Inside Henderson City Limits, the Permit Comes Before the Hammer

Out in the unincorporated stretches of Rusk County there's no zoning and the county's review is light. Cross into the Henderson city limits and it's a different world. The city wants a permit before you construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, or demolish a building, and before you so much as change what a building is used for. Regulated electrical, gas, mechanical, and plumbing work needs one too. The Building Services counter is at the Municipal Services Complex, 300 W. Main St., at 903-657-6551.

A permit here isn't a single rubber stamp. Depending on the job, the Inspection Department, the Health Department, and the Fire Department can each take a look before it's issued and again as the work goes up. Keep that in mind if you're opening a restaurant or anything the public walks into. The kitchen and the fire review are part of the deal, not afterthoughts.

And the building isn't yours to occupy on your own say-so. Henderson won't let a structure be occupied until final clearance is given. That's the line that catches people changing a building's use, turning an old retail space into a cafe, say. If you're about to sign a lease for a storefront, shop, office, or warehouse, ask the city up front whether the address, the intended use, and the required inspections all line up, before you're paying rent on a space you can't open.