Newark, OH Building Safety: Building Inspections (2026)

Newark's Codified Ordinances print one construction inspection sequence in full, and it sits in Chapter 1432, Flood Hazards. Section 1432.11 appoints the Service Director as Floodplain Administrator. Under Section 1432.13 it is unlawful to begin construction, filling, grading, remodeling, expanding a structure or altering a watercourse in an identified special flood hazard area until a floodplain development permit is obtained. Section 1432.14 requires the owner or an authorized agent to apply before work begins. Under Section 1432.15(b) the Administrator must approve or disapprove within 30 days after receiving a complete application, and the permit expires one year after issuance unless the permitted activity has been substantially begun and is pursued to completion.

Once work starts, Section 1432.16 calls for periodic inspections at appropriate times throughout the period of construction to monitor compliance with permit conditions. The Administrator's duties in Section 1432.12(d) also include inspecting buildings and lands to determine whether any violations of the flood regulations have been committed. When the job ends, Section 1432.17 requires a Federal Emergency Management Agency Elevation Certificate completed by a registered surveyor for new or substantially improved residential structures and for elevated nonresidential structures, plus a Letter of Map Revision for development subject to Section 1432.20(a). In Zone A and Zone AO areas without a base flood elevation, the property owner or the owner's representative can complete the certificate.

Not every job needs the permit. Section 1432.19 exempts maintenance work such as roofing, painting and basement sealing, and small nonstructural development valued at less than five thousand dollars ($5,000), except filling and grading.

For ordinary building permits outside the floodplain, the Codified Ordinances print no stage-by-stage inspection list. Chapter 1420 carries an editor's note that the City's Building Code, enacted by Ordinance 72-31 passed June 26, 1972, is separately published, is not codified, and is available at cost from the Clerk of Council.