Gary, IN Building Safety: Building Permits (2026)

Section 105-108 of the Gary Municipal Code requires a permit before any construction, alteration or repair of a building or structure begins, using forms the building commissioner supplies, with all fees set by Chapter 20's fee schedule paid to the city's building department. Section 105-109 spells out what the application must include: a plat or sketch showing lot boundaries, plans and specifications describing the work, and, where the project is covered by a state design release under IC 22-15-3-1, a copy of that release for the building commissioner before a permit issues.

Section 105-112 requires the building commissioner to review every application not just for code compliance but for flood safety in floodplain areas with special flood hazards, checking that new construction and substantial improvements are reasonably safe from flooding, anchored against flotation and collapse, and built with flood-resistant materials and methods. Section 105-80 gives the building commissioner authority to administer and enforce the article, but bars arbitrary or discriminatory enforcement or discretion beyond what the ordinance itself prescribes. If work proceeds contrary to the code, Section 105-81 lets the commissioner issue a written stop-work order to anyone doing or causing the work, who must halt until the commissioner authorizes resuming.

Section 105-82 backs the permit requirement with an occupancy check: no certificate of occupancy may issue for a building built after the ordinance's adoption unless it was constructed under the article's provisions, and it is unlawful to occupy such a building without a full, partial or temporary certificate of occupancy from the commissioner. Appeals from the commissioner's decisions go first to the board of zoning appeals and then to the state fire prevention and building safety commission under Section 105-51.