City Commission To Consider New Building Permit Fee Schedule

The Toccoa City Commission will meet at 5 p.m. today for a meeting that has been rescheduled from the regularly scheduled June 24 meeting. The meeting will take place at City Hall, 92 N. Alexander Street. 

On the agenda for the meeting is consideration of revisions to the City’s Building Permit Fee Schedule.

According to meeting agenda documentation the Georgia General Assembly, during the last legislative session, passed House Bill 461, which was subsequently signed into law by Governor Brian Kemp. The new legislation mandates that county or municipal entities base rates on one of three mechanisms; either a flat fee for each type of permit issued; an hourly rate determined by the hourly wage of the inspectors or administrator; or on a square footage basis for projects classified as new construction or extensive renovation. 

In a letter from Toccoa Planning Director Jeremy Ward to City Manager Fredda Wheeler, dated June 7, he notes that “like most cities, Toccoa has long had a building permit fee chart based on the cost of the project.”

Ward stated he met with city building inspector Randy Smith, Fire Chief Jeff Haslup and Assistant Fire Chief Frankie Deitz to develop a proposed fee chart that will put the city in compliance with the new state mandate. He notes that the proposed fee schedule “closely follows the current permit fee chart used by Stephens County,” and adds that in some situations, the new fee structure will be more expensive than the current fee schedule used by the city, and in other situations, the new fees will be less than currently charged. 

Another stipulation of HB 461 is that the revenue from permit fees should be used to fund the regulatory activity and not the general operations of the government, and Ward stated that the proposed fees comply with that mandate through being based on only recouping the costs that go into regulating new construction and issuance of permits.

Under the proposed fee schedule, rezoning requests would be unchanged at $100, and zoning variance requests would also remain the same at $50 for residential and $100 for commercial or other zoning. 

The fee for a sign permit would drop from $75 to $25; a demolition permit would increase from $75 to $100.

Under the current fee schedule, there are 13 steps of fees, with, for example, permit fees for construction projects estimated to cost up to $10,000 are $50, while a construction project estimated to cost $200,001-$500,000 would be subject to a $500 permit fee; and projects estimated at more than $10 M  are subject to a $15,000 permit fee.

Under the proposed fee schedule, fees are based on construction type, such as residential, residential renovation, decks and porches, commercial, commercial warehouse, and commercial renovations; within each of those categories, permit fees would be charged based on the square footage of the project. Samples from the proposed schedule include a $700 permit fee for a residential construction project between 2,001 and 3,000 square feet, $100 permit fee for a residential renovation project between 2,001 and 3,000 square feet, a $50 permit fee for a deck or porch 500 square feet or less; a $75 permit fee for an accessory structure 600 sq feet or less, a $3,000 permit fee for a commercial construction project of 5,001-10,000 square feet, and a $500 permit fee for a commercial renovation project of 5,001 to – 10,00 square feet.

The full proposed fee schedule, along with comparisons of sample project fees under the current fee schedule and the proposed fee schedule, will be attached to this story on wnegradio.com.

Other items on the agenda for tonight’s Toccoa City Commission meeting include consideration of Alcohol Beverage Control License Applications from Ash-Ling Booksellers at 47 Doyle Street for a wine pouring license, The Farmer and the Butcher at 176 N Pond Street for on-premise beer and wine consumption, and a renewal of a beer, wine and liquor package license from King Beverage Package Store at 801 Big A Road. The city’s Alcohol Beverage Control Board reviewed the applications at the board’s June 13 meeting and the board’s recommendation to the City Commission is to approve all three. None of the applications conflict with the city’s current moratorium, which only applies to new retail alcohol beverage licenses for package sales of distilled spirits. The moratorium does not impact businesses seeking licensing for the sale of beer and wine, nor does it restrict applications for package sale license renewals from existing businesses.

Other items on the agenda include consideration of appointments to the ABC Board, the Toccoa Planning Commission, and the Downtown Development Authority. Extension of the current moratorium on licensing and location of drug rehabilitation centers, halfway houses and drug dependency treatment facilities is also on the agenda, along with consideration of bids of work on City Hall. 

Members of the public are invited to attend the meeting, and are welcome to address commissioners during the Public Comment section of the meeting.  Contact information for commissioners is available attached to this story on wnegradio.com.