County Director of Development Services Director Nathan Janeway said Wednesday that an inspection fee is being set on new construction projects that should cover the county's inspection costs.
At the same time, he said some concessions were made to homebuilders.
Mr. Janeway told County Commission members that developers asked some concessions on current subdivision regulations. He said those were considered reasonable requests.
On roads shorter than 1,000 feet, allowable width will be 22 feet instead of the current 26.
Officials said those would be mainly roads leading to cul de sacs. The county would retain the same right of way so that the roads could be widened later if they needed to be extended.
Another request was on certain engineered projects within a subdivision that the current requirement of eight feet of rock and two feet of asphalt could be lowered to six feet of rock and two feet of asphalt.
Another change would be gravity sewer lines could be put outside the roadway.
Julian Bell, executive director of the Homebuilders Association, said the group acknowledges the need to help cover the costs for project oversight.
He said the subdivision concessions would help alleviate home price increases due to the inspection fee.
The resolution says:
1. Adoption of Fees: The following fees are hereby adopted within the Division of Public Works, to be administered by Development Services and the Highway Department as specified herein.
2. Development Services Inspection Fee: a. A development inspection fee is established under Development Services for all new construction and subdivision development projects requiring inspection within the unincorporated areas of Hamilton County. b. The fee shall be set at nineteen cents ($0.19) per square foot of building area, based on the total square footage of all structures included in the subdivision development plans submitted to Development Services. c. The fee shall be collected before the Certificate of Occupancy is issued.
3. Highway Department Fees: a. Road Closure Fee: A fee of five hundred dollars ($500) per instance is established for temporary road closures on county roads, to be collected by the Highway Department upon application for closure. b. Curb Cut Fee: A fee of one hundred fifty dollars ($150) is established for each curb cut constructed on an existing county road, to be collected by the Highway Department upon permit issuance. c. Right-of-Way Work License Fee: An annual fee of five hundred dollars ($500) is established for a license to perform work within county rights-of-way, to be collected by the Highway Department upon application or renewal.
4. Use of Funds: All revenue generated from these fees shall be allocated to the respective departments within the Division of Public Works - Development Services and the Highway Department - to fund inspections, permitting, enforcement, staff training, equipment, and related administrative costs.
5. Effective Date: This resolution and the fees established herein shall take effect on July 1, 2025, and shall apply to all applicable projects, applications, or renewals submitted on or after that date.
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