rules. Impact-resistant shingles are an insurance and warranty decision in Huntington, not a code requirement. When reading paperwork, a Class A, B or C designation, or a reference to ASTM E108 or UL 790, is a FIRE rating and says nothing about hail, and ASTM D3161 or D7158 is a WIND rating; only UL 2218 or FM 4473 answers impact.

THE LINE IS STRUCTURAL CHANGE, NOT SIZE OR COST, AND RE-SHINGLING SITS BELOW IT. Section 150.05(A) of the City's Building Code lists the work that needs a building permit, and the only roof item on the list is item (5): "Construction of new roof projections or structural changes to a roof." Re-roofing is not named anywhere in the list. The Department's own guidance says the same thing in plain words. Its Summary List of Residential Projects that Require a Permit names Roof Alterations as "structural changes such as a change in the pitch or projection of the roof; permits are not required for re-shingling", and its Building Permits page lists "Construction of new roof projections and structural changes to roofs (not re-shingling)". Structural roof work is permitted on the City's Roof Alteration form, at a building fee of $25.00 residential and $30.00 commercial on the schedule updated March 25, 2025. TWO THINGS THE BUILDING-PERMIT LIST DOES NOT SETTLE. First, historic districts: under Chapter 153, section 153.20, "A certificate of appropriateness must be issued by the Historic Review Board before a permit is issued for, or work is begun on, any of the following", which includes a conspicuous change in the exterior appearance of existing buildings. Section 153.21(C)(8) exempts named roof repairs, among them "Replacement of up to 50% of deteriorated roof shingles on any roof surface if they match the existing roof shingles", so a full re-roof, or any change of roof appearance, on a property in a local historic district should be cleared with the Department first. Second, floodplains: the City requires a Floodplain Development Permit for development in a Special Flood Hazard Area, and whether a re-roof on a flood-zone property counts is not answered on the pages read for this record. WHAT IT COSTS TO GUESS WRONG. Under section 150.06(B), if work that requires a permit starts first, "a penalty of twice the regular permit fee shall be assessed." Call the Department on (260) 356-5146 if the job touches framing, pitch or deck structure, or if the property is historic or in a flood zone.

THE FIGURES ARE THE STATE'S COUNTY-INDEXED TABLE, NOT A CITY ENACTMENT. Table R301.2(1) of the Indiana Residential Code, as reproduced by the Indiana Department of Homeland Security, gives the Huntington County row as wind speed 115 mph, seismic design category A, ground snow load 20 psf, foundation depth 36 inches, winter design temperature 1 degree Fahrenheit, decay slight to moderate, termite moderate to heavy, weathering severe, ice shield underlayment required Yes, air freezing index 1500 or less, and mean annual temperature 50.4 degrees. The City publishes no design criteria of its own: Chapter 150 was read in full and contains none.

TWO LAYERS MAXIMUM, SET BY THE STATE CODE, AND THE CITY'S OWN BUILDING PERMITS PAGE SAYS THE SAME. The City writes no layer rule of its own: Chapter 150 was read in full and contains no provision on roof layers, recovering or tear-off. The rule comes from the state-adopted residential code, 675 IAC 14-4.4, which adopts the 2018 International Residential Code and makes no amendment to its reroofing section, Section R908. 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. The Department's Building Permits page carries a note that agrees with the state rule: "Building Code prohibits the installation of more than two layers of roofing materials". It is reported here as the City's own statement and not as the source of the limit. Establish the existing layer count before quoting a recover, and settle any doubt with the Building Commissioner on (260) 356-5146.

NO LOCAL SHEATHING RULE. Chapter 150 of the City's Building Code was read in full and contains no provision on roof sheathing or decking; its only local roof items are the permit trigger for structural roof changes and the fee for them. The sheathing requirements that apply are those of the state-adopted residential code, 675 IAC 14-4.4. Where a Roof Alteration permit is issued, the City's form sets the framing inspection "once the trusses or rafters are installed, but prior to the roof sheathing being installed", so structural roof work must be seen before it is covered.

7.00% in Huntington, the Indiana state sales and use tax rate, with no county or municipal add-on. The Indiana Department of Revenue states that a seller must "register to collect a seven percent sales tax", and Indiana authorises no local-option general sales tax, so neither Huntington County nor the City levies anything on top of the state rate.