City of Velva, North Dakota - Building Permits and Inspections

City of Velva, North Dakota

city

101 1st St W, Velva, ND 58790

Required

Required

Building permits are handled at Velva City Hall, 101 1st St W, Velva, ND 58790, on 701-338-2660, [email protected], and the City states its office hours as Monday to Thursday, 7:00 am to 5:00 pm. The City's own description of the department: "The Building Permits and Inspections Department will strive to assist you with your construction project in an efficient and accountable manner. They are responsible for permitting all construction and conducting inspections of all construction-related permits as well as issuance of Certificates of Occupancy, Fire Prevention, and Special Events." Its published process is short: "Take a moment to read all required information provided. Then print and fill out the building permit application form and return to city hall." THREE FORMS ARE PUBLISHED - a Building Permit application, a Demolition Permit and a Fence Form - and the City also directs applicants to the forms under Government, Boards, Planning and Zoning. The Building Permit application must be submitted in duplicate with a scaled site drawing on its own Appendix A grid, where each square is two feet, and the form states that the application will be rejected without it. A permit is valid for one year from issue. Two sets of plans are required on a new house or house addition. The form's City-use block is signed by the City Building Inspector and carries a Building Official Notes and Special Conditions line, so job-specific conditions are written onto the permit itself - read them before starting.

Velva adopts the North Dakota State Building Code by reference to the STATUTE that creates it, which makes the adoption floating rather than frozen to an edition. Velva Code of Ordinances Section 8-23, in Article II, Building Code, of Chapter 8, reads in its entirety: "The building code promulgated pursuant to N.D.C.C. Section 54-21.3-03 is hereby adopted by reference." Because the reference is to the section under which the Department of Commerce promulgates and updates the code, rather than to a named edition, a state update reaches Velva without a new City ordinance. WHAT THAT MEANS TODAY. The 2026 North Dakota State Building Code Book states: "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." So a one- or two-family dwelling in Velva runs on the 2024 International Residential Code, with no appendix chapters. THE ONE LOCAL AMENDMENT, AND IT IS AN ADMINISTRATIVE LEFTOVER. Section 8-24, headed "Clarification of code", is the only provision that modifies the adopted code, and it modifies only the penalty clause: "For the purpose of clarifying the Basic Building Code adopted by section 8-23, section 123.3 as found on page 14 of basic building code is deleted and the following is substituted therefor," followed by a violation-penalty provision making a breach a misdemeanour punishable by a fine of not more than $100.00, with each day a separate offence. Two things follow for a roofer. First, it touches penalties only - there is no technical amendment anywhere in Chapter 8. Second, its language belongs to an older code: it speaks of a "Basic Building Code" and a section 123.3 "on page 14", which is not how the International Residential Code is organised. This record reports that as it stands rather than resolving it; if you are facing a penalty question, ask the City which instrument it is applying. TWO CODES THE STATE CODE DOES NOT INCLUDE. The code book states that the State Building Code "does not include the International Property Maintenance Code or the International Fire Code" and that those "to be in effect, must be adopted separately by each city, county, or township." Chapter 8 adopts neither. THE STATE FRAMEWORK. NDCC 54-21.3-03(6): "The governing body of a city, township, or county that elects to administer and enforce a building code shall adopt and enforce the state building code. However, the state building code may be amended by cities, townships, and counties to conform to local needs." Velva has elected, and Section 8-24 is the only place it has used that amendment power. CURRENCY. Chapter 8 was read as codified through Ordinance No. 2026-02, enacted 20 April 2026.

Required — The International Residential Code drip-edge requirement for asphalt-shingle roof coverings applies in Velva unamended, and both instruments that could have changed it were opened and read in full. THE CHAIN. Velva Code of Ordinances Section 8-23 adopts "the building code promulgated pursuant to N.D.C.C. Section 54-21.3-03" by reference, which since 1 January 2026 has been the 2024 International Residential Code for one- and two-family dwellings, per the 2026 North Dakota State Building Code Book. Chapter 8 was then read in full, Sections 8-1 through 8-167, as codified through Ordinance No. 2026-02 enacted 20 April 2026: the only provision that modifies the adopted code is Section 8-24, which substitutes a violation-penalty clause and touches no technical requirement. The North Dakota amendments to the 2024 International Residential Code were also read in full, the numbered section amendments running from Section 104.8 to Section 2103.3, and none reaches the roof-assemblies chapter. So there is no local softening and no local addition, and the requirement stands as the adopted code writes it. WHAT THIS RECORD DOES NOT DO. The operative International Code Council text of the drip-edge section sits behind the ICC paywall; this record does not restate it and does not rely on any third-party republication of it. What is recorded is the sourced fact that the requirement is in force in Velva unamended. Take the material, the extent and the fastener spacing from the 2024 International Residential Code itself, or from the City building inspector. AND THE INSPECTION POINT. Velva publishes no fixed schedule of inspection stages, but Section 8-49(a) lets the building inspector make "such inspections as are necessary" and examine "materials or methods to be used", and Section 8-49(b) gives a right of entry at any reasonable hour while the work is going on. Eave detailing can therefore be looked at on site without an appointment. About drip edge

Not required — No impact-resistance mandate applies in Velva, at either level of government, and that is established by reading the instruments rather than by failing to find one. CITY LEVEL. Chapter 8 of the Velva Code of Ordinances, Buildings and Building Regulations, is the City's building instrument, and it was read in full as codified through Ordinance No. 2026-02 enacted 20 April 2026 - Article I, In General; Article II, Building Code, Divisions 1 to 3; Article III, Plumbing; Article IV, House Moving; Article V, Dangerous Buildings; and the Supplemental Dangerous Buildings Procedures article, Sections 8-1 through 8-167. It contains no UL 2218, Class 4, Class IV or FM 4473 provision, and no impact, hail or roof-covering rating requirement of any kind. Its only modification of the adopted code, Section 8-24, is a penalty clause. Chapter 14, Licenses, Taxation and Miscellaneous Business Regulations, was also read and creates no construction standard. STATE LEVEL. The North Dakota amendments to the 2024 International Residential Code, published in the 2026 North Dakota State Building Code Book, were read in full - the numbered section amendments running from Section 104.8 to Section 2103.3 - and none addresses roofing at all, let alone impact rating. AN IMPORTANT DISTINCTION. Impact resistance under UL 2218 is a hail rating. It is not the same thing as a fire classification, which is graded under ASTM E108 or UL 790, or a wind rating, which is graded under ASTM D3161 or D7158. An impact-rated shingle may well be worth buying in the Souris valley, and an insurer may discount for one, but nothing in Velva or North Dakota law requires it.

VELVA'S ENACTED PERMIT TRIGGER NAMES THE ROOF, AND THERE IS NO DOLLAR OR AREA THRESHOLD UNDER IT. Section 8-46, headed "Permit required", provides: "It shall be unlawful to construct or alter any building's footprint or structural size in the city. As outlined in this chapter, when or where the effect of such construction or alteration is to enlarge the capacity or affect the bearing walls of any building, or remove and replace with different building materials, or the roof thereof, a permit must first be secured therefor." Removing and replacing a roof is caught on the face of that sentence. Section 8-47 then adds a catch-all that does not depend on reading Section 8-46 narrowly: "No structure of any kind used for residential, commercial or industrial purposes including accessory buildings, thereto, shall hereafter be built, altered or moved within the city until a building, alteration, or moving permit has been obtained from the city auditor." Nothing in Chapter 8 sets a minimum job value, a minimum area or a repair exemption, and the chapter publishes no list of work exempt from permit at all. THE ROUTE A PERMIT TAKES, WHICH IS LONGER THAN MOST. Applications go to the City Auditor with "a statement of the proposed location, dimensions and manner of the proposed construction" and, on qualifying projects, a complete copy of the plans and specifications. Section 8-48(a): "Building and alteration permits must pass through the building inspector before coming to the attention of the planning commission. The planning commission will review each building or alteration/permit coming before them for: style, form, fees, fines/penalties and setbacks and structure heights. Permits will then be passed back to the building inspector for recommendation of approval or disapproval to the city commission." Under Section 8-49(a) the building inspector issues the permit on approval, it is valid for one year, and it is unlawful "to vary materially from the submitted plans and specifications" without an amended plan approved by the inspector. Section 8-51 cancels a permit if work is not begun or completed within twelve months unless the City Commission grants an extension. Plan for the Planning Commission and City Commission meeting calendar, not for a counter visit. THE FEE, AND A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE CODE AND THE FORM THAT IS WORTH ASKING ABOUT. Codified Section 8-50 sets the fee for an alteration permit at "$25.00 plus $2.00/$1,000.00", with no cap stated. The City's own current application form states "$25.00 minimum for any permit (Up to $1,000)" and then "Residential: Add $2.00 each additional $1,000 ($400 Max)" and "Commercial: Add $2.00 each additional $1,000 ($1,000 Max)". The caps appear on the form and not in the codified section. Ask the City Auditor which figure it will charge before you quote the permit cost into a job. WHAT THE APPLICATION ASKS FOR, AND THE ONE GAP IN IT. The form wants the job site address, the legal description down to the parcel number, a description of the proposed work, contractor fees and cost of materials separately, and the contractor's, electrician's, plumber's and HVAC contractor's licence numbers, and it must be submitted in duplicate with a scaled site drawing on the form's own Appendix A grid or "the application will be rejected". Its checkbox list, however, has no roofing or re-roof category - the residential boxes are house or house addition, remodel, attached garage, detached garage or shed, modular or manufactured home, and deck or porch. The form's own instruction is "Refer to Chapter 8 of the Velva Municode for all Building Permit Application questions", and Chapter 8 is what names the roof. Ask the City which box it wants ticked rather than assuming the absence of a roofing box means no permit. TWO OTHER LOCAL TRAPS. A structure proposed to be in a flood zone needs a flood permit approved by the City Engineer under Section 8-2. And a street opening permit, needed before any excavation into a city street or right-of-way, is a separate $25 permit under Sections 8-47 and 8-50(4) with mandatory inspections during connection, compaction and backfilling, and the City tracks it for a year to see the street returned to its original strength, appearance and grade.

Velva imposes no layer or recover rule of its own, so the question falls back to the adopted code. WHAT WAS READ. Chapter 8 of the Velva Code of Ordinances, Buildings and Building Regulations, was read in full as codified through Ordinance No. 2026-02 enacted 20 April 2026 - Article I, In General (Sections 8-1 to 8-3); Article II, Building Code, Divisions 1 to 3 (Sections 8-23 to 8-71); Article III, Plumbing (Sections 8-83 to 8-85); Article IV, House Moving (Sections 8-98 to 8-109); Article V, Dangerous Buildings (Sections 8-132 to 8-142); and the Supplemental Dangerous Buildings Procedures article (Sections 8-160 to 8-167). It contains no roof-covering, shingle, recover or re-roofing standard and no limit on the number of layers. The only local modification of the adopted code, Section 8-24, changes the violation penalty and nothing else. 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 - the numbered section amendments running from Section 104.8 to Section 2103.3 - and none of them reaches the roof-assemblies chapter. SO THE BASE CODE GOVERNS, UNMODIFIED. How many roof-covering layers a house in Velva may carry is whatever the 2024 International Residential Code itself provides in its roof-assemblies chapter, with no City and no state variation on top. That operative text sits behind the International Code Council paywall; this record does not restate it and does not rely on any third-party republication of it. What is recorded here is the sourced fact that no local or state amendment changes it. Take the layer rule from the 2024 International Residential Code itself, or from the City building inspector on 701-338-2660, and get it before you bid an overlay. WHAT VELVA'S OWN CODE DOES SAY ABOUT ROOF LOAD is only in the condemnation article: Section 8-132(3) makes a building dangerous where it has "improperly distributed loads upon the floors or roofs or in which the same are overloaded, or which have insufficient strength to be reasonably safe for the purpose used." That is a nuisance test, not a layer count, but it is the provision a stacked roof would be measured against if it came to that.

Velva publishes no roof sheathing or decking standard of its own, and that is established by reading the City's building chapter in full rather than by failing to find one. Chapter 8 of the Velva Code of Ordinances was read from Section 8-1 to Section 8-167 as codified through Ordinance No. 2026-02 enacted 20 April 2026, and it contains no sheathing provision, no span table, no panel thickness minimum and no fastener schedule. Its only local modification of the adopted code, Section 8-24, is a penalty clause. The North Dakota amendments to the 2024 International Residential Code, read in full from Section 104.8 to Section 2103.3, contain no roof-assemblies amendment. SO THE DECK REQUIREMENT IS THE BASE CODE'S, UNMODIFIED - the 2024 International Residential Code, adopted by Section 8-23 through the state code. That operative text sits behind the International Code Council paywall, is not restated here, and no third-party republication of it is relied on. WHAT THE CITY DOES CONTROL IS THE INSPECTION, AND IT IS OPEN-ENDED. Section 8-49(a) provides that the building inspector "shall make or cause to be made such inspections as are necessary to see to the enforcement of the provisions of this chapter, and to make any tests or examinations of materials or methods to be used for the purpose of seeing that they comply with the provisions of this chapter," and Section 8-49(b) gives the inspector a power of entry "at any reasonable hour" while work is going on. Section 8-52 adds that all structures built, altered or moved in the city are subject to inspection by the City Commission or any authorised official it appoints. So where a tear-off exposes deteriorated sheathing, the sizing of the replacement is a code question that the City inspector may look at on site with no advance notice. ONE PAPERWORK POINT. On new construction and additions the City's application requires a section drawing showing footing, foundation and wall section detail and "Manufacturer's engineered truss drawings (acceptable upon delivery)", so structural roof framing documents are expected where the job reaches that far.

7.00% on materials in Velva - North Dakota state sales and use tax of 5%, plus the City of Velva's 2% local sales, use and gross receipts tax. THERE IS NO COUNTY COMPONENT. McHenry County does not appear in the county table of the North Dakota Office of State Tax Commissioner's Local Taxes by Location Guideline, which lists only eight counties as imposing a local tax - Burleigh, Cass, Hettinger, Morton, Steele, Walsh, Ward and Williams - and the Velva row is neither shaded nor marked with a county name, the two marks the guideline uses for a city that also owes county tax. THE CITY'S OWN ORDINANCE AGREES. Velva Code of Ordinances Section 14-113 provides that "a total tax of two percent is imposed upon the gross receipts of retailers from all sales at retail, including the leasing or renting of tangible personal property, within the corporate limits of the city." THERE IS A PER-TRANSACTION CAP, AND IT IS LOW. Section 14-117 provides that a patron paying the tax "in excess of $25.00 upon any single transaction of one or more items may obtain a refund of the excess tax payment by filing a request for refund upon the forms provided by the tax commissioner," and the state guideline records the same $25 per sale maximum, effective 1-1-14, at local code 175. At 2% that caps the Velva local tax at a $1,250 purchase, so a shingle order will usually run past it. The guideline's own warning applies: "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 where use tax is accrued rather than collected by the retailer "it should be accrued up to the maximum tax amount only." New farm machinery is not subject to the local tax and there is no permit holder compensation. 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 re-roof; selling materials without installing them is a taxable retail sale instead. ONE POINT THAT CUTS AGAINST BUYING IN TOWN FOR AN OUT-OF-TOWN JOB. Velva is NOT among the sixty local ordinances the guideline names as carrying the limited exemption for "materials that are purchased within the jurisdiction, but later installed outside of the jurisdiction where the sale took place." Without it, where a contractor buys on a certificate of exemption the guideline's default applies: "use tax is due to the local jurisdiction where the materials were purchased regardless of where the materials were installed." Buying in Velva for a job out in McHenry County therefore still carries the Velva local tax, even though the county levies none.