Rosenberg staff proposes $275 flat investigation fee for work without permits; council asks for ordinance

City staff presented a proposal at Tuesday’s workshop to revise how the city charges for performing work without a required permit. The proposal would reclassify the current penalty as an investigation fee intended to recover staff time and resources and establish a flat $275 charge to be assessed in addition to any required permit fees.

Brian Swint, presenting the item at council’s request, said the current penalty framework (the greater of $100 or twice the permit fee for building permits, and five times the permit fee for fire-marshal permits) often yields minimal financial consequence for small, unpermitted jobs. Swint said the $275 investigation fee would be assessed in addition to the applicable permit fee when staff must investigate unpermitted construction.

Why it matters: councilmembers said they want stronger deterrents to repeated unpermitted work and clearer cost recovery for staff investigations. Councilmember George (last name not specified in the transcript) noted homeowners sometimes begin work without pulling permits and later “run down and get a permit” after staff discovers the work; the proposed flat fee aims to standardize and clarify enforcement costs.

Next steps: councilmembers expressed support for returning the proposal as a formal agenda item. No ordinance or fee schedule change was adopted at the workshop; staff was asked to prepare revised fee language and bring it back at a future council meeting for formal action.

Ending: the workshop record shows general council consensus to pursue the change and to present a red-lined schedule of fees for formal consideration and adoption at a future meeting.