Building inside Corsicana means a city permit first

Unincorporated Navarro County has no zoning, but the moment you're inside the Corsicana city limits the rules tighten. The city requires a permit to build, alter, enlarge, or repair any residential or commercial structure, not just new construction. A homeowner doing the work themselves can pull a homestead permit, but otherwise the job has to go through a contractor who's registered with the city, which runs $110 the first year and $55 each year after.

How far the review goes depends on what you're building. A house permit is reviewed by the building inspector and Planning and Zoning. A commercial project picks up more eyes: Fire, Engineering, Environmental Services, and sometimes the Health Department all weigh in before it's approved. Incomplete applications just get handed back, so the paperwork matters.

The permit desk sits at the Planning and Zoning office, 200 North 12th Street in Corsicana, and you can turn applications in there in person, by mail, or by email to [email protected]. One deadline sneaks up on folks: once a permit's issued, you have to start work within 180 days or it goes null and void, and you need an inspection at least every 180 days after that or the city treats the job as abandoned.