Lake City adopts ordinance to simplify building permit fees; electricians voice safety concerns

Lake City lawmakers on the dais approved Ordinance 2025-2323, a rewrite of the city’s building-permit code intended to replace square-foot fee calculations with largely flat fees and to clarify permitting, insurance and licensure requirements. The council voted unanimously to adopt the ordinance after a public comment and brief staff exchange.

The ordinance “pertain[s] to building regulations, contracting, permitting, licensure, and insurance,” City Attorney Clay Martin read by title before public comment. The item drew a public speaker who said the change could carry safety risks. Don Hollingsworth, an electrical contractor who told the council he has worked in Lake City for more than 30 years, said higher permit fees and an exemption for small jobs would push some work into the “backstreet” and raise safety hazards. “If you start not requiring permits on certain jobs, you’re gonna create a problem of people’s houses burning down electrically and…