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Brown Deer board approves contract to offer ePlan commercial plan review
Summary
The Brown Deer Village Board approved a three-year professional services agreement to let ePlan Exam provide commercial building plan review as an alternative to the state and an existing third-party vendor; ePlan would retain 90% of review fees and the village 10%.
The Brown Deer Village Board on Jan. 13 unanimously approved a three-year professional services agreement with ePlan Exam to provide commercial building plan review services as an alternative to reviewers at the state and to the village’s current private reviewer.
Village staff told the board the agreement would let builders and architects choose ePlan Exam for faster turnaround; under the contract ePlan would retain 90% of plan-review fees and the village would receive 10%. "If somebody were to go to the state, the village gets none," a staff member said. The village also retains the option to continue offering state review or to use SafeBuild, the board was told.
Why it matters: The village’s in-house building inspector lacks the license required for commercial plan review. Board members and staff said state reviews can take four to eight weeks during busy periods; ePlan told the village it typically aims for turnaround in about two weeks. Faster review times could speed project timelines for local developers and contractors.
Board discussion and vote: The board heard from a representative of ePlan and from David Abnada, who identified himself as president of Longview Plan Hotel and described typical fee splits he has seen: "The vast majority of our contracts are 90 to 10 arrangements." Trustee Woods moved to approve the agreement and Trustee Tassen seconded. The motion carried unanimously.
What the contract says: Staff said the proposed agreement is structured as a three-year contract with a 90-day cancellation provision. The arrangement mirrors the village’s current third-party reviewer in structure but would be offered as an alternative to the state review option. Village staff estimated net revenue to the village at a "couple to several thousand dollars" annually depending on construction volume; staff characterized that estimate as approximate.
Next steps: Staff will finalize the contract execution and ePlan will begin offering plan review services to applicants who choose that option. The village will continue to allow applicants to use state review or SafeBuild if they prefer.
