Jefferson County staff outline proposed Chapter 700 utility-code amendments, propose higher permit fee and posting requirements

Jason Jonas, public works staff, told the Jefferson County Council at its work session that the county will introduce amendments to the Utility Code (Chapter 700) to clarify bonding and permit requirements, require on-site posting of permits, and adjust pole setback standards. Jonas said the county plans a public hearing and first reading of the ordinance on April 28.

Jonas said the code update is largely editorial but contains several substantive changes. He told the council the amendments will explicitly require a $5,000 performance bond when applicants pull utility permits, and will add, "a requirement for posting the permit on-site" so residents can verify whether work is permitted. "We do get a lot of questions from residents on whether they are permitted. So that will help, ease some of those concerns," Jonas said.

On pole locations, Jonas described a provision that currently treats relocated existing poles and new pole installations differently. He said the county requires relocated poles to be within 2 feet of the right-of-way line but requires new poles to be 5 feet from the right-of-way. Jonas said Ameren asked that both relocated and new poles be treated the same to avoid conflicts with adjacent property aerial rights; staff propose making the setback uniformly 5 feet and eliminating the separate exemption for existing poles.

Jonas also described a proposed change to permit fees. "We haven't updated our permit fees since 1996," he said. The county's baseline permit fee is currently $3; staff propose raising it to $25 and programmed a further increase to $50 in 2026 if the council wants an automatic bump. Jonas said Jefferson County issues roughly 400 utility permits per year and currently collects about $1,200 annually in permit fees. Under the $25 fee, Jonas estimated the county would collect about $10,000 and therefore an additional roughly $8,000–$9,000 compared with the status quo.

Council members asked how the fee compares with other counties. Jonas gave several examples: St. Louis County charges a higher baseline (examples ranged from about $190 to several hundred dollars depending on activity and bore counts), Greene County charges $100, and St. Charles County uses a modest baseline plus inspection hourly charges. Jonas said Jefferson County plans to retain the $5,000 performance bond and to keep the fee low relative to comparable counties.

Council members pressed staff on cost recovery and service implications. Jonas said utility permitting requires roughly one full-time-equivalent of inspection effort and estimated annual program cost at about $70,000 per year (he discussed ranges and potential transcription inconsistencies in the meeting). He described options to incrementally raise fees or to move eventually to an hourly-inspection billing system similar to St. Charles County. "If you add up everyone who does utility inspections, it adds up to about 1 FTE per year," Jonas said.

Jonas told the council staff will draft the ordinance to include the staged fee increase if the council prefers that approach. He offered to circulate a marked-up version of the code changes and the presentation to council staff. No formal council action or vote on the ordinance was taken at the work session; Jonas said the ordinance will be introduced at the public hearing/first reading on April 28.

Why it matters: The proposed changes affect how utilities install and relocate poles and how residents can verify permitted work in the county right-of-way. The fee changes are intended to better align permit revenue with inspection costs, though staff said they do not expect permit fees to fully recover program costs immediately.

Ending: Jonas said he will send the marked-up code and presentation to county staff for distribution, and the council will see the ordinance at the scheduled April 28 public hearing and first reading.