You Got a Permit For That?

If you’re planning on building or renovating your home in 2015, it will cost you slightly more in building permits.

The City is proposing a 1 percent increase that will come into effect January1,2015.

Sault Ste. Marie Engineering and Planning Department conducts about 6,000 inspections to various construction sites each year, Don Maki , Chief Building Inspector told Saultonline.com.

“The increase is to off set the cost of the work: Maki said, citing wage increases for collective bargaining staff and inflation as the reason the building permit fees annually go up.

Last year the building division at city hall cost $1,209,492.39 to enforce Ontario building code requirements. Maki said “it is estimated that the cost will rise by 2% in 2015 due to annual inflation”

The City brought in $1.6 million in total revenues from permits issued in 2013.

Other changes are in the works to collect from homeowners and builders who proceed with construction without a permit. “Our current fee structure does not have a built in penalty for construction without a permit”
Maki said the City is exploring a possible 25% surcharge as a penalty fee.

The City has various fees that make up the fee structure for the building permits depending on the work involved. For example a home renovation requiring an addition would be charged a fee of $5 per square metre. While a newly constructed home would run $14.90 per square metre. A permit to demo a dwelling sits at $75 per square metre.

City Hall is continuing to explore the possibility of implementing development charges. Development charges are collected on new construction to help cover the cost of infrastructure and services such as roadworks, sewers and public transit.

The Sault is one of largest municipalities that doesn’t collect development charges. The matter isn’t expected to be before council though until the summer of 2015.