Dealing with the land use bureaucrats to get a permit

[Nathan Waters]

I was in the process of renovating an old house and got shut down by the county for not having a building permit. The only work being done was removing old wood paneling and covering the old plaster walls with new drywall. No plumbing, electrical, restructuring layout, or anything like that. I was probably naive to think I didn't need a permit for this scope of work, but now the county says I need to bring the entire home up to code. They have stated that laying new walls over old walls isn't up to code. I'm pretty sure they are full of crap. Has anyone dealt with these hurdles before? Is it a good idea to get a land use attorney to help me through the process? Please advise as I'm stuck in the mud on this project.

[Account Closed]

This does not sound like a "land use" issue but rather a building dept issue.  You haven't given much detail, e.g. the age and condition of the house, what specifically the inspector said, what your intended use of the house is, etc but in general, they do have the authority to dictate what you need to do and fighting them will get you nowhere.  Starting off on the wrong foot by not getting a permit to begin with was also not helpful. Had you consulted them beforehand, you would have known what they were going to require.  

Though putting new drywall over plaster seems benign, it does create concerns e.g. insulation, electrical boxes now being too shallow, etc.  Once you 'touch' something, you become responsible for it. 

As it stands now, you'll either have to do as they say or else not renovate the house.