Building and zoning director previews zoning rewrite; commissioners discuss making permit fees cover program costs

Maury CountyBuilding and Zoning Director Robert Calderaro told the countyAdministrative Committee Tuesday that staff plan to present a zoning rewrite to the Planning Commission this month and aim to bring it to the County Commission in June.

Calderaro said the rewrite will first be presented in a work-study session and as a public hearing before the Planning Commission, which will be asked to recommend the amendment to the full County Commission. "We should be on target for y'all seeing it in June," Calderaro said, and staff will coordinate with the commission chair to schedule any special sessions needed.

Commissioners used the update to press staff about fee structures and office sustainability. Commissioner Howard and others said they want development services to be funded primarily from permit and development fees rather than general property-tax revenues. Howard said recent collections showed revenue growth tied to a new development tax and noted the county has seen higher revenue even while permit counts changed. "We want your office fully sustainable by the development fees," Howard said, adding that phased or incremental fee changes would be preferable to a sudden large increase.

Calderaro described causes for some of the revenue growth: a new development tax effective mid-April captured work that previously had been exempt, such as certain mobile-home replacements and additions that were formerly treated as replacements and not taxed. He also said some work—previously exempt—now falls into taxable categories under the new structure, which increased collections. He cautioned that higher legal and enforcement costs tied to growth could continue to drive expenses.

The department is also planning technical upgrades. Calderaro said staff updated the local government program to incorporate cloud services and move inspectors to tablet-based field work. He said the department is evaluating whether to adopt the 2024 International Codes with local amendments and may revisit fire-suppression or hydrant requirements in rural areas if the water infrastructure is insufficient.

Calderaro said the Planning Commission meeting is scheduled around the fourth Monday; the rewrite timeline will account for the Memorial Day holiday and aims to produce a public hearing schedule. Commissioners said they will seek an "engineering fee" model for plan review that reflects the actual cost of review and noted that some review or legal fees could be attached to development to reduce the burden on existing residents.

The committee did not take formal action on the rewrite or any fee changes; Calderaro said staff will continue work and return with proposals and potential code amendments for future votes.

Speakers included Robert Calderaro (building and zoning director) and multiple commissioners who asked questions about revenue, fees and the rewrite schedule.