HALDIMAND—The County is considering amendments to the current User Fee Bylaw for building services.
New is a proposed “Reinstatement of Permit” fee of $325. Currently there is no fee to reinstate a permit, and any permits that have not had substantial commencement at one year may be revoked or cancelled at the discretion of the Chief Building Official (CBO). If the permit is not cancelled (as per the Building Code Act), the Building Division currently absorbs the administration cost to monitor the permit every 60 days for progress.
Permit holders that have not seriously commenced construction at the six-month stage will receive notification to contact the Building Services Division to discuss the status of the project. In order to reinstate the permit, additional reviews and evaluation of fees are required to check for any updated legislative and fee changes. This reinstatement fee covers time spent on duties not covered by the original building permit fee.
“The increase in Building Permit Fees will provide for cost recovery of Building Division services as is required by Bill 124, changes in legislative requirements, and administration of zoning, application, and development proposals,” stated a County notice.
Spokesperson Kyra Hayes clarified that Bill 124 amends section 7 of the Building Code Statute Law Amendment Act (2002) to introduce a fee structure that requires permit fees only be collected to cover anticipated costs associated with the administration and enforcement of the Act by a municipality.
Also of note, one amendment to the User Fee Bylaw will eliminate the Greenhouse Fee, currently at $1.88 m2 to a maximum of $5,881.
Additionally, while the Administrative Fees for resubmission of plans will remain at $182 and $88 for each submission beyond the third submission, the bylaw wording is updating from “where a non-compliant is submitted above and beyond the first resubmission,” to now read as, “where a non-compliant is submitted above and beyond the first resubmission and/or resubmission after permit issuance.”
The cost of providing building services does not fall to the general public through a tax levy as it is a user-based cost.
Conversely, any surplus in revenues does not go toward lowing the tax levy.
Haldimand County hosted a public meeting on February 22, 2024 to gather any concerns or feedback from the public, but no members of the public attended the meeting.
