Northville reports jump in permitting fees; planning department credits increased commercial activity

The Borough of Northville's planning office reported a large year-over-year increase in permit-fee receipts at the Mayor and Council meeting on Sept. 11.

The planning representative said the department issued 16 permits in August and collected $72,004.59 in fees, compared with $16,009.37 collected in August of the prior year. Year-to-date fee collections stood at $287,009.99, an increase of $166,008.86 over the previous year.

The presenter said much of the increase reflects commercial permitting activity and new building work. Council members discussed the figures during the meeting and noted the surge in revenue as "phenomenal," while acknowledging that some of the increase is tied to a small number of large projects and commercial permits.

Why it matters: a multi-hundred-thousand-dollar increase in permit receipts affects short-term revenues available to planning and inspection functions and may signal a local construction uptick. The planning representative and council did not identify specific projects by name at the Sept. 11 meeting, and no budget reallocation was presented at the meeting.

The planning representative said the office held one meeting in August; the figures presented were year-to-date through the August reporting period. Council members asked follow-up questions about the sources of collections and the likely permanence of the revenue increase; staff said much of it reflects recent commercial permits but did not provide a project-level breakdown during the Sept. 11 meeting.