Nicholasville, KY Building Safety: Building Permits (2026)

Section 14-2 of the Nicholasville Code of Ordinances covers building permit and planning and zoning fees. All applications for building permits for planning and zoning matters and board of adjustment matters are made to the planning and zoning enforcement officer, and each must be accompanied by the applicable fee as set from time to time by the city commission and on file in the city clerk's office. All fees are paid to the planning commission to be used to defray costs of inspections and processing of applications. Section 14-2 prints no dollar amounts and does not list which projects need a permit; the fee schedule sits with the city clerk, and the project-by-project threshold is not stated in the sections printed here.

Section 14-2A adds a subcontractor requirement. Every building permit application must be accompanied by a sworn statement listing each subcontractor to be used, with name, address and any known telephone numbers. A subcontractor not initially listed is not permitted to work until the applicant supplements the list. Failure to file a list results in non-issuance of the permit, and failure to supplement gives the Administrative Office the right to revoke or rescind the permit.

The technical standards come from § 6-21, which adopts the Kentucky Building Code, as promulgated in 815 KAR 7:010, 7:020 and 7:030, in full as an ordinance of the city. Section 6-22 designates the planning commission as local enforcement agent for that code, and § 6-23 extends its application to all single-family dwellings in the city which are to be constructed or remodeled.

A permit also controls utility hookups. Under § 23-28(c), an applicant for wastewater service must present evidence of a valid building permit before a wastewater tap is issued, and if the permit becomes void through inactivity the tap fees paid are forfeited to the city.