Litchfield Park commercial plumbing permit: when a business needs one, review times and fees

The Building Safety Q&A page states the rule: "Whenever you construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, demolish, or change the occupancy of a building or structure, or if you repair, remove, convert or replace any electrical, mechanical or plumbing system, a building permit is required."

The same page gives the review times:

• Commercial tenant improvement: 5 to 10 business days.
• Commercial electrical, mechanical or plumbing improvement: 5 to 10 business days.
• Commercial remodels and additions: 5 to 10 business days.
• New commercial building shells: 15 to 20 business days.
• Simple permits: the page says permits that need no review can be issued over the counter.

The commercial submittal package asks for two copies of each item, and a tenant improvement needs a detailed floor plan with section details plus "Associated plans for Electrical, Plumbing and Mechanical." Applications go through the city's GovWell portal, where the city does a completeness review first and issues an invoice once a submittal is complete.

• Tenant improvement (TI). Work inside an existing tenant space. The submittal package treats it as part of the building construction plans.
• BOV. The fee schedule footer defines it: "BOV = Based on Valuation." The fee depends on the stated value of the work.
• Certificate of occupancy (CO). City Code 7-18 says it "is specific to the owner and use of the building or tenant space."
• Temporary certificate of occupancy. City Code 7-19 makes it valid for thirty calendar days unless an extension is requested and granted.

Anyone doing plumbing work on a commercial building or tenant space in Litchfield Park: the owner, the tenant and the contractor who pulls the permit.

One narrow carve-out exists in the Q&A page: "Clearing of stoppages and/or repair of leaks in pipes, valves or fixtures, provided such repairs do not involve or require the replacement and/or the rearrangement of the valves, pipes or fixtures." That line is the city's own text on work that does not need a permit, and it stops where replacement or rearranging starts.

A dental office moving into a former retail suite. The tenant improvement carries plumbing for chairs and sinks. The review list shows 5 to 10 business days for a tenant improvement, and the plumbing plans go in with the floor plan. Before the doors open, the space needs a certificate of occupancy, which requires field inspections by building safety, engineering, fire safety, and planning and zoning, and a city business license.

A small repair. A shop owner has a leaking supply valve replaced. The leak-repair carve-out covers repairs that do not require replacement of the valves, pipes or fixtures. Replacing the valve falls outside it, so this job reads as a permit job, and a contractor can confirm with Building Safety before starting.

The edge case. The same business changes ownership without changing the use. Code 7-18 says a new certificate is needed if the ownership or the use of a commercial building or tenant space changes, so a sale alone can trigger one.

1. 1Decide whether the job is a plain stoppage or leak repair, or whether it replaces or rearranges pipes, valves or fixtures. Only the first is listed as exempt.
2. 2Call Building Safety at 623-935-1066 or email building@litchfield-park.org. Office hours are 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.
3. 3Create an account on the GovWell portal and submit the application with two copies of plans for anything beyond a simple permit.
4. 4Request each inspection on the same line. An inspection called in before 3:00 p.m. is made the next business day.
5. 5For a tenant space, get the business license and plan for the certificate of occupancy ($200 per building on the FY2027 schedule). A temporary certificate lets equipment and stock move in, and the code says it is not permission to do business.

HQ Plumbing & Air handles commercial plumbing repair, restaurant lateral jetting and domestic backflow work. Fire sprinklers and fire backflow are outside what we do.

• Myth: a repair never needs a permit. The exemption covers stoppages and leaks only when nothing is replaced or rearranged.
• Myth: the permit fee is a flat number. For commercial plumbing the schedule uses a percentage of the permit fee or a valuation, not a flat price.
• Myth: a certificate of occupancy follows the building. Code 7-18 ties it to the owner and use.
• Myth: the fee schedule's date is clear. The FY2027 document has a cover that says effective 8/1/2026 and a footer that says Effective August 1, 2025, so confirm the current line with the city.

The text above comes from the City of Litchfield Park Building Safety pages, Citywide Fee Schedule FY2027 and City Code 7-18 and 7-19, read on 2026-10-04. The code adopts the 2018 International Plumbing Code with amendments effective 1/1/2020 (7-2-1); the amendment document is on file with the city clerk and was not read for this page. The official text governs.