Companion glossary to Understanding Permits.UnderstandBinder Tab F — Construction & Ops
Companion glossary · Tab F
Permit Glossary
Every term used in the Understanding Permits handbook, in plain language.
≈5 min read
Reads like a small dictionary. Use it while you read the Understanding Permits handbook.
- Appeal window
- The defined period after a decision in which it may be challenged. Often short — sometimes 10–14 days.
- Applicant
- The person or company seeking the permit. Not always the property owner.
- Building official
- The local staff member with final authority over building-code interpretation.
- Categorical exemption
- An environmental-review shortcut for projects deemed too small to require analysis.
- Certificate of occupancy
- Issued at the end of construction. Confirms a building is legally usable.
- Comment period
- A defined window during which the public may submit written comments. Closes before the decision.
- Conditions of approval
- Requirements attached to a permit. Violations can revoke the permit.
- Conditional-use permit
- Permission for a use that is allowed only with extra review and conditions.
- Discretionary permit
- A permit that requires judgement. Almost always carries a hearing.
- Encroachment permit
- Authorises work in the public right-of-way (driveways, sidewalks, utility cuts).
- Findings
- The reasons staff or the decision-maker says the project meets the rules.
- Grading permit
- Authorises earth-moving. Usually paired with erosion-control review.
- Ministerial permit
- A permit issued when an application meets clear, objective rules. No discretion. No hearing.
- Notice radius
- The distance around a property within which neighbours receive mailed notice.
- Pre-application meeting
- An informal meeting between an applicant and staff before a formal application.
- Public notice
- Formal communication that a permit is being considered. Often a mailed letter, a sign, and a newspaper ad.
- Right-of-way
- Public land along streets and sidewalks. Work here usually needs its own permit.
- Special-use permit
- Similar to a conditional-use permit. Naming varies by jurisdiction.
- Stop-work order
- An order from the building official halting construction. Usually for code violations or unpermitted work.
- Variance
- Permission to deviate from a specific zoning rule. Requires a finding of hardship.
- Vested rights
- Once issued (and sometimes once applied for), a permit may 'vest' — protecting the project from later rule changes.
- Wetlands permit
- Federal (Army Corps §404) and state permits for impacts to wetlands or streams.
- Zoning permit
- Confirms a proposed use fits the zoning district — sometimes with conditions.