Building Safety - Bureau of Inspections

The purpose of this division is to protect the public's life, health, and welfare in the building environment.

The division issues permits for buildings and structures; provides inspections for life safety, building and property maintenance codes compliance; and issues Certificates of Occupancy or Completion. This division receives construction documents for building permit applications including drawings and specifications that are submitted for review then distributes these items to other divisions when necessary for review; collects final approvals from other divisions; and archives all related plans and materials for future reference.

In addition to performing code inspections for all new construction in the City of Franklin, this division also conducts investigations concerning property maintenance issues for compliance with state and local ordinances such violation of the Virginia Property Maintenance Code (City only) Unsafe Structures, high grass and weeds, trash and debris and inoperative vehicles.

The Building Safety – Bureau of Inspections Division actively distributes information to builders, developers, design professionals and the public on issues that affect the built environment by providing an educated, professional staff that stands ready to serve their needs.

News and Annoucements:

The season is upon us again!  The weather is nice, the flowers and trees are blossoming and grass is growing.  It becomes a busy time of the year for us all.

Please be aware of the growth of grass this time of year.  We hope to avoid citing for grass violations, which can result in a minimum cost of $160 for city cutting.  The intent is to increase voluntary compliance for high grass maintenance so other property maintenance issues, which also have an impact on improving the overall of our community, can be addressed.

 Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call the Community Development Department at (757) 562-8682.