Building Permits
Obtaining plan approval from City Land Development is really just the beginning step in the overall process of developing a commercial site in Mecklenburg County and the City of Charlotte. Commercial construction projects are required to have building permits for the vertical construction on-site. Appropriate permits are required for any new construction, reconstruction, alteration, repair, movement to another site, removal or demolition of any building. Permits are required for the installation, extension, alteration or general repair of electrical, mechanical or plumbing systems. Separate permits are required for building, electrical, heating, air conditioning and plumbing work.
Application for Commercial site approval with City LD can be done concurrently with application for building permits at Mecklenburg County Code Enforcement; however, building permits cannot be issued by Code Enforcement until commercial plan approval has been granted by City Land Development Division, and/or the required holds on the building permits are released by Land Development.
Please Note: For building projects that require City of Charlotte site approval, the City will need to release the hold on the building permit. You must contact City of Charlotte Land Development Customer Service 704.336.6692 with either the 6-digit Mecklenburg County project number or the County's Accela Record ID so that staff can release the holds.
Building Permits Requiring Commercial Zoning Review
Certain scopes of work may require approval by Commercial Zoning that is conducted outside of the City Land Development plan review process. These projects either do not trigger other city review agencies (ie. the installation of a new rooftop HVAC unit), or they require additional detailed review that typically only becomes available at the time of building permit application (ie. specific unit configurations in a residential townhome building). Projects requiring review by any other Land Development review agency outside of Commercial Zoning will follow the standard Land Development Construction Plan review process.
Projects that require Commercial Zoning review will need to submit a “Commercial Zoning Only Review” (CLTZR) application through the City of Charlotte’s Accela portal. The CLTZR carries a 3-business day gateway along with 5-business day review cycles and must be approved before a building permit can be issued. Any major changes to the permit documents after CLTZR approval may trigger additional City of Charlotte review. Please note that this does not affect any existing Land Development Individual Residential Lot (LDIRL) requirements.
Common project types that may require CLTZR review*:
- EV Charger Work
- Change of Use Permits
- Ground Mounted Solar Panels
- Outdoor Lighting Changes
- Existing Cell Tower Work
- Utility Work (Meters, HVACs, Generators, Backflow)
- Changes to Approved Building Elevations
- Tenant Upfits
- Exterior Building and/or Site Work
- Retaining Walls
- Any attached style dwelling with more than two units located on a lot in an approved subdivision (prior LD approval required)
- Any attached style dwelling located on a lot that is shared with other residential buildings (prior LD approval required)
*If confirmed that no further land development review is triggered.
Need Help Determining Your Review Path?
Submit a detailed Required Submittal Verification Application (RSVA) through the City’s Accela portal. This free application helps confirm what type of review your project will need before beginning construction.
Meckpermit.com is a the source for information on the Mecklenburg County building permit process.
Code Information & Resource Center (CIRC) can help with technical assistance in relation to commercial and residential building codes.
Construction Phase