Committee reviews broad revisions to building code ordinance, including fee increases and House Bill 1005 implementation

City staff and the building commissioner presented a package of proposed revisions to the building department ordinance to the Public Works & Property Vacation Committee, describing changes across fees, definitions, inspections, contractor registration and new state law implementation.

Jenna Thoreau, City Attorney (presenting), said the draft ordinance updates permit fees to account for inflation and align with comparable municipalities, increases the minimum fee in several places from $40 to $60, and retains a cost-based fee tied to the International Code Council for new buildings. Randy James, Building Commissioner, explained that the department is an enterprise fund that covers operations through permit revenue and that the scalable fee structure (for remodels and renovations) remains the same while the minimum fee was raised.

Staff described changes to the definition section that narrowly adopt state and model-code definitions to avoid local…