Wasco County commissioners give preliminary nod to regional building-fee changes; state review required

Wasco County commissioners signaled consensus March 5 to pursue a multi-jurisdictional update to building-permit fees intended to bring permit revenue more in line with operating costs and to align Wasco’s schedule with neighboring jurisdictions.

Mark Van Vost, the regional building official working with Hood River County, told the board the proposed changes would raise some permit categories and let the jurisdictions implement modest annual increases (the proposal discussed a 5% annual adjustment or a CPI-based approach). He said the state’s published valuation table — used to calculate most building permit fees — is well behind actual construction costs and limits revenue the building program can collect.

The change package discussed would standardize fees across the regional program (Wasco County, Hood River County and the City of Hood River are participants) and includes specific changes such as increasing the county’s flat manufactured-home permit fee (quoted in the discussion as roughly $240 currently) to an amount closer to Hood River’s graduated fee (the example figure discussed was roughly $500–$525). Van Vost said the goal is to reduce the department’s year-to-year revenue shortfall and to avoid large one-time increases by adopting modest annual adjustments.

Commissioners and staff emphasized that the change must go through the Oregon Building Codes Division’s formal review: a county must submit a revised fee schedule, the state posts it for public comment, and the state then decides whether to approve the revised schedule. Tyler (county staff) briefed the board on that timeline and noted the state’s busiest windows (January 1 and July 1 implementation targets) can affect how quickly a new schedule can take effect.

Several commissioners and members of the public pressed Van Vost on affordability and the effect on small projects. Van Vost said permit fees are typically a small fraction of overall development cost (for example, system-development and other fees can dwarf permit fees on a house), but acknowledged the manufactured-home fee increase would be felt by some buyers. He said the department plans to coordinate with Hood River County so the schedules are consistent across the region.

Van Vost said staff will prepare the revised schedule and submit it to county staff for review; the board indicated it supported the approach and encouraged the building official to proceed with the state submission. No final county ordinance or fee resolution was adopted at the meeting; the board’s action was a consensus to move ahead with preparing the formal application and the county’s required review comments.

The next steps: county staff will finalize the proposed schedule, the county will convey formal comments to the state as the special-advisory government for the region, and the Building Codes Division will publish the proposed changes for public comment before rendering a decision.

Why it matters: Wasco County’s building-permit program is a dedicated (enterprise) fund; fee revenue pays staff and operations. Officials said steady, predictable fee adjustments reduce the risk of depleting reserves in low-permit years and avoid sudden, large jumps that provoke strong pushback.

What to watch next: the County’s formal submission to the Oregon Building Codes Division and the public comment period the state will post (county staff said the application timing will aim to align with a state review window to avoid long processing delays).