Oyster Bay, NY Building Safety: Building Permits (2026)

Section 93-15 makes it unlawful to excavate, construct, alter, remove or demolish, or to start any of that work, without first getting a building permit from the Division of Building within the Department of Planning and Development. The only built-in exceptions are portable-type tool sheds or other noncommercial storage buildings of 100 square feet or less, and, under § 93-15(C), repairs involving no structural alteration that otherwise comply with the chapter. A separate grading permit from the Commissioner is required under § 93-15(B) whenever you change a parcel's existing or natural grade, though a grading plan folded into a building permit application does not need its own separate permit.

Applications, per § 93-16, must be in writing on the Commissioner's prescribed form and filed by the owner, lessee, or their architect, engineer or builder; anyone other than the fee owner must attach a verified affidavit that the work is authorized. Section 93-17 requires two sets of scaled drawings, including floor plans, elevations, structural details and a plot diagram showing every parking stall and means of ingress and egress. Once issued, § 93-24 gives the permit six months to break ground before it lapses, and one year from issuance to finish the work and obtain a certificate of occupancy before the whole permit expires; the Commissioner can renew it for good cause.

The Commissioner may also suspend or revoke a permit under § 93-25 if the application or plans contained a false statement or misrepresentation of a material fact. 3 before a permit issues.