Clark County recently signalled to commercial developers that its blanket fee waiver program — which eliminates permit and traffic impact fees — will end this year.
But there’s some consolation: the Clark County council on Tuesday unanimously adopted a series of changes to its planning and building fees, most of which will reduce the costs for both commercial and residential developers.
“The fees have been reduced often, almost exclusively reduced,” Deputy Prosecutor Chris Horne told the council.
The council voted, among other things, to reduce pre-application conference fees, simplify and reduce home business permit fees, and reduce building fees for small residential projects and all commercial projects. For example, a commercial permit for new construction valued between $500,000.01 and $1 million will now cost $3,625 for the first $500,000, plus $5 for every $1,000 in valuation after that. That’s a reduction of about 23 percent for the initial fee compared to the previous $4,717.80.
Although the decision will reduce revenue in the county’s planning and code fund by about $1.14 million, a county staff report says the county will be able to maintain staff levels in its permit office, cover ongoing work and allow the county to pay for minor technology upgrades as they’re released.
The changes garnered praise from the Clark County councilors and a Building Industry Association representative. Jamie Howsley, a land use attorney and government affairs director for the BIA, praised the county for adopting fees that struck a better balance between residential and commercial developers. The BIA has been critical of the county’s fee waiver program in the past, saying it puts too much burden on residential developers who do not receive the same incentives.
“We want to make sure that residential construction is paying its fair share and that we’re not subsidizing non-residential construction,” he said. “We think this fee proposal does that.”
Republican Councilor Jeanne Stewart said she’s hopeful that the fee reductions will help move the construction of more affordable housing forward.
“This is good for the citizens,” Stewart said. “It’s good to do what we can to make housing affordable.”
