East Ridge Building & Codes Department


Address

1517 Tombras Avenue 
East Ridge, TN 37412 

Contact Information 

(423) 867-7711 (City Hall) 

Operating Hours 

Monday - Friday: 8:00am to 4:30pm 
 
 

The Building & Codes Department ensures compliance with all applicable building codes adopted by the City of East Ridge. This includes residential and commercial plan reviews, permitting and inspections process, and compliance with applicable property maintenance codes.  The Building & Codes Department is also responsible for Property Maintenance violations in accordance with local and state laws. 

Connect with the Building & Codes Division on Facebook! 
 


Michael Howell 
Chief Building Official 

Melissa Mahoney 
Administrative Assistant 

Torrey Holder 
Residential Building Inspector

Michael Pettyjohn 
Code Enforcement Officer 

Ethan Palmer
Code Enforcement Officer 


Our Mission


As the Building Inspection and Code Enforcement team for the City of East Ridge, our mission is to implement the codes necessary to provide a safe and healthy neighborhood environment for our residents while maintaining the high property values that have made East Ridge a desirable area for residential and commercial development.


Permit Information 

What work requires a permit?

-  New construction of building or structures
-  Alterations, repairs, or additions to existing buildings or structures
-  Exterior remodels, alterations or repairs
-  Moving/relocating existing buildings
-  Demolition (interior and complete buildings)
-  Fences over 7’ high or fences constructed of concrete or masonry
-  Retaining walls. Retaining walls four or more feet high require an engineer’s stamped drawing
-  Decks
-  Swimming pools including above-ground units two or more feet deep.

What work DOESN’T require permits?

- Cosmetic alterations to existing buildings such as paint, wallpaper, and carpeting, as well as exterior storage buildings less than 120 square feet, are exempt from building permits.

(*All trade work permits such as electrical, mechanical, and plumbing need to be pulled by a licensed contractor and must have their license in the State of Tennessee.*)

If proper permits are not pulled with the Building and Codes Department a stop work order will be issued by a member of our team.


OpenGov

The Building & Codes Department is now using a new software program called OpenGov. This software allows citizens to submit applications for permits, requests for inspections, or complaints for code enforcement violations electronically. 

The following permits can be accessed through Opengov:

  • Building
  • Demolition
  • Electrical
  • Fire prevention
  • Gas
  • Mechanical
  • Plat submittal
  • Plumbing
  • Rezone Application
  • Short-Term Vacation Rental
  • Sign
  • Street Cut
  • Tree Cutting
  • Use on Review
  • Variance request
  • Yard sale 
  • Zoning appeals
  • Zoning Verification


Apply for permits here: https://eastridgetn.viewpointcloud.com.

For more information on how to navigate the City's OpenGov system: See below






 


Building Inspection


The City of East Ridge requires building, electrical, plumbing, mechanical, gas, street cut, storm water, sign, house moving, and demolition permits. Each permit requires on going inspections of the work until completion of the job. At this time a final inspection is performed. Each area mentioned above has a standard code in which the Chief Building Official must uphold. The Chief Building Official is available to help answer any questions and/or concerns to the business owners and residents regarding building of residential and commercial property.
 

Code Enforcement

Our staff receives reports and complaints from neighborhoods on a daily basis. Each report/complaint is investigated, evaluated, and then prioritized. This system helps ensure that critical issues are handled immediately and other, less severe complaints are handled in a timely manner.

All employees of the City of East Ridge have been instructed that if they see any serious code violations to report it to the code enforcement staff. This effort has been initiated in order to prevent long-term code violations that may become dangerous life-safety issues for the residents as well as the surrounding neighbors.

After a report/complaint is filed with our office, an initial drive-by site inspection is performed. During a site inspection, the officer may take pictures of the code violation and document any existing problems. If the property is found to be in violation of city code, a citation is issued to the owner and/or tenant of the property.

Upon receipt of this notice, we advise the owner or tenant to contact our department to speak with the officer who issued the citation. This will give the owner or tenant a chance to discuss this matter and set a compliance date for cleanup. If the property owner or tenant fails to correct the violation before the compliance date, they will be summoned to appear before the Administrative Hearing Officer for the City of East Ridge on the date listed in the citation.

 

2020 FEMA Preliminary Maps 

  To access the FEMA portal for additional information please vist  https://hazards.fema.gov/femaportal/prelimdownload. 

Zoning
 



Zoning Variance & Use on Review
 

Flood Insurance Rate Map Update