Fountain, CO Building Safety: Building Permits (2026)

Section 17.02.050(G) of the zoning title states plainly that no building or structure shall be erected, moved, or structurally altered unless a building official has issued a permit, and that every permit shall be valid for a period of time not exceeding six months from the date of issue. The zoning administrator also requires a plot plan or site development plan approval before any building permit can be issued under Section 17.02.050(E), and no permit may be issued on unplatted land until subdivision requirements are met.

The substantive construction code that permits are reviewed against is not printed in Fountain's own text: Title 18, Chapter 18.04 adopts the Pikes Peak Regional Building Code, 2023 Edition by reference as if set out in its entirety under Section 18.04.020, most recently readopted by Ordinance No. 1785 on April 11, 2023. The Pikes Peak Regional Building Department, at 2880 International Circle in Colorado Springs, administers plan review, inspections, and permit issuance for Fountain under that regional code, and the city has locally amended three of its sections, RBC103.12, RBC108.2, and RBC111.7, under Section 18.04.040. Once a building is finished, Section 17.02.050(H) requires the owner to obtain a certificate of occupancy before occupying or changing the use of the structure; the building official must issue it within three days of notification that the building is ready, provided the use conforms to the code.

Because Fountain is a home rule municipality operating under its own Charter, it can adopt a regional code by reference rather than write its own construction chapters, and its own zoning title layers permitting requirements, plot plans, site development plans, and certificates of occupancy, on top of the regional building code's technical review.