How are suspected violations of Building Without a Permit handled?
Under Roanoke City Code Section 36.2-522, no person shall erect, construct, reconstruct, move, demolish, add to, or structurally alter any structure without a zoning permit issued by the Zoning Administrator. Reports of suspected violations will be submitted to the appropriate Code Enforcement Inspector based on assigned zones. The Inspector will view the Permits Plus system to determine if a building permit has been obtained by the property owner and will visit the property to inspect it for zoning code violations.
If the proper permits have not been obtained, the Inspector will take a picture of any violations, post a “Stop Work” order, and cite the property owner for doing work without a permit. Upon notification of a violation, the owner will be required to obtain a building permit from the City’s Permit Center within 10 days and have the work inspected or remove the structure that has been built. The Permit Center will charge the owner double the permit amount when this occurs. If the owner must remove an incurable violation, he/she may be granted up to 30 days to do so. This is at the discretion of the Inspector. Failure to obtain the permit and have the work inspected or to remove the structure will result in a court summons being issued to the property owner.
If a citizen feels aggrieved by a notice of zoning violation, he/she has the right to appeal the order to the City’s Board of Zoning Appeals within 30 days; the filing fee is $250 plus the cost of the legal advertisement for the public hearing.