County staff report high permit volume in 2024: building codes, inspections and planning metrics
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Summary
Staff presented building-codes and planning-and-zoning metrics for calendar year 2024: 4,389 permits (unincorporated county), 16,350 inspections, 1,069 plan reviews and 6 full-time inspectors; staff said inspections are not backlogged and described stormwater permitting and code-enforcement outcomes.
Lede: County staff told the Natural Resources Committee on Jan. 13 that the building codes and planning departments handled a high volume of work in calendar year 2024 and that the county does not have an inspection backlog.
Nut graf: Staff reported 4,389 building permits for unincorporated Beaufort County in 2024, nearly 1,069 building-plan reviews, and 16,350 inspections. They said mobile-home registrations numbered 374 and that six full-time inspectors handle field inspections; staff described stormwater permitting methods and the county’s code-enforcement approach, which prioritizes education and uses notice-of-violation and final-notice steps before citations.
Body: Assistant County Administrator Chuck Atkinson presented a slide of year-round totals. Key figures presented by staff included:
- Total miscellaneous commercial and residential permits (unincorporated Beaufort County): 4,389 for calendar year 2024. - Total plan reviews completed for building permits: 1,069 (98 commercial; 971 residential). - Individual inspections completed: 16,350 (including approximately 12,805 site visits/stops). - Mobile home registrations: 374 (staff said about 60% are replacements and 40% are new; state law limits registration fees). - Full-time building inspectors: six (plus deputy director and building official oversight).
Staff told the committee the department typically completes requested inspections the next business day unless staff absence, accidents or severe inclement weather prevents it, and said the county does not have a backlog. The presentation also covered planning-and-zoning permit counts (1,633 zoning permits; 28 development permits issued; 481 stormwater permits) and code-enforcement actions in 2024 (669 notices of violation issued, 181 final notices with six citations, 516 cases closed, and 613 signs confiscated during an election cycle period).
Ending: Staff offered to provide additional breakdowns (for example, incorporation-split of mobile homes or valuation split of residential vs. commercial) on request and said they will return with departmental walk-throughs to explain internal processes and how inspections relate to stormwater and zoning work.
