CACHE COUNTY – After some discussion, the members of Cache County Council voted unanimously to approve a new schedule of fees updating costs to builders and local residents at their regular meeting on Oct. 22.
That schedule of new fees for building permits, inspections, zoning clearance and other land-use applications was presented by Stephen Nelson, the county’s director of Development Services.
Much of the discussion at the Oct. 22 meeting centered on building fees for single family homes, which Nelson explained represent the bulk of the work performed by his department’s inspectors.
Typical increased fees for an average home valued at $350,000 will now be $3,480, up from the current fee of $3,027; for homes valued at $500,000, the fee will now be $4,408, up from the current fee of $4,150; and for homes valued at $750,000, the fee will now be $6,032, up from the current fee of $5,724.
As he had at a previous meeting, Council Member Nolan Gunnell questioned the new fee schedule based on the size and value of the proposed project rather than a flat fee based on square footage.
But Nelson defended the fee schedule as being “more transparent,” since it was an attempt to keep similar sized homes within the same fee bracket.
Overall, he estimated that the proposed new building permit fees would only increase costs by 0.82 percent across all sizes of buildings.
Nelson also said that the new Cache County fee schedule featured modest increases compared to fee charged other local entities.
For example, building fee in Logan for an average home valued at $350,000 is $3,677; for homes valued at $500,000, the fee is $4,740; and for homes valued at $750,000, the fee is $6,334.
Building fees in Ogden for an average home valued at $350,000 is $4,493; for homes valued at $500,000, the fee is $6,089; and for homes valued at $750,000, the fee is $8,268.
Also included in the new fee schedule are increased costs for other county services related to new construction.
Those include zoning clearance applications for primary use, accessory use, agriculture use and third review, which are $75, $30, $30 and $0 respectively. The proposed increase would raise the prices for those services to $250, $125, $100 and $50.
Services such as sensitive land reviews, resort planning and subdivision plat application are currently provided free of charge, but those fees will now increase to $100 for land reviews and $600 for resort and plat applications.
The fee for a special event permit will increase from the current fee of $75 to $300.
Nelson’s told council member that the now-approved fee increases were necessary to cover the county’s expenses in providing building inspections, permitting and related services.