Grant County holds first reading on updated building-permit fee schedule

Grant County Fiscal Court on June 3 held the first reading of Ordinance No. 6-2025-289, which would update the county's building-fee schedule to reflect current construction costs and permit practices.

Judge Chuck Dills said the revision consolidates residential and commercial fee schedules and moves several line items to a construction-cost basis. Dills said the county's last major update was in 2019 and some fees trace to earlier decades; the new schedule aligns the county with neighboring jurisdictions.

The ordinance would change the approach to retaining-wall permits, charging fees based on construction value rather than a 10-cent per running foot rate that left many small permits priced below the inspector's trip fee. Dills said the revised schedule sets a $100 permit for retaining walls where inspection of footers is required, and higher fees for projects with construction values in larger brackets (for example, a $200 fee in the $15,000–$29,000 value bracket in the residential schedule as described during the reading).

Dills also said the amendment clarifies sign fees by basing them on construction cost instead of a flat rate or square footage tiers; solar-panel permits and cell-tower work would be handled by construction-cost categories. The judge noted a typographical correction in the ordinance changing an antenna-permit fee from $2,500 back to $250.

The first reading concluded with the court scheduling a second reading for the June 17 meeting, at which the ordinance may be adopted, amended or returned for further revision. The court did not vote to adopt the ordinance at the June 3 meeting.