City of Santa Fe, New Mexico - Building Division (Land Use Department)

City of Santa Fe, New Mexico

city

200 Lincoln Avenue, Santa Fe, NM 87501

Required

Required

The Building Division is part of the City of Santa Fe Land Use Department, on the 1st floor of Santa Fe City Hall, 200 Lincoln Avenue (southwest entrance facing Marcy Street nearest the Convention Center); mailing address City of Santa Fe, Building Permit Division, P.O. Box 909, Santa Fe, NM 87504-0909. Building Division Director is Richard Trujillo ([email protected]); the permit counter is [email protected]. Land Use office hours are Monday-Friday 8:00 a.m.-noon and 1:00-5:00 p.m.; the Building Division itself is by appointment only, Monday, Tuesday and Thursday 9:00-11:00 a.m. and 1:00-3:00 p.m. Re-roof permits - residential and commercial - are handled as "Express" permits through the City's Citizen Self-Service (CSS) portal, with online payment; the City states that "Submittal of building permit applications by email is currently not available (except for use under special circumstances and as pre-arranged with the Building Division Manager)." The re-roof submittal package is two sets of a roof plan showing "Type of roof system, the roof slope, and roof drainage" plus "Manufacturer's specifications and installation instructions"; the application also records construction valuation, roofing square footage, roof pitch, number of existing layers and roof classification. All commercial re-roof projects additionally require professional seals attesting that "The structure is sufficient to sustain the weight of the additional dead load for the new roof system", "The roof deck is structurally sound", "Roof drains and drainage are sufficient to prevent extensive accumulation of water", "The existing roof system is securely attached to the deck", "The existing roof assembly above the deck line is dry or otherwise not deteriorated" and "Fire retardant requirements are maintained" - those six are a commercial-only sealed-professional attestation, not a residential prescriptive standard. Properties in the Historic Preservation Districts or the Escarpment Overlay District need pre-approval before the re-roof permit issues, and the City publishes a separate Re-Roof Escarpment Acknowledgment Letter. Two corrected plan sets are required per re-roof revision. Permit fees are set by the governing body under Section 7-1.3 SFCC 1987 and, per that section, "The schedule of fees adopted by the governing body replaces fees adopted by the state of New Mexico construction industries division as set forth in the New Mexico Administrative Code." Statewide, two Chapter 9 amendments in 14.7.3.17 NMAC are on point for Santa Fe roofing work: added IRC Section R903.2.1 Locations requires, verbatim, that "Approved reglets or an approved flashing shall be installed at wall and roof intersections, wherever there is a change in roof slope or direction and around roof openings"; and the canale and scupper provisions added at R905.9.4/R905.9.5, R905.11.4, R905.12.4 and R905.13.4 require taper board at roof-deck transitions to crickets, valleys and canales and state that "All canales and scuppers must have a metal pan lining extending six inches minimum... All canales or scuppers must have positive drainage." Pumice and other granular fill are barred from roof assemblies.

A re-roof in Santa Fe takes at least two inspections: a decking inspection after the existing roof covering comes off, and a final inspection when the new roof system or coating is complete. This is local law in Santa Fe because the City adopts the state permitting and inspection rules by ordinance rather than leaving them to the state. Section 7-1.1(A) SFCC 1987 (Adoption of codes) provides that "the following provisions and codes are adopted by reference and incorporated as fully as if set out herein unless otherwise amended by the city" and lists at (1)-(3) "Section 14.5.1 New Mexico Administrative Code (NMAC) General Provisions", "Section 14.5.2 New Mexico Administrative Code (NMAC) Permits" and "Section 14.5.3 New Mexico Administrative Code (NMAC) Inspections"; the City's own adopted-construction-codes page repeats the same three, as "New Mexico Administrative Code (NMAC): 14.5.1 General Provisions; 14.5.2 Permits; 14.5.3 Inspections". 14.5.2.8(E) NMAC (Roofing) then provides, verbatim: "(1) All new roof installations and re-roofs require building permits and inspections. (2) All applications of roof coating systems require building permits and inspections. (3) Inspections must include, at a minimum, decking inspection upon removal of existing roof and the roof system or application of roof coating systems as a final inspection upon completion of roofing project." 14.5.3.9(B) NMAC lists the inspections required for work subject to the New Mexico Residential Building Code and includes, at (4), verbatim: "New and re-roofs, roof assembly inspection including decking, application of roof systems and application of roof coatings." 14.5.3.8(F) NMAC makes the sequencing binding, verbatim: "Work must be visible to be inspected and shall not be covered or used before approval is given by the inspector. Work that is covered before it is inspected, tested if applicable, and approved may be ordered uncovered by the inspector or AHJ. No work shall be performed beyond what is required for the next inspection without approval of the inspector." Notification must be given not less than 24 hours before the work is to be inspected (14.5.3.8(D) NMAC), and no inspection is performed until the required fees are paid (14.5.3.8(B) NMAC).

Two instruments stack, and they do not print the same edition year. STATE LAYER: New Mexico adopts a statewide residential code at 14.7.3 NMAC (2021 New Mexico Residential Building Code). 14.7.3.8 NMAC ADOPTION states, verbatim: "This rule adopts by reference the 2021 International Residential Code, as amended by this rule." 14.7.3.6 NMAC OBJECTIVE frames it as a floor, verbatim: "The purpose of this rule is to establish minimum standards for the general construction of residential buildings in New Mexico." 14.7.3.5 NMAC makes the rule effective July 14, 2023, and provides that after December 14, 2023 permits may be issued only under it. CITY LAYER: the City of Santa Fe publishes its own adopted-codes list, which prints, verbatim: "The City of Santa Fe has adopted the following set of international and State of New Mexico construction codes, including Santa Fe-specific amendments to the Uniform Plumbing Code and International Fire Code. The City of Santa Fe has also adopted a Green Building Code that applies to the construction of new single-family residential dwellings and accessory dwellings (guest houses)." The residential line on that list reads, verbatim: "2021 NM Residential Building Code (2021 IRC as amended by the state of New Mexico) and City of Santa Fe Green Building Code." The same list adopts NMAC 14.5.1 General Provisions, 14.5.2 Permits and 14.5.3 Inspections, and "2017 ICC A117.1-2017 Accessible and Usable Buildings and Facilities." The codified adopting ordinance is Section 7-1.1 SFCC 1987 (Adoption of codes), which adopts by reference "Section 14.5.1 New Mexico Administrative Code (NMAC) General Provisions", "Section 14.5.2 New Mexico Administrative Code (NMAC) Permits", "Section 14.5.3 New Mexico Administrative Code (NMAC) Inspections" and, at subparagraph (5), "2015 New Mexico Residential Building Code adopted by the state of New Mexico construction industries division (NMAC 14.7.3), as may be amended from time to time, which adopts and amends the International Residential Code (IRC)". The codified text still names the 2015 edition, but its own "as may be amended from time to time" clause carries the adoption forward to the current 14.7.3 NMAC rule, which is the 2021 edition the City's adopted-codes page publishes and the edition the state rule requires permits to be issued under. Santa Fe's genuinely local additions are Section 7-4 SFCC 1987 (Green Building Codes) - a Residential Green Building Code and a Residential Addition and Remodel Green Building Code - and City amendments at Sections 7-1.8 and 7-1.9 to the Uniform Plumbing Code, plus a Section 7-16.4 amendment to IBC Section 2902.2. None of those amend the IRC's roofing chapters.

Required — Required by Santa Fe's own adopting ordinance, not merely by state practice. Section 7-1.1(A) SFCC 1987 (Adoption of codes) provides that "the following provisions and codes are adopted by reference and incorporated as fully as if set out herein unless otherwise amended by the city", and its first three paragraphs are "(1) Section 14.5.1 New Mexico Administrative Code (NMAC) General Provisions; and (2) Section 14.5.2 New Mexico Administrative Code (NMAC) Permits; and (3) Section 14.5.3 New Mexico Administrative Code (NMAC) Inspections". The City's own adopted-construction-codes page repeats the same three, as "New Mexico Administrative Code (NMAC): 14.5.1 General Provisions; 14.5.2 Permits; 14.5.3 Inspections". Chapter VII SFCC 1987 was read in full and Santa Fe amends none of those three: its only code amendments are Sections 7-1.8 and 7-1.9 to the Uniform Plumbing Code, Section 7-1.10 on when the International Existing Building Code applies, Section 7-16.4 to IBC Section 2902.2, and Section 7-1.3 substituting the City's fee schedule for the Construction Industries Division's. 14.5.2 and 14.5.3 NMAC are therefore Santa Fe law unamended. 14.5.2.8(E) NMAC, Roofing, provides, verbatim: "(1) All new roof installations and re-roofs require building permits and inspections. (2) All applications of roof coating systems require building permits and inspections. (3) Inspections must include, at a minimum, decking inspection upon removal of existing roof and the roof system or application of roof coating systems as a final inspection upon completion of roofing project." 14.5.3.9(B) NMAC lists the inspections required for work subject to the New Mexico Residential Building Code and includes, at (4), verbatim: "New and re-roofs, roof assembly inspection including decking, application of roof systems and application of roof coatings." The decking inspection is taken after the existing covering is stripped and before the new roof system is laid, which is what makes it a mid-roof rather than a final; 14.5.3.8(F) NMAC makes that sequencing binding, verbatim: "Work must be visible to be inspected and shall not be covered or used before approval is given by the inspector."

Not required — Checked at both layers Santa Fe residential roofing runs through. CITY LAYER: Chapter VII SFCC 1987 (Building and Housing), Sections 7-1 through 7-16 - the complete local building-code adoption and administration chapter, including Section 7-1.1 Adoption of codes, Section 7-1.5 Building permits, Section 7-1.11 Permit Fees and the whole of Section 7-4 Green Building Codes (the Residential Green Building Code at 7-4.2 and the Residential Addition and Remodel Green Building Code at 7-4.3) - was read in full; no provision anywhere in the chapter addresses impact resistance, UL 2218 or Class 4 roofing. The only roof-covering-classification language the City uses is the fire classification, which its Re-Roof Permit Application collects as "Roof Classification (A, B, or C)" - that is the ASTM E108/UL 790 fire class, not an impact class. The Residential Green Building Code's roofing provisions likewise concern solar reflectance (a minimum initial SRI of 78 for low-sloped and 29 for steep-sloped roofs, calculated per ASTM E1980), roof overhangs and drip edge, and are point-scoring options rather than impact-resistance mandates. STATE LAYER: the 2021 New Mexico Residential Building Code, 14.7.3 NMAC, contains no UL 2218, Class 4 or impact-resistance provision; the state's Chapter 9 amendments at 14.7.3.17 NMAC concern tear-off, reglets and flashing, canales and scuppers, and taper board, and impose no impact-resistance requirement. Neither layer imposes an impact-resistance requirement on Santa Fe residential roofing as adopted.

No dollar, area or layer threshold - the City of Santa Fe requires a permit for roofing work as such. The City's building-permit page states, verbatim, "Building permits are required for most types of construction work within the city," and then enumerates the work that needs one under the heading "Permits are required for the following", a list whose second item is "roofing and re-roofing". The same page enumerates the work that does not need one; under "Permits are not required for the following: Residential" it lists only "Interior and exterior painting of residential structures", "minor landscaping", "carpeting", "tiling", "cabinetry", "countertops" and "exterior decks under 120 square feet if not attached to a structure". Roofing appears on the required list without qualification and does not appear on the exempt list, and no square-footage or valuation cut-off is attached to it. The City's codified permit-fee table, Table 7-1.11-1 at Section 7-1.11 SFCC 1987, likewise contains no roofing-specific fee line and no minimum-value trigger for roofing work; fees for a re-roof are assessed under the general building-permit fee structure the governing body adopts under Section 7-1.3 SFCC 1987, which expressly "replaces fees adopted by the state of New Mexico construction industries division as set forth in the New Mexico Administrative Code." A residential building permit in Santa Fe expires one year from the date of issuance (Section 7-1.6 SFCC 1987).

Two existing layers maximum, plus four mandatory tear-off triggers - a statewide New Mexico rule that applies in Santa Fe. 14.7.3.17 NMAC ("CHAPTER 9 ROOF ASSEMBLIES: See this chapter of the IRC except as provided below") deletes IRC Section R908.3 and substitutes, verbatim: "New roof coverings shall not be installed without first removing existing roof coverings where any of the following conditions occur: (1) The existing roof or roof covering is water soaked or has deteriorated to the point that the existing roof or roof covering is not adequate as a base for additional roofing. (2) The existing roof covering is wood shake, slate, clay, cement, or asbestos-cement tile. (3) The existing roof has two or more applications of any type of roof covering. (4) Where pumice or other granular fill are present, the material must be removed prior to installing a new roof." The pumice/granular-fill trigger at (4) is distinctively New Mexican and matters in Santa Fe, where older flat and low-slope roofs were commonly built up over granular fill. The City of Santa Fe adds nothing on top of this limit: Chapter VII SFCC 1987 (Building and Housing), Sections 7-1 through 7-16, contains no IRC Chapter 9 amendment and no layer restriction of its own. The City does track the count administratively - its own Re-Roof Permit Application requires the applicant to state "No. of Existing Layers" and the "Roof Classification (A, B, or C)" on the face of the application.

8.1875% total gross receipts tax rate, GRT Location Code 01-123 (Santa Fe city, Santa Fe County), for the current semiannual edition effective July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027. New Mexico levies no sales tax. The New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department states, verbatim, that "Gross receipts tax (GRT) is imposed on businesses, but it is common for a business to pass the GRT on to the purchaser," so a roofing contractor in Santa Fe owes GRT on its own receipts from the job rather than collecting a sales tax from the homeowner. The Department also states, verbatim, that the "GRT rate varies throughout the state because the total rate combines the rates imposed by the state, counties, and municipality for each location," and that "businesses will use the location code and tax rate corresponding to the location where their goods or the product of their service are delivered" - for roofing, that means the rate keys to where the roof is, not to where the contractor's office is. Rates are keyed to a GRT Location Code rather than to a city name and are reissued semiannually. The Department cautions, verbatim, "Identify the appropriate GRT Location Code and tax rate by clicking on the map at the location of interest" and "Please consult local authorities where appropriate to confirm GRT Location Codes and tax rates," so an address near the city limit should be checked against the Department's map rather than assumed - unincorporated Santa Fe County outside the city carries a different location code and a lower rate.