Politics & Government
Building Permit Fees Waived for Wind Damage
The City Council unanimously moved to waive building permit fees for residents rebuilding due to the windstorm damage, under certain circumstances.
Residents who are faced with rebuilding after the devastating windstorm that left at least 36 structures damaged throughout Sierra Madre may see some relief as they begin the repair process. The City Council on Tuesday unanimously moved to waive plan check and building permit fees for residences who meet certain eligibility requirements.
Residents who do not have insurance, residents who are not seeking insurance coverage for their damage costs, and residents who are capped out on their insurance reimbursement will qualify to have their fees waived.
The reason the fee break only applies to certain residents is because councilmembers thought that at a certain point, they would be giving the insurance companies a fee reduction rather than the residents.
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"A lot of these fees are going to be paid for by insurance. The residents that do have insurance… aren’t even going to see the benefit of this reduction," said Councilmember Josh Moran. "I don’t want to harm anybody in town and anybody who had their house damaged… the question becomes, are we benefitting our residents or are we benefitting our insurance companies?"
This could save residents anywhere from a couple hundred to over a thousand dollars in fees, depending on the magnitude of their repair project.
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The Department of Development Services is offering to go out and check damaged properties, but the request for a fee reduction will mostly be accomodated in good faith.
"We're going to have to trust on this, and I don't have a problem with that," said Mayor John Buchanan.
The fee waiver will last until March 2, 2012.
The Department of Development Services originally sought a 50 percent reduction in fees until the City Council moved to waive the fees entirely.
Building permits are needed for building, electrical, plumbing and mechanical repair, but they're not required for everything. For example, if you're re-building a fence exactly as it was, or repairing 25 percent or less of your roof, you would not need a building permit.
Development Services has reported an increase in building permit applications since the storm hit.