South Burlington
City of South Burlington Department of Planning and Zoning
In short
City of South Burlington Department of Planning and Zoning issues 10 permits we publish for South Burlington, last verified 2026-09-14. Each carries the fee as the agency publishes it, with a link to the schedule it was read from.
What this agency issues
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Certificate of Occupancy | City of South Burlington Department of Planning and Zoning | A certificate of occupancy is $140.00 plus the $13.00 digitization fee, so $153.00 in total. A certificate of compliance is $27.00 plus $13.00, so $40.00. The schedule provides that payment of the fee for a permanent certificate of occupancy is made at the time of the zoning permit application rather than at the end of the project. | one-time | 2026-09-14 |
| Food Service Establishment License — Vermont Department of Health (South Burlington) | City of South Burlington Department of Planning and Zoning | Set by statute at 18 V.S.A. § 4353(a)(1) and charged by the Vermont Department of Health, scaled by seating: $105.00 for 0 to 25 seats, $180.00 for 26 to 50, $300.00 for 51 to 100, $385.00 for 101 to 200, $450.00 for 201 to 599 and $1,000.00 for 600 or more. A home caterer is $155.00, a commercial caterer $260.00, a mobile unit $260.00, a push cart $260.00 and a limited operation $140.00. | annual, issued by the Vermont Department of Health | 2026-09-14 |
| Veterinary Practice — State OPR License Applies (South Burlington)only if it applies to you | City of South Burlington Department of Planning and Zoning | No fee | not applicable | 2026-09-14 |
| Zoning Permit | City of South Burlington Department of Planning and Zoning | New non-residential construction is $0.35 per square foot plus a $13.00 digitization and recording fee. Non-residential additions and alterations are $5.00 per $1,000 of project cost with a $30.00 minimum, plus $13.00. A demolition permit is $50.00 plus $13.00. Where work has already begun, an after-the-fact application costs the standard fee plus fifty percent if no notice of violation was issued, or the standard fee plus one hundred percent if one was. New residential construction, for comparison, is $0.45 per square foot plus $13.00. | a zoning permit expires after one year; site plan, conditional use, variance and design review approvals expire after six months under LDR 17.05 | 2026-09-14 |
| Sign Permitonly if it applies to you | City of South Burlington Department of Planning and Zoning | A permanent sign is $55.00 per sign and a temporary sign is $5.00. Where a sign application requires design review it is charged at $55.00, against $165.00 for all other design review applications. | not stated in the published fee schedule | 2026-09-14 |
| Conditional Use Permit / Variance / Site Plan Reviewonly if it applies to you | City of South Burlington Department of Planning and Zoning | A conditional use application is $165.00 plus the $13.00 digitization fee, so $178.00, and a variance is the same $178.00. Site plan review before the Development Review Board is $275.00 plus $13.00, while administrative site plan review is $140.00 plus $13.00, so $153.00. Site plan applications add $100.00 per residential unit, or $0.10 per non-residential square foot up to 10,000 square feet and $0.05 per square foot above that. An interim zoning application is $275.00 plus $13.00. A miscellaneous Development Review Board review is $110.00 plus $13.00. An appeal of the Administrative Officer is $220.00 plus $13.00, so $233.00, and a continuance requested by the applicant is $50.00. Independent technical review and legal review are charged per hour. | site plan, conditional use, variance and design review approvals expire after six months under LDR 17.05 | 2026-09-14 |
| Salon and Barber Shop — State OPR License Applies (South Burlington)only if it applies to you | City of South Burlington Department of Planning and Zoning | No fee | not applicable | 2026-09-14 |
| Fitness Studio — City of South Burlington positiononly if it applies to you | City of South Burlington Department of Planning and Zoning | No fee | not applicable | 2026-09-14 |
| Child Care Facility — State DCF License Applies (South Burlington)only if it applies to you | City of South Burlington Department of Planning and Zoning | No fee | not applicable at city level | 2026-09-14 |
| Auto Repair Shop — City of South Burlington positiononly if it applies to you | City of South Burlington Department of Planning and Zoning | No fee | not applicable | 2026-09-14 |
Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.
About each permit
Certificate of Occupancy
LDR 17.03(A) is the operative bar on occupancy and, like the zoning permit, it reaches a change of use rather than only construction. One point of timing catches applicants out and is worth recording: the fee schedule's own note provides that 'Payment of fee for a Permanent Certificate of Occupancy shall be made at the time of zoning permit application,' so the $153.00 is payable at the start of the project rather than on completion. The cheaper certificate of compliance at $40.00 is a different instrument, confirming that completed work conforms to an approval rather than authorising occupancy.
Food Service Establishment License — Vermont Department of Health (South Burlington)
Under 18 V.S.A. § 4351(a), food establishment licensing is vested in the Commissioner of Health, and 18 V.S.A. ch. 85 contains no delegation provision of the kind that lets North Dakota cities run their own programmes, so the license and inspection come from the Vermont Department of Health rather than the City. The City's health-adjacent post is a Health Inspector and Rental Registry Manager sitting within the Fire Department. What a South Burlington restaurant owes the City instead is the zoning permit, the certificate of occupancy, the Fire Marshal's building permit, any fire protection system permit, and — because §16-29(e) makes a valid fire safety inspection a precondition of the state liquor license — a fire inspection before it can serve alcohol.
Veterinary Practice — State OPR License Applies (South Burlington)
No fee applies at city level: the City's City Permits, Licenses, and Registrations page names no veterinary license, and practitioners are licensed by the Vermont Office of Professional Regulation. The zoning treatment carries one detail worth knowing before signing a lease: a veterinary practice normally sits in the 'Medical and Social Services' category, but LDR 14.11(J)(5) shifts it into 'Commercial with Outdoor Impact' where its outdoor area exceeds one hundred square feet — so an exercise yard or outdoor run can change which districts the practice may occupy and which approvals it needs. Practitioners are licensed by the Vermont Office of Professional Regulation at state level.
Zoning Permit
Like Burlington's, this permit is triggered by a change of use and not only by construction: LDR 17.02(A)(1) reaches 'any change in the use of any building or other structure, or land.' A business taking over an existing commercial space for a different purpose needs one even with no building work. The City's FAQ gives the residential arithmetic as a worked example — 'Residential zoning permits are calculated at $5 per $1,000 of construction costs, plus a $13 recording fee. There is a minimum permit fee of $43 for work up to $6,000' — and the same $5.00 per $1,000 with a $30.00 minimum applies to non-residential alterations. The $13.00 component is a digitization and recording charge added to almost every line on the schedule. Note the two different expiry periods at LDR 17.05: the zoning permit itself lasts a year, but a site plan, conditional use, variance or design review approval lapses in six months, so an applicant who obtains discretionary approval and then delays can lose it before the permit does.
Sign Permit
At $55.00 per permanent sign this is materially cheaper than Burlington's $133.00 for a first sign, and unlike Burlington the schedule sets no escalating charge for additional signs — each is simply $55.00. Design review, where the district requires it, is charged at the sign rate rather than the general $165.00 design review rate, which is a deliberate discount rather than an omission.
Conditional Use Permit / Variance / Site Plan Review
The per-square-foot component on site plan review is what makes this expensive for larger commercial projects: at $0.10 per square foot to 10,000 square feet, a 10,000 square foot retail fit-out adds $1,000 to the base $288.00. Whether an application goes to the Development Review Board at $275.00 or is handled administratively at $140.00 is set by the Land Development Regulations rather than chosen by the applicant. The six-month expiry at LDR 17.05 applies to the approval, and is shorter than the one-year life of the zoning permit that follows it. Under the Land Development Regulations adopted August 3, 2026 the relevant use categories are broad rather than trade-specific: a restaurant, coffee shop, retail store, fitness studio and salon all fall within Consumer-Facing Commercial, scaled Small at 5,000 square feet or less, Medium between 5,000 and 12,000, and Large above 12,000.
Salon and Barber Shop — State OPR License Applies (South Burlington)
No fee applies at city level: the City's City Permits, Licenses, and Registrations page names no salon license, and salon and barber licensing is by the Vermont Office of Professional Regulation's Board of Barbers and Cosmetologists. Under the 2026 Land Development Regulations a salon is not a distinct zoning use either — Appendix C folds 'personal services (e.g. hair salons, studio-based fitness instruction, art workshops)' into Consumer-Facing Commercial alongside retail and restaurants, scaled by floor area rather than by trade. A salon's city obligations are the zoning permit, the certificate of occupancy, the Fire Marshal's building permit for fit-out and the $55.00 sign permit.
Fitness Studio — City of South Burlington position
No fee applies at city level: the City's City Permits, Licenses, and Registrations page names no fitness license, and 24 V.S.A. § 2291 grants no municipal power to license fitness businesses. The 2026 Land Development Regulations name the trade only inside a category — Appendix C gives 'studio-based fitness instruction' as an example of the personal services folded into Consumer-Facing Commercial — so the planning question is the category's scale band rather than the specific use. A studio's obligations are the zoning permit, the certificate of occupancy, the Fire Marshal's building permit for fit-out, and the $55.00 sign permit. Where the studio's floor area pushes it into the Medium band above 5,000 square feet or the Large band above 12,000, the site plan review fee's per-square-foot component becomes the significant cost rather than the flat application fee.
Child Care Facility — State DCF License Applies (South Burlington)
No fee applies at city level: childcare licensing is by the Vermont Department for Children and Families, and the City's City Permits, Licenses, and Registrations page names no childcare license. The City's involvement is zoning: the Land Development Regulations adopted August 3, 2026 define 'Child Care Facility' as 'An establishment defined by State of Vermont Statute in 33 V.S.A. § 3511,' making the state definition the trigger for the local use category. A childcare operator therefore needs the zoning permit for the use, the certificate of occupancy, and site plan or conditional use approval where the district requires it. Fire inspection applies through the Fire Marshal in the ordinary way.
Auto Repair Shop — City of South Burlington position
No fee applies at city level: the City's City Permits, Licenses, and Registrations page names no auto repair license, and 24 V.S.A. § 2291 grants no municipal power to license automotive repair. Under the Land Development Regulations adopted August 3, 2026 the trade is not named individually at all — it falls within the broad category 'Motor Vehicle-Focused Commercial,' so the zoning question is whether that category is allowed in the district rather than whether a repair shop specifically is. A shop's obligations are the zoning permit, the certificate of occupancy, the Fire Marshal's building permit for fit-out, any fire protection system permit, and the sign permit at $55.00.
Contact
- Jurisdiction
- South Burlington
- Phone
- (802) 846-4106
Contact details are taken from the agency’s own site or its published fee schedule. Where we have not verified a phone number we leave it blank rather than guess.
Sources
Every fee and term above was read from one of these government pages on the date shown.
- 24 V.S.A. ch. 61, § 2291 (Enumeration of powers) — the statute limiting Vermont municipalities to licensing itinerant vendors and peddlers under subsection (9) and circuses, shows and paid entertainments under subsection (11)Vermont General Assembly · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-14
- City Permits, Licenses and Registrations — the City's own complete enumeration of what it issues, establishing that South Burlington has no general business licenseCity of South Burlington · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-14
- Food and Lodging — the Vermont Department of Health's own current page for the statewide licensing of restaurants, food service establishments and mobile units under 18 V.S.A. ch. 85, the license Burlington businesses hold in place of any city food licenseVermont Department of Health · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-14
- Planning and Zoning Fee Schedule, adopted July 10, 2023 — zoning permits by square foot and project cost, sign permits, certificates of occupancy and compliance, conditional use, variance, site plan, subdivision, peddler permits and the $13.00 digitization feeCity of South Burlington Department of Planning and Zoning · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-14
Other offices serving South Burlington
The full permit list for this jurisdiction
Industry permit lists that include this agency
- Restaurants in South Burlington
- Coffee shops in South Burlington
- Retail stores in South Burlington
- Salons and barbers in South Burlington
- Fitness studios in South Burlington
- Childcare centres in South Burlington
- Contractors and trades in South Burlington
- Auto repair shops in South Burlington
- Veterinary clinics in South Burlington
Vermont jurisdictions
Commercial Compliance Hub publishes information, not legal advice. Requirements change — confirm anything you rely on with the issuing agency before you file.