Flat Rock moves to modernize building permit fees; plan-review fee to track project valuation

The Flat Rock City Council approved a comprehensive update to the city’s building and zoning fee schedule after a presentation from Building Department official David.

David proposed using the International Code Council (ICC) valuation guide to set project valuation benchmarks and to tie plan-review fees to permit valuation rather than a flat square-foot schedule. “International Code Council's valuation guide is a valuation guide that sets a square foot price,” he said, noting the ICC updates every six months. He recommended changing plan-review fees to “25% of permit cost” so smaller projects would pay less and larger projects would pay proportionally more.

David also recommended adding an administrative fee for processing performance and other bonds (suggested 3% to cover administrative work), adjusting contractor registration fees to comply with Michigan Act 407 of 2016, and setting a new charge for Zoning Board of Appeals applications and rescheduling. In the transcript he proposed changing the ZBA fee from $200 to $3.50 (as stated during the presentation); staff noted many municipalities charge between $2 and $5 in the county and recommended balancing cost recovery with resident access to appeals.

Council discussed that fee-schedule edits can be set by council resolution rather than an ordinance amendment. After asking clarifying questions, the council moved and supported the change and approved updating the city’s fee schedule to the format presented. The motion passed by voice vote.

Officials said the new approach should reduce ambiguity at the counter, simplify staff decisions, and adjust automatically as ICC valuations change.