In Dune Acres, a Renovation Runs on the Town Council's Calendar

The first building permit Dune Acres issued in 2026 was for a roof. Permit 2026-01 covered roofing on Summit Drive. Like most permits in town, it went on the agenda of the regular Town Council meeting at the clubhouse, and the Council approved it by unanimous vote in March.

In Dune Acres, a new roof is a Council agenda item. If you're buying here with a plan to change something, your project timeline is set by the Council meeting your application can make and the filing deadline two weeks before it.

The $3,000 Line Catches More Than Construction

Section 10-25 of the Town Code requires a building permit for covered work that costs more than $3,000 in materials and labor. The list goes well past new houses:

• erecting, remodeling, enlarging, moving or demolishing a building or structure
• reroofing, residing or repairing a building or structure
• installing equipment for the operation of a building or structure
• clearing, grading, excavation, filling or paving a parcel
• tree removal

On a wooded dune lot, that last item matters. Taking down a few large oaks to open a view, or clearing a slope before regrading, can cost more than $3,000 on its own. Under the code, that work starts with a permit, the same way a garage does.

The town also registers the crews doing smaller work. Under Chapter 14, anyone contracting for landscaping or grounds maintenance in Dune Acres has to register with the town first. The definition names "tree trimming and tree removal," brush removal, grading and mechanical snow removal, and the annual fee is $25.

The Sequence Before Work Starts

Here is the order the code lays out for a permitted project:

1. A presentation drawing comes first. The applicant files with the Clerk-Treasurer a description of the lot and "a presentation drawing in perspective, showing how the improved property will look after completion."
2. The Council approves that drawing. Only after that approval does the applicant submit plans, written specifications and the fee, with the estimated cost and the contractor's name.
3. Bigger jobs need professional plans. Work over $20,000 needs two sets of plans and specifications prepared or approved by a registered architect or engineer, with existing and proposed contours.
4. The application has to be complete two weeks before the meeting. The Building Commissioner checks the plans and presents them, with recommendations, at the next Council meeting. The Commissioner isn't obligated to do that unless the application and fees arrive complete at least two weeks beforehand.
5. The Council decides. The power to issue or refuse permits "is vested in the Town Council," which can refuse new buildings that seem unsuitable for the site or incompatible with existing standards of quality in the immediate neighborhood. For work up to $20,000, the Council may delegate that power to the Building Commissioner.

Building and structural-alteration projects also go to the Plan Commission, which reviews architectural and landscaping plans for compatibility with neighborhood design and landscape and can require setbacks deeper than the zoning minimum. The site review under Chapter 46 asks for:

• a topographic survey at two-foot intervals
• the trees 4.5 inches or more in diameter, measured four feet above grade, that are proposed for removal
• plans for sand storage and removal
• natural-feature protection and replanting
• erosion and runoff controls

The commission then inspects the site with the owner, contractor and architect. Its standards cap site disturbance at 70% before mitigation and 35% after, require mitigation within six months of occupancy, and limit dune loss above street grade to 25% of height or 10% of volume in covered cases.

For any project the Council keeps on its own docket, each of those steps has to clear before the vote that releases the permit.

What the 2026 Docket Looks Like

The town's posted minutes show how this works over a year. Permits arrive in batches, some months bring none, and one item went back for more work.

Two things in that table matter to a buyer. First, the approvals cover ordinary projects. Windows, a sunroom and a basement remodel went through the same meeting as a new house, which matches the code's broad list. Second, look at the fiber-optic item. A permit that raises questions in March doesn't get a decision in March; it waits for the next meeting at the earliest. With monthly meetings, one open question costs about a month.

Every regular meeting in 2026 so far has been on the third Tuesday: January 20, February 17, March 17, April 21, May 19, June 16, July 21, August 18, September 15 and October 20. If that pattern holds, the next two meetings fall on November 17 and December 15, which puts the two-week filing marks at November 3 and December 1.

What the Clock Looks Like Once You Have the Permit

After approval, the timing rules change. New-home permits are sold by term, and the term is part of the price. The 2024 permit form, which lists Tom Roberts as Building Commissioner, sets out the options this way:

The code lets the town cancel a permit if work doesn't start within six months, stops for a continuous six months, or runs past the permit term or an approved extension. Extensions go back to the Council with an application and a fee. Required inspections come before footings are poured, after framing and before insulation or drywall, and at completion after final grading. A certificate of occupancy follows a satisfactory final inspection.

Day to day, work is allowed from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Saturday. There's no work on Memorial Day, July 4, Labor Day, Thanksgiving or Christmas unless there's an immediate hazard, and that applies whether or not the job needs a permit.

The contractor has to be set up before any of this. Trades doing permitted work register with the town: $100 to start, expiring December 31, and $25 to renew by January 31 or $100 after that. On projects over $25,000, contractors must show liability insurance of at least $100,000 per person and $300,000 per occurrence, a $5,000 license bond recorded in Porter County, and workers' compensation coverage. A contractor who hasn't renewed by January 31 pays $100 instead of $25, which is a small cost but a common way for a winter project to start late.

The State Has Put Permits on a Faster Clock

In 2025, Indiana passed House Bill 1005, which became Public Law 146-2025. The bill's digest says a city, town or county that requires a permit for a Class 2 structure must allow inspections by private providers. If an applicant uses a private provider because the unit can't do plan review on time, the unit must refund plan-review fees and may charge a convenience fee of no more than $100.

GovWell, a permitting-software company, summarized the law in May 2026. It says the law sets three business days to decide whether a residential application is complete, seven business days for plan review once it is complete, and, where the municipality states it can meet the timelines, three business days to schedule an inspection. It says most of those provisions took effect January 1, 2026, and that a unit that commits to the deadlines and then misses them must issue a permit or limited permit by the next business day.

Dune Acres has taken note. In the executive report at the May 19, 2026 meeting, the town said new building permits "are being developed to comply with new state statutes and to streamline our internal review." The plan was a three-track system: one track for building-only projects such as interior remodels, one for projects that also need Plan Commission approval, and one for "demolition, earthworks, tree cutting, and other activities." The drafts were to go to the Building Commissioner and Plan Commission for comment. The permit form on the town's site today is still the 2024 version. If your project timing depends on the state deadlines, check the current process with the Clerk-Treasurer.

This post is general information, not legal advice. Confirm current requirements with the town and with a qualified attorney or design professional before you rely on a timeline.

Planning a Purchase Around the Meeting Calendar

If you're buying a Dune Acres house to renovate, the permit timeline belongs in your offer planning:

• Count backward from a meeting. With a meeting on the third Tuesday and a complete application due two weeks before, a project that misses one filing mark waits about a month for the next.
• Order the drawings early. The perspective drawing comes before the Council's first look, and work over $20,000 needs architect- or engineer-prepared plans. A design team that starts after closing pushes the first meeting out by however long the drawings take.
• Count the trees before you price the view. If opening sightlines means removing trees, that work is listed in the permit code, the town's own May report put "tree cutting" on its own track, and Plan Commission site review counts trees 4.5 inches and larger.
• Pick the term to fit the build. A rebuild that could run past 18 months may be cheaper on the 24- or 32-month term than with an extension later.
• Check registration before you sign. Make sure your contractor and tree crew are registered and, on larger jobs, insured and bonded to the town's levels.

FAQ

Does a new roof really need a permit in Dune Acres? Under §10-25, reroofing over $3,000 in materials and labor needs a building permit. In 2026 the first permit the Council approved was a roofing job on Summit Drive.

Can smaller jobs skip the Council? The code allows the Council to delegate permits for work up to $20,000 to the Building Commissioner.

Who answers permit questions? The town's permit form lists the Building Commissioner at 219-787-8174 and Town Hall at One East Road, 219-787-1900.

When you're buying in Dune Acres with a renovation in mind, I can help you lay the drawings, contractor registration and Council filing dates against your closing date before you commit, so the project starts when you expect it to. Mark Hull brings more than two decades of construction experience to that planning. Book a complimentary consultation.