About Our Office

Welcome to the City of Florence Building Department, a division of the Community Development Department. We hope this page will assist you in learning more about us. We currently have a staff of 2 highly skilled professionals which include the Building Official Carl Dependahl, and Building Permit Technician, Eric Rines.

The Building Division processed approximately 679 permits during the calendar year of 2009. The valuation of these permits was approximately $13 Million.

We process the plan review of single-family applications within two weeks. Commercial and multifamily application review timelines are critically dependent on the complexity of the building plans. However, these permits are issued in a timely manner. We offer online permits through ePermitting for, Electrical, Plumbing & Mechanical permits. We will soon offer a full blown online building permit program offered through the same website, sometime around the first of the year.

Once your application is processed and deemed complete, the plans will be reviewed by the Planning Department, Public Works Department, and Building Department, when needed. When approval is given by all other divisions, and the fees are paid, the permit will be issued and you may begin work and scheduling inspections from the foundation inspection to the final building inspection. Instructions are included in your permit packet regarding the process to request these inspections. If you have an email address, Please include it on your Application, so you can be notified of each step of the Permitting & Inspection process.

Permit fees vary depending on the size of the structure, and the bid value from your contractor. System Development Charges, (SDC) are generally a large portion of your entire permit fee. Currently, the approximate SDC fee for the fiscal year 2011/2012 for a single-family dwelling is $10,650.88. These fees vary on Commercial projects, and only when an actual application is submitted can the EXACT fees be determined.