Guelph-Eramosa residents can add building permits to the list of township fees that will increase this year.
With the approval of two separate bylaws, council last week increased various administrative fees (discussed at length last month) and also upped the price of residential projects such as sheds, decks and additions.
“Any fee increases reflect inflationary increases since 2007,” chief building official Mike Newark said on Sept. 6. He explained the fees are administered only as a cost recovery measure for the township, and not to make money.
Newark told council – and the lone person in attendance for the public meeting – the fees schedule in the bylaw was altered to “remove redundancies” and “remove categories of construction that are not used.”
Other changes in the new bylaw include:
– raising the minimum fee 9% from $92 to $100;
– applying the minimum fee to permits that generally require only one inspection (such as solar collectors and tents);
– increasing septic permit fees from $10 to $30; and
– adding a new $100 fee (to the existing charge of $11.46 per $1,000 in construction value) for “lower value” permits, including sheds, decks, tents, residential additions, demolitions, portables, plumbing and retaining walls.
The latter $100 fee means a $5,000 project that would have cost $57.30 will now cost $157.30 under the new bylaw.
“All of these are very similar to other jurisdictions,” Newark said of the proposed changes. He added the fees will “automatically adjust for inflation” in the future.
Councillor Doug Breen said the only building permit fees that are going up are the ones for small projects that currently don’t cover township costs.
Mayor Chris White agreed, saying it can take time for officials to determine what the fees should be, considering the municipality is trying to just recover its costs.
Councillors unanimously approved the new building permit fees bylaw (councillor John Scott was absent). They also unanimously approved the new fees and charges bylaw they discussed last month. Changes in that bylaw include:
– doubling the cost (from $10 to $20) for burial permit fees for residents of the municipality (outsiders will see burial permit fees increase from $15 to $20);
– a new administration charge of $10 for certifying documents;
– increasing by 14% or $50 the charge for receiving council agendas by mail (from $350 to $400 per year);
– increasing by 50% or $50 the charge for council minutes by mail (from $100 to $150 annually);
– increasing from $50 “plus costs” to $400 the fee for Line Fence Act applications, as well as a 200% increase, from $50 to $150, for Line Fence Act appeals;
– a 54% increase in the drainage inspection fee (from $65 to $100);
– a 33% increase, from $60 to $80, in the fee for compliance letters;
– increasing by 50%, from $500 to $750, the fee for water-sewer servicing agreements;
– new combined fees of $500 (non-refundable) and $1,000 (refundable) for minor site plan amendments;
– a 20% increase, from $25 to $30, in the fee for tax certificates;
– a 200% increase, from $50 to $150, in the inspection fee for residential entrance permits (the $1,000 deposit remains unchanged);
– a 133% increase, from $15 to $35, in the cost to replace 911 emergency number signs (plus a new $15 fee if a post is required);
– a new $165 fee for after-hours emergency water shut-offs; and
– a new $35 charge for repeat water meter readings.
