Fairbanks building department

The Fairbanks North Star Borough (FNSB) has not adopted a building code, so outside the City of Fairbanks and the City of North Pole no building permit is required. The borough’s Community Planning Department handles zoning, platting, floodplain management, and code enforcement across the borough, including inside the two cities. For most construction, the borough permit you need is a zoning permit, not a building permit.

Which office issues what

Location / project	Building permit	Other approvals
Inside City of Fairbanks limits	City of Fairbanks Building Department, (907) 459-6720	FNSB zoning permit, which must be attached to the city application
Inside City of North Pole limits	City of North Pole, (907) 488-8593	FNSB zoning permit may be required
Borough outside both cities: house, duplex, or triplex	None required	FNSB zoning permit (unless exempt) and floodplain permit if in a flood zone
Borough outside both cities: commercial work	None from the borough	State Fire Marshal approval may be required, plus FNSB zoning permit

A Fairbanks mailing address doesn’t put a property inside city limits. Check the parcel on the borough’s Zoning Identifier or interactive map before deciding which office to call.

When a zoning permit is required

Under FNSBC 18.104.080.B, you need a zoning permit before any excavation, construction, relocation, or installation starts for a new use. There are only two exceptions:

• The property is in a General Use (GU) zoning district and not in a special landscape area overlay zone.
• The lot is only being cleared or graded.

In GU districts you can still choose to get a zoning permit to document when a use or structure began, which can help establish grandfather rights later. Some GU uses still need a conditional use permit (FNSBC 18.84.020). All commercial marijuana establishments need a zoning permit or conditional use permit.

Applying

Zoning permits are free. The borough issues them within five business days of a complete application. There are two application forms:

• Residential (1–2 units) and residential accessory structures
• Commercial, industrial, or multi-family (three or more units)

Email the application to [email protected] or bring it to Community Planning, 907 Terminal Street, 2nd floor (Monday–Friday, 8 a.m.–5 p.m.). The residential form asks for the parcel account number (PAN), legal description, existing zone and structures, existing and proposed dwelling units and square footage, and building height and stories. A zoning permit decision can be appealed within 15 days (FNSBC 18.104.090).

Residential site plan

Every zoning permit needs a site plan drawn to scale. It can be hand drawn and doesn’t need a professional. It must show:

1. Scale (for example 1 in = 20 ft) and a north arrow
2. All property lines with dimensions
3. Location, type, and dimensions of all existing structures (house, garage, shop, shed, carport)
4. Location, type, and dimensions of all proposed structures and additions
5. Setback distances from proposed structures to every property line
6. The buildable area inside required setbacks, if anything proposed is within 5 ft of a setback line
7. Names of adjacent roads and existing or proposed driveways
8. Well and septic locations (optional)

The borough also publishes a commercial/industrial site plan guide and a list of area surveyors.

Floodplain permits (FNSB Title 15)

A floodplain permit from Community Planning is required before starting any new or substantially improved structure in a Special Flood Hazard Area. That includes placing a manufactured home, altering a watercourse, dredging, excavation, grading, paving, or storing materials, and any excavation within 250 feet of the Tanana Levee centerline. The residential floodplain permit form (revised July 1, 2026) lists no fee. Its conditions:

• Attach copies of any required federal and state permits (Corps of Engineers Section 404 wetlands permit, Fish & Habitat, DEC).
• Document that all materials below the base flood elevation are flood resistant.
• The permit expires 180 days after issuance if construction hasn’t started.
• When construction is finished, submit a “finished construction” Elevation Certificate, then apply for a Certificate of Compliance within 60 days of getting it.
• A final inspection is required. All work, including doors, windows, flood openings, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, grading, and paving, must be complete before the Certificate of Compliance is issued.

The Floodplain Administrator, reached at (907) 459-1260, can tell you your flood zone. FEMA flood maps for the borough are being updated.

Other Community Planning functions

The Planning and Zoning Division handles rezones, conditional uses, variances, legal non-conforming status determinations, and enforcement of borough code. The Platting Office reviews subdivisions and can help find historic plats showing where property corners were set. Code Enforcement takes written complaints about zoning violations, junkyards, kennels, and right-of-way obstructions. Disputes such as encroaching vegetation or neighbor trespass are treated as civil matters. Street addressing and Goldstream-area zoning are also handled in this department.