Community Development Committee: permit revenue up; staff previews housing bump next year

Community Development Committee members met Aug. 13 and heard two information reports from Community Development Department staff on inspection/permit activity and the department’s midyear 2025 budget.

A department staff member told the committee the Inspection Division’s year-to-date permit revenue has “been catching up to a point where I think we’re pretty close to being right on budget in terms of revenue.” The staff member said the city raised some permit fees since last year and that the higher revenue this year is concentrated in electrical, heating and plumbing permits: “We raised permit costs, in some areas…we are seeing significantly more revenue in electrical, heating, and a little bit more in plumbing.”

The staff member and committee members noted building permit revenue — particularly commercial building permits — has lagged compared with 2024, when the department recorded unusually high receipts tied to a handful of large projects. The staff member cited several major commercial projects still in the site-plan process and told the committee that spikes in building-permit revenue are often driven by one large project. The staff member also said the Trout Museum of Art “actually wasn't permitted by us” when explaining differences in where big project revenue originates.

In the department’s midyear 2025 budget briefing, staff summarized work that they said is “laying the groundwork for next year,” including annexations, preliminary plats and planning work tied to redevelopment and the Thrive initiative. Staff highlighted coordination with Valley Transit on joint development and cited the department’s Neighbors in Action workshop series as an ARPA-funded program now in its second cohort planning stage: “We have been implementing the Neighbors in Action workshop, which is 1 of our ARPA funded programs.”

Committee members reviewed a city graph showing new housing units; the chart shows 365 units in 2024, which a member called “an amazing year.” Staff did not give a firm 2025 projection but said getting new plats online should produce “a big bump next year.” A staff member said some large apartment permits issued late in 2024 are producing inspections and construction work this year.

There were no public hearings or substantive action items on the agenda. The committee approved the minutes from its July 23, 2025 meeting (agenda item 25-0953) by voice vote and then adjourned. No public commenters spoke on the information items during the meeting.

The committee meeting lasted roughly seven minutes of recorded transcript time and was primarily informational. Staff identified permit-fee increases and a backlog of new lots and plats as key drivers for revenue and future housing-permit activity. Committee members asked clarifying questions about the timing of housing permits and the department’s work with transit and redevelopment partners.