2015 was a big year for building here, as the township’s building department issued permits for construction valued at more than double the previous year.
Chief building official Patty Wright reported at the Jan. 12 council meeting that the Mapleton building department issued 339 permits for nearly $58.5 million in 2015, $30 million more than 2014, when the municipality issued 267 permits for construction valued at $28.5 million.
Building activity in 2015 generated $384,517 in permit fees, compared to $187,492 in 2015.
Agricultural construction was the busiest sector last year, with $22.4 million worth of construction generating $181,216 in fees on 133 permits, almost 40 per cent of the total number of permits issued.
“That’s not a big surprise for us,” Wright said.
Councillor Dennis Craven commented that the 19 permits for industrial construction seemed surprisingly high.
“We’ve have a strong agricultural community, but it’s nice to diversify and get a bunch of industrial permits,” he noted.
Industrial construction worth $17.7 million generated $65,611 in permit fees.
Single-family dwellings were the next largest segment, with 26 permits for just under $9 million in construction value generating $58,154 in fees.
“It was a very good year and it looks like things are already starting to go well this year. We’ve got some applications in,” Wright said.
December 2015 numbers were also strong relative to the same period in 2014. There were 13 permits issued last month for $659,400 worth of construction, generating $8,443 in fees. In December 2014, only seven permits were issued for construction valued at $187,492 and fees of $2,984.
