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Building department stretched by Scout development; staff proposes permit fee valuation change
Summary
Town building official said permit workload has risen with the Scout project and recommended switching to a building-valuation-based permit schedule to increase permit revenue and modernize fees.
Blythewood’s building and zoning official told council that substantial new development, particularly the Scout project, is consuming a large share of staff time and that a permit-fee update is needed to bring permit charges in line with current construction valuations.
Kurt Wilson, the town’s building and zoning official, said about 50–60% of his current time is being spent on Scout-related projects in recent months and that four new buildings at the Scout site under review will total roughly 3,200,000 square feet. He described a recent site meeting with project staff and local plan reviewers and said the department’s workload has steadily increased with new development and construction activity.
Wilson said the town’s permit ordinance currently bases permit fees on contract value and that he is recommending a switch to a standardized building-valuation chart (a square-footage based valuation table commonly used in the industry). He said the town’s new permitting software (Evolve) can support that change and that a text amendment to the ordinance would be brought forward in the next month or two to implement the building-valuation chart.
Councilmembers asked whether the building and zoning department has capacity to support Scout and other projects; Wilson said the department is a single staff person in the office with third-party inspectors and plan reviewers assisting and that he expects the workload will likely require an additional staff member within one to two years to avoid errors and preserve timely plan review. He told council he averages about 20 calls a day and that the increased workload had led to small administrative errors that he would like to reduce.
Council asked staff to monitor permit revenue and to consider adding staff capacity as part of FY26 budget discussions; Wilson said he will bring the fee amendment text to council soon and flagged the need for potential department staffing increases to maintain service levels during large projects.
