Council puts on hold increasing permit fees

SPARTA - The council has put off increasing the fees the municipality charges for permits and other administrative documents -- including the cost of a commercial zoning permit by $80 -- until the township planner has the opportunity to support his recommendations. “We’re really slamming business here,” said councilman James Henderson, during last week’s council meeting. “It seems to me this is a municipal service we should be providing the public.” Township manager Henry Underhill said the municipal staff is inundated with permits and needs someone to handle the increased load. He said that land management fees, as those fees are called, offset administrative salaries, and notification and preparation costs. The council is considering increasing the base fee for a single-family residential dwelling from $100 to $125 and amending the cost of an application for the development of residential properties to $500, up from $300. Fees are required to accompany any application for a subdivision, site plan, conditional use variance, or to obtain a building permit. The fees are used, according to municipal officials, to cover township costs for attorneys, engineers, and experts. The proposed changes would increase zoning permit fees from $20 to $100 for commercial applications; and $50 for private homes. The permits are required to begin construction, or alteration of a building. Other changes include the doubling a site plan waiver to $50 and increasing the charge for a copy of the Comprehensive Land Management Code by $5, up from $30.