Permitting Authorities / City of Lexington, NE - Development Services Department
Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Lexington, NE?
Adopted code
City of Lexington, NE - Development Services Department
Yes — a permit is required to replace a roof in Lexington, NE, issued by City of Lexington, NE - Development Services Department. Apply in person at Development Services, 406 E 7th Street (PO Box 70), Lexington, NE 68850, (308) 324-2341; the Roofing Permit application is published on the City's Building Permits page as its own form. The City's instruction is to "Complete and bring Roof Permit Application and permit fee to the Development Services Department before you start construction." The form asks for owner, contractor and job-site details and lists the items required for submittal as the physical address and the number of EXISTING LAYERS, so the layer count is declared at application. The fee is a flat $50.00. Two things a roofer should not assume: electrical permits are issued by the Nebraska State Electrical Division and not by the City, and plan approval where it is needed comes from the Nebraska State Fire Marshal. The City publishes no roofing inspection schedule, so ask Development Services what inspections it will want and when before scheduling the tear-off.
Jurisdiction
City of Lexington, Nebraska
Address
406 E 7th Street, PO Box 70, Lexington, NE 68850
Contact
- url: https://cityoflex.com/building-permits-rezoning-forms/
- phone: 308-324-2341
Roofing permit required
Required
Permit process note
Apply in person at Development Services, 406 E 7th Street (PO Box 70), Lexington, NE 68850, (308) 324-2341; the Roofing Permit application is published on the City's Building Permits page as its own form. The City's instruction is to "Complete and bring Roof Permit Application and permit fee to the Development Services Department before you start construction." The form asks for owner, contractor and job-site details and lists the items required for submittal as the physical address and the number of EXISTING LAYERS, so the layer count is declared at application. The fee is a flat $50.00. Two things a roofer should not assume: electrical permits are issued by the Nebraska State Electrical Division and not by the City, and plan approval where it is needed comes from the Nebraska State Fire Marshal. The City publishes no roofing inspection schedule, so ask Development Services what inspections it will want and when before scheduling the tear-off.
Adopted code
Lexington adopts its building codes in two steps. City Code Sec. 103-19 ("Building, mechanical and housing codes adopted by reference") provides: "The state building code promulgated pursuant to R.R.S. 1943, ch. 71, art. 64 (R.R.S. 1943, Section 74-6401 et seq.) is adopted by reference. Enforcement of a new edition of the state building code shall commence upon adoption of a resolution so stating." The resolution the City has passed under that section is RESOLUTION NO. 2017-18, "A Resolution of the City of Lexington, Nebraska Adopting the 2015 Editions of Building Codes With Certain Exceptions," passed and approved May 23, 2017: "That the 2015 Edition of the International Building Code, the 2015 Edition of the International Residential Code, 2015 Edition International Existing Building Code, 2015 International Fuel Gas Code, 2015 International Mechanical Code and 2015 International Plumbing Code are hereby adopted and shall replace the previous editions." Its only amendment is the deletion of two residential sprinkler sections: "Section R313 and Section R309.5 of the newly adopted 2015 International Residential Code are hereby deleted in their entirety." No later edition has been adopted by resolution, and the Development Services Department publishes the same editions today, telling roofers on its own Roof Permit Steps handout: "Remember your permit requires you to meet the 2015 International Residential Code." Property maintenance runs separately on the 2009 International Property Maintenance Code (City Code Sec. 103-82, adopted by Resolution No. 2012-29 of December 11, 2012). Electrical work is NOT on a city edition and NOT a city permit: City Code Sec. 103-45 adopts whichever edition of the National Electrical Code the State promulgates, and the City directs applicants to the State Electrical Division for electrical permits and to the Nebraska State Fire Marshal for plan approval. STATE FRAMEWORK, for context: the Nebraska State Building Code at Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-6403 adopts the 2018 International Building Code and the 2018 International Residential Code (the latter except section R313 and chapters 25 through 33), and 71-6406 governs when and how a city may run a local code of its own. A roofer should work to the editions the City enforces and confirm the current edition with the Development Services Department before bidding.
Ice & water shield
Required — The City's Roof Permit Steps handout states: "After ripping the old shingles off, or on a new roof, an ice barrier must be installed below the shingles," and reproduces the 2015 IRC provision it enforces: "R905.1.2 Ice barriers. In areas where there has been a history of ice forming along the eaves causing a backup of water as designated in Table R301.2(1), an ice barrier shall be installed for asphalt shingles, metal roof shingles, mineral-surfaced roll roofing, slate and slate-type shingles, wood shingles and wood shakes. The ice barrier shall consist of not fewer than two layers of underlayment cemented together, or a self-adhering polymer-modified bitumen sheet shall be used in place of normal underlayment and extend from the lowest edges of all roof surfaces to a point not less than 24 inches (610 mm) inside the exterior wall line of the building. On roofs with slope equal to or greater than 8 units vertical in 12 units horizontal, the ice barrier shall also be applied not less than 36 inches (914 mm) measured along the roof slope from the eave edge of the building." The City states the requirement flatly for reroofs and new roofs rather than conditioning it on a jurisdictional history finding.
About ice & water barrierImpact-resistant roofing
Not required — Neither of Lexington's adopting instruments imposes an impact-resistance requirement. Resolution No. 2017-18 (May 23, 2017), which adopts the 2015 International Residential Code, was read in full: its only amendment deletes IRC Sections R313 and R309.5, both residential fire-sprinkler provisions, and it does not add, amend or delete anything in IRC Chapter 9, Roof Assemblies. City Code Chapter 103, "Buildings and Building Regulations," was likewise read in full across all four of its articles; its only technical amendments are to the International Property Maintenance Code, and it contains no roofing provision. No UL 2218, Class 4 or other impact-rating requirement appears in the City's adopted code or its amendments, and none appears in the Development Services Department's own Roof Permit Steps handout. A hail-resistant shingle may still earn an insurance discount in central Nebraska, but that is an insurer's term, not a Lexington code requirement.
Repair permit threshold
Lexington publishes no dollar value, no roof area and no threshold separating a repair from a replacement below which a roofing permit is skipped. The Development Services Department's Roof Permit Steps handout applies on its face to repair as well as replacement -- it is headed "Building Your Roof" and says "When repairing or reroofing your structure remember" -- and it directs the applicant to "Complete and bring Roof Permit Application and permit fee to the Development Services Department before you start construction." Neither Chapter 103 of the City Code nor Resolution No. 2017-18 states any exemption for roofing work. The fee does not scale with the job: the City's enacted fee schedule (Resolution No. 2024-04, February 13, 2024) sets a flat "Roofing Permit $50.00" as its own line, separate from the value-banded "Building Permits" line that runs from $50.00 for work of $10,000 and below up to $500.00 for work of $100,001 and above. A reinspection costs $25.00. Confirm with Development Services before treating any small repair as exempt.
Roof layer limit / recover
The City's own Roof Permit Steps handout states: "When repairing or reroofing your structure remember: You cannot shingle over two layers of shingles. If you already have two layers, the old shingles must be removed before installation of the new shingles." The roofing permit application form lists "Existing Layers" among the "Items Required for Submittal", so the layer count is declared to the Development Services Department at application.
Deck & sheathing requirements
Lexington has no roof-deck or sheathing rule of its own. Resolution No. 2017-18 (May 23, 2017) adopts the 2015 International Residential Code and its only amendment deletes IRC Sections R313 and R309.5, both residential fire-sprinkler provisions; it adds, amends and deletes nothing in IRC Chapter 9, Roof Assemblies. City Code Chapter 103, "Buildings and Building Regulations," contains no roofing or sheathing provision, and its only technical amendments are to the International Property Maintenance Code. So the roof-deck and sheathing provisions of the adopted 2015 IRC apply unmodified, and the Development Services Department's own Roof Permit Steps handout adds no local deck requirement -- what it does add is the ice-barrier and flashing text set out elsewhere in this listing.
Local roofing hub
Related guides
The permitting authority for the City of Lexington, Nebraska, the seat of Dawson County in the central Platte Valley. Development Services runs the City's building permits and inspections with a Development Services Director and a Chief Building Inspector, and it publishes a dedicated Roofing Permit application and a one-page Roof Permit Steps handout that states the roofing rules a homeowner or contractor has to meet. Two things about Lexington are unusual and both matter to a roofer. First, the City does not adopt the ICC codes directly: City Code Sec. 103-19 adopts the Nebraska state building code by reference and provides that a new edition takes effect only when the Council passes a resolution saying so, and the resolution on the books is Resolution No. 2017-18 of May 23, 2017, adopting the 2015 editions. Second, electrical permits and fire plan review are not City functions at all -- the City sends applicants to the Nebraska State Electrical Division and the Nebraska State Fire Marshal.
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