An Occupancy Permit is required to be issued for new or existing commercial buildings where there is/will be an assembly or gathering of people, which includes:
- any part of a building that will be used for the gathering of persons for civic, political, travel, religious, social, educational, recreational or like purposes
- consumption of food or drink
- business that will be open to the public (ie. retail, professional office, etc.)
- Apartment buildings, Personal Care Homes, etc.
- change in occupants, even if the proposed use is the same/similar as the previous use
An Occupancy permit is required prior to being open to the public! An inspection is completed by the Building Inspector who will ensure that items are building code compliant and meet fire safety. If there are deficiencies noted, it is at the discretion of the building inspector to issue an Interim Occupancy Permit to allow the business/building to be open to the public. The inspector will issue the Interim permit subject to all deficiencies being corrected by a certain date. A full occupancy is required to operate on a long term basis.
If a building requires a building permit (see below), the Occupancy permit will be issued upon the final inspection (providing there are no deficiencies). There is no additional cost for the permit, as it is covered in the building permit fee.
If a new business will be operating in an existing building and no building permit is required, an Occupancy Permit application fee of $100 will be applicable.