City of Lincoln, North Dakota - Building Inspector

City of Lincoln, North Dakota

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Lincoln, ND

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Building regulation in Lincoln is run by a City Building Inspector under Title 11 of the City Code, and the title gives that official broad and clearly stated powers. Section 11-01-01 provides that "The provisions of this title shall be enforced by the Building Inspector", who "has the authority to enter any building or upon any premises within the City's jurisdictional limit which is covered by the provisions of this title to inspect for compliance", during regular business hours or at any other reasonable time; where access is refused, Section 11-01-02 lets the Inspector obtain an administrative search warrant. THE ENFORCEMENT SEQUENCE, WHICH IS WORTH KNOWING BEFORE IT STARTS. On finding a violation the Building Inspector gives written notice to the owner and to the person in charge of the work, orders the violation abated, and must allow a reasonable time for compliance (Section 11-01-03). Failing to comply with a final decision is an ordinance violation with each day a separate offense (Section 11-01-06), and ten days after a final order that has not been obeyed the Building Inspector may abate the violation and have the costs assessed against the property (Section 11-01-07). APPEALS RUN TO THE CITY COUNCIL, ON A THIRTY-DAY CLOCK. Under Section 11-01-04 every decision of the Building Inspector about a violation or about issuing or refusing a permit may be appealed to the City Council on written notice filed within thirty days; if no appeal is filed the decision is final. An appeal stays the decision unless the Inspector certifies imminent danger to life and property. The Council must set a hearing within fifteen days of receiving the notice, with at least five days' notice to the appellant (Section 11-01-05). OTHER PERMITS IN THE SAME TITLE. Chapter 11-06 governs the moving and demolition of buildings and structures, and Chapters 11-04 and 11-05 cover swimming pools and wells. Plumbing and electrical installations are inspected under the state standards rather than by the City. Note also that Lincoln adopts the International Fire Code, which the North Dakota State Building Code does not include, so fire code requirements here come from the City's own adoption.

LINCOLN'S CODIFIED ADOPTION NAMES THE 2009 MODEL CODES AND FREEZES THEM AT A DATE, WHICH IS NOT WHERE THE STATE CODE NOW SITS. Read the whole of this field before quoting an edition on a Lincoln job. WHAT THE CITY CODE SAYS. Lincoln City Code Section 11-02-01 adopts "The International Building Code (IBC), 2009 International Residential Code (IRC), 2009 International Mechanical Code (IMC), 2009 International Fuel Gas Code (IFGC), 2009 International Fire Code (IFC) as further amended as provided in Section 11-02-02, as in effect May 5, 2011", as the code of the City for regulating "the erection, construction, enlargement, alteration, repair, moving, removal, demolition, conversion, occupancy, equipment, use, height, area and maintenance of all buildings or structures in the jurisdictional area of the City as defined in N.D.C.C. Section 54-21.3-02, including, but not limited to, providing for issuance of permits and collection of fees therefore". The same section provides that wherever the adopted codes use the term "building official" it "shall be deemed to mean and refer to the Building Inspector of the City." Note that the adoption is expressly dated - "as in effect May 5, 2011" - rather than floating, and note that Lincoln is one of the few North Dakota cities to adopt the International Fire Code, which the state code does not include. THE CITY'S OWN AMENDMENTS ARE TWO ITEMS AND NEITHER TOUCHES ROOFING. Section 11-02-02 amends the residential code so that "residential dwelling unit fire sprinkler systems are not required in any dwelling in the City and City Jurisdiction", and adds a special provision requiring subsoil drains on the exterior of all buildings with basements in Group R occupancies, specifying the pipe material, diameter, bedding and discharge. There is no third amendment. CONFLICTS. Section 11-02-03 provides that where the adopted code conflicts with state law or with City ordinances, rules or regulations, the state law or City provision prevails, and that where this title conflicts with the zoning regulations, the zoning regulations prevail. Plumbing and electrical work runs on the state standards under Sections 11-02-04 and 11-02-05 and is inspected by the state boards. The codified text used here is current through Ordinance No. 2025-5, adopted 19 June 2025. THE STATE POSITION, WHICH IS DIFFERENT. Under NDCC 54-21.3-03(6) a city that elects to administer and enforce a building code "shall adopt and enforce the state building code", but "the state building code may be amended by cities, townships, and counties to conform to local needs". The 2026 North Dakota State Building Code Book states that "Effective January 1, 2026, the North Dakota State Building Code consists of the 2024 International Building Code (IBC), International Residential Code (IRC), International Mechanical Code (IMC), International Fuel Gas Code (IFGC), International Energy Conservation Code, and the International Existing Building Code as published by the International Code Council (ICC)", and adds "NO APPENDICES ARE ADOPTED". Lincoln is named as a code enforcing city on the North Dakota Department of Commerce's directory of code enforcing jurisdictions. SO THE CITY'S CODIFIED EDITION AND THE STATE'S CURRENT EDITION ARE FIFTEEN YEARS APART, AND THIS RECORD DOES NOT DECIDE WHICH REACHES YOUR PERMIT. Ask the Building Inspector which edition your permit is written to before ordering material or writing a fastening schedule, because the two editions differ on points that matter to a roof.

Not required — No impact-resistance mandate applies in Lincoln, at either level of government, and that is established by reading the instruments in full rather than by failing to find one. CITY LEVEL. Lincoln City Code Title 11, Building Regulations, is the instrument that adopts and amends the building code here, and it was read in full - Chapters 11-01 through 11-06, current through Ordinance No. 2025-5 adopted 19 June 2025. It contains no UL 2218, Class 4, Class IV or FM 4473 provision, and no roofing provision of any kind. The City's whole amendment list to the adopted codes is Section 11-02-02, two items, one disapplying residential fire sprinkler requirements and one requiring subsoil drains at basements. STATE LEVEL. The North Dakota amendments to the 2024 International Residential Code, published in the 2026 North Dakota State Building Code Book, were also read in full - thirty numbered section amendments - and none addresses roofing or impact rating. AN IMPORTANT DISTINCTION. Impact resistance under UL 2218 is a hail rating, and it is not the same thing as a fire classification or a wind rating, which are graded under different standards entirely. An impact-rated shingle may be worth buying on the northern plains, and an insurer may discount for one, but nothing in Lincoln or North Dakota law requires it.

LINCOLN PUBLISHES NO DOLLAR THRESHOLD AND NO LIST OF EXEMPT WORK OF ITS OWN. Its Title 11 was read in full - Chapters 11-01 through 11-06, covering general provisions, the building code, building numbering, swimming pools, wells, and the moving and demolition of buildings - and it contains no roofing provision and no schedule of work exempt from permit. What it does instead is make the adopted code's own permit machinery binding: Section 11-01-08(1) provides that "It is unlawful to do any work covered by this title for which a permit is required without first obtaining a permit", and Section 11-02-01 adopts the model codes expressly "including, but not limited to, providing for issuance of permits and collection of fees therefore". So whether a particular reroof requires a permit turns on the adopted code's exemption list for the edition in force, and the City has not modified that list in either direction. THE EMERGENCY REPAIR RULE IS THE ONE TO KNOW, AND IT IS SHORT. Section 11-01-08(2): "Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to prohibit emergency repairs at times when it is not practical or possible to obtain a permit. When emergency work is done an application for a permit must be submitted within twenty-four (24) hours of completion, exclusive of weekends and holidays." That is a genuine carve-out for storm work - a roof opened up by hail or wind can be made watertight first - but the permit application still has to follow within twenty-four hours of the work being finished, and weekends and holidays do not count against the clock. A PERMIT IS NOT AN APPROVAL OF DEFECTIVE WORK. Section 11-01-08(3) provides that issuing a permit or approving plans "shall not be deemed or construed to be a permit for, or an approval of, any violation of this title", and does not prevent the Building Inspector from later requiring the correction of errors or from stopping work being carried on in violation. Section 11-01-09 adds that the City assumes no liability for personal injury or property damage caused by any defect in work that was inspected and approved. TWO STATE-LEVEL CARVE-OUTS THAT REACH ROOF WORK. NDCC 54-21.3-04 exempts from the state building code chapter "Buildings which are neither heated nor cooled" and "Any building used for agricultural purposes, unless a place of human habitation or for use by the public". Those are exemptions from the state chapter and not from the City's own ordinance, so an unheated shop or a farm building still has to be checked against Lincoln's own title rather than assumed exempt.

Lincoln imposes no layer rule of its own, so the rule is whatever the adopted code says. Lincoln City Code Title 11 was read in full, Chapters 11-01 through 11-06, current through Ordinance No. 2025-5 adopted 19 June 2025, and it contains no roof-covering, shingle, recover or re-roofing provision; its entire amendment list to the adopted codes is two items, neither of them in the roof-assemblies chapter. The North Dakota amendments to the 2024 International Residential Code were read in full, thirty numbered section amendments, and none reaches the roof-assemblies chapter either. So the adopted code's provisions on installing a new roof covering over an existing one apply in Lincoln unmodified, with no local cap added and none removed. THE EDITION QUESTION IS WHY NO NUMBER IS STATED HERE, AND IT IS NOT A FORMALITY. The City's codified adoption names the 2009 International Residential Code and fixes it as in effect on 5 May 2011, while the North Dakota State Building Code moved to the 2024 International Residential Code on 1 January 2026. The re-roofing and recover rules are not identical across those editions, so which edition governs changes the answer. Neither edition's text was opened for this record, and no layer count is stated or should be inferred. Ask the Building Inspector both questions together before bidding an overlay: which edition the permit is written to, and how many layers that edition allows on the roof in front of you.

No Lincoln roof-sheathing rule exists, and that is established by reading the City's own title rather than by failing to find one. Lincoln City Code Title 11 was read in full, Chapters 11-01 through 11-06, and it contains no roof sheathing or decking provision and no amendment to the adopted code's roof and ceiling construction requirements. The City's only structural amendment runs the other way, at ground level: Section 11-02-02 requires subsoil drains on the exterior of all buildings with basements in Group R occupancies, made of "open jointed or horizontally split or perforated clay tile, asbestos cement pipe, or plastic pipe not less than four (4) inches in diameter", embedded in crushed stone or gravel and discharging to an approved sump or storm sewer. The North Dakota amendments to the 2024 International Residential Code were also read in full, thirty numbered section amendments, and none reaches roof or ceiling construction. So the adopted code's roof sheathing and decking provisions apply unmodified, and there is no local span table, thickness minimum or fastener schedule to reconcile them against. ONE CAUTION SPECIFIC TO LINCOLN. The City's codified adoption names the 2009 model codes while the state code now runs on the 2024 editions, and the sheathing and fastening provisions are not identical between those editions. Confirm with the Building Inspector which edition your permit is written to before sizing replacement decking or writing a nailing pattern.

7.00% on materials in Lincoln - North Dakota state sales and use tax of 5%, plus the City of Lincoln's 1% and Burleigh County's 1% local sales, use and gross receipts tax. LINCOLN IS ONE OF THE MINORITY OF NORTH DAKOTA CITIES THAT ALSO OWES A COUNTY TAX. The North Dakota Office of State Tax Commissioner's Local Taxes by Location Guideline marks such cities by shading the row and printing the county name in brackets, and the Lincoln row is marked "(Burleigh)". Only eight North Dakota counties impose a local tax at all, and the guideline states the rule plainly: "The county sales, use, and gross receipts tax is in addition to state and city sales, use, and gross receipts tax." Burleigh County's rate is 1%, made up of 0.5% from 10-1-14 and 0.5% from 10-1-24. The City's own 1% has applied since 4-1-18. Rates are as of the guideline's effective date of 1 July 2026. THE MAXIMUM TAX FIGURES, AND WHY THEY DO NOT CAP A ROOF. The City's maximum tax refund cap is $25.00 per sale and Burleigh County's is $25.00 per sale. Do not read either as a cap on the job: the Tax Commissioner states that "the maximum tax (refund cap) is calculated on each material purchase a contractor makes to fulfill a construction contract, not on purchase orders or the entire construction contract itself", and that "most construction activity which is subject to local sales or use tax will include more than the specified maximum tax in total local tax costs." WHO PAYS IT ON A ROOF. North Dakota treats a roofing contractor as the final consumer of the materials installed into real property: "A contractor or subcontractor entering into any contract, except for a labor only contract, is regarded as the final user or consumer of all tangible personal property installed into real property." So the contractor pays the tax on its material purchases and does not charge the homeowner sales tax on an install-plus-materials reroof; selling materials without installing them is a taxable retail sale instead. ONE LINCOLN SPECIFIC. Both the City and Burleigh County are among the sixty jurisdictions whose local tax ordinances carry the limited exemption for "materials that are purchased within the jurisdiction, but later installed outside of the jurisdiction where the sale took place", which matters on the short haul between Lincoln and Bismarck.