Township council was set to consider a raise in local building fees at the May 9 meeting.
“Building permit fees have seen very little increase over the last nine years,” noted chief building official Patty Wright in a report at the April 25 meeting.
Since 2008, the report notes, increases in square footage charges for new construction range from five to 20 cents with no increase in administrative fees.
Since then numerous legislative and economic changes justify a review of the existing fee structure, Wright explains.
The goal of the review, the report explains, is to maintain fair cost recovery for all permit types so that no project subsidizes another, enabling the building department to continue to maintain a net zero impact to general taxation.
The Ontario Building Code (OBC) requires building permit fees be used only for the enforcement of the Building Code Act and regulation.
The act does allow for reserves for possible economic down turns, but the reserve can only be used for OBC related enforcement.
Wright stated the Mapleton department aims to maintain a reserve equal to a minimum of one year’s operating costs plus an allotment for unexpected expenses such as legal costs.
The new fee schedule would see fees for new residential construction rise from $300 plus $0.60 per square foot to $325 plus $0.70.
Industrial and commercial rates would rise from $300 plus $0.55 per square foot to $325 plus $0.65.
Fees for farm buildings would rise from $200 plus $0.20 per square foot to $225 plus $0.30. Rates for other types of farm construction, including manure tanks, silos and grain bins, would remain unchanged from current levels.
The new residential rates would still leave Mapleton the lowest among north Wellington municipalities and put farm construction fees on par with Wellington North for the highest rates in the region.
Permit costs for a 1,600 square foot bungalow with a 400 square foot attached garage in Mapleton would rise from the current level of $1,820 to $2,205.
A permit for the same structure in Minto currently costs $2,400 and the fees in Wellington North would be $2,327.
Mapleton’s fee for a 10,000 square foot barn would increase from $2,200 to $3,225 under the new rates, while permits for the same structure in Minto would cost $2,200 and the fee in Wellington north would be $3,225.
Council passed a resolution to accept and approve the justification provided for the building permit fees.
Council was expected to consider a bylaw to implement the rates at the May 9 meeting.
