Building permits, zoning and septic rules in Cliffside Park, New Jersey

At a glance

Building permit

Required; issued by the Borough's construction official under the state Uniform Construction Code¹²

Zoning

Yes, set by the Borough, not Bergen County³⁴

Residential districts

R-1 through R-5, from one-family to high-rise multi-family⁵

Septic

Board of health must approve the plan before a building permit; which health office serves the Borough is unconfirmed⁶

Owner-builder

Registration exception for your own home, but permits and inspections still apply⁷

Who to call

Contact details are copied from each office’s official page and were checked against it on October 13, 2026.

Does Cliffside Park, NJ have zoning, and what does it cover?

Cliffside Park has its own zoning, adopted by the Borough and shown on its official zoning map³. Bergen County does not zone land; New Jersey leaves that authority to municipalities⁴⁸.

The Borough's residential districts run from R-1 One Family and R-2 One and Two Family to R-3 Multi-Family Townhouse, R-4 Multi-Family Mid-Rise and R-5 Multi-Family High Rise⁵. Lot size, setbacks, height and floor area are set district by district under state law, so the answer for your lot depends on which district it sits in⁹¹⁰.

We could not confirm a Borough rule on RV occupancy, tiny homes or accessory dwellings. Ask the Borough's zoning official before you plan any of them.

Do you need a building permit in Cliffside Park, and who issues it?

Yes. New Jersey's Uniform Construction Code requires a construction permit for new construction and for structural, plumbing, mechanical and electrical work on existing buildings; ordinary maintenance is excepted².

In Cliffside Park the Borough building department issues building permits through its construction code official, and it also handles inspections and certificates of occupancy¹¹¹. The office sits in the Municipal Complex at 525 Palisade Ave., Room 220, and describes its job as issuing work permits for new construction, alterations, demolitions and interior renovations¹¹.

A complete application must be approved or denied within 20 business days under the state code¹². The Borough sets its own fee schedule by ordinance, so ask the building department for current fees¹².

How do septic permits work inside Cliffside Park?

Septic is a health-department matter, not a building-department one. Under New Jersey law, no building permit can issue for a building that needs septic or well facilities until the board of health having jurisdiction certifies them⁶. Septic tanks and fields must also be inspected before they are covered¹³.

We could not confirm which health office administers septic permits inside the Borough. Bergen County Health Services serves roughly 30 contracting towns, not every municipality, so Cliffside Park may or may not be among them¹⁴. Start with the Borough's own health department, then the county office listed above¹⁵.

If public sewer is available to your lot and a failing septic system is no longer suitable, state rules can require connecting to it¹⁶.

Can you build your own home in Cliffside Park as an owner-builder?

New Jersey excepts a person who builds a new home for their own personal use from builder registration, but that exception does not waive construction permits or Uniform Construction Code compliance⁷. An owner-built home also needs an affidavit filed with the construction official before a certificate of occupancy can issue¹⁷.

We could not confirm any further owner-builder allowance in the Borough's own code; ask the construction code official.

Building a home in Cliffside Park: the steps, in order

1. Confirm your lot's zoning district and any use or dimensional limits with the Borough's zoning official⁵¹¹.
2. Settle sewer or septic and water with the health authority having jurisdiction, because that approval comes before the building permit⁶.
3. File the construction permit application with the Borough building department¹.
4. Schedule the inspections the code requires at set stages, including footing trenches, rough plumbing and electrical, and framing¹⁸.
5. Obtain the certificate of occupancy from the construction official before anyone uses the building¹⁹.

What stays with Bergen County, and what to check before you buy

Land outside the Borough is governed by other towns' rules, so use the Bergen County page for county-level questions. The county reviews subdivisions and site plans that touch county roads or drainage²⁰, and a driveway onto a county road can need a county road-access permit²¹. A driveway onto a state highway needs a state access permit²².

Property tax is a real cost here: Bergen County's effective rate is 1.7% and the median bill is about $10,001 per year²³²⁴.

Watch-outs

• Inside Cliffside Park the Borough, not Bergen County, issues building permits and sets zoning¹³.
• A zoning approval can be required before plan review proceeds for owner-occupied one- or two-family additions and alterations²⁵.
• We could not confirm septic, well, RV, tiny-home, short-term-rental or driveway rules inside the Borough; ask the Borough building department and the health authority named above¹¹¹⁵.

Sources

1. Chapter 11 Building and Housing - Borough of Cliffside Park, NJ (Borough of Cliffside Park), quoted and re-checked
2. The New Jersey State Uniform Construction Code, quoted and re-checked
3. Table of Contents - Borough of Cliffside Park, NJ (Borough of Cliffside Park), quoted and re-checked
4. Bergen County Standards for Sustainable Land Development—Site Plans, quoted and re-checked
5. Article III Residential Zone Regulations - Borough of Cliffside Park, NJ (Borough of Cliffside Park), quoted and re-checked
6. New Jersey Statutes, R.S. 58:11-23 through 58:11-43 (New Jersey statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
7. Builder Registration and New Home Warranty for Builders, quoted and re-checked
8. P.L. 2013, c.106 — Municipal Land Use Law amendments (New Jersey statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
9. P.L. 2013, c.106 (Municipal Land Use Law amendments) (New Jersey statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
10. P.L. 2013, c.106 (Municipal Land Use Law amendments) (New Jersey statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
11. Borough of Cliffside Park Building Department (Construction Code Official and Zoning Official) (cliffsideparknj.gov)
12. Uniform Construction Code General Information, quoted and re-checked
13. New Jersey Statutes, R.S. 58:11-23 through 58:11-43 (New Jersey statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
14. bergencountynj.gov, quoted and re-checked
15. Bergen County Department of Health Services (bergencountynj.gov)
16. New Jersey Uniform Construction Code Plumbing Subcode Regulations (New Jersey statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
17. N.J.A.C. 5:23, Uniform Construction Code (New Jersey statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
18. New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, New Home Warranty—Consumer Information (New Jersey statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
19. N.J.A.C. 5:23, Uniform Construction Code (New Jersey statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
20. Bergen County Standards for Sustainable Land Development—Subdivisions, quoted and re-checked
21. Fee Schedule for Site Plan Application, quoted and re-checked
22. Major Access Permits (New Jersey statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
23. Effective property tax rate: Bolthole Index county data
24. Median property tax bill: Bolthole Index county data
25. New Jersey Uniform Construction Code, N.J.A.C. 5:23 (New Jersey statewide rule), quoted and re-checked

Written October 13, 2026 from the rules quoted below, each taken from an official source and re-checked by an independent reviewer. This is research, not legal advice: rules change, so confirm with the office before you buy or build.