Planning commission forwards comprehensive filing‑fee update to City Council

The Carmel Planning Commission voted on Nov. 18 to forward a proposed amendment to Unified Development Ordinance Article 1.29 — a comprehensive update to the city’s filing fees — to the Carmel City Council with a favorable recommendation.

Director of Community Services Mike Holabaugh told commissioners the proposal would raise a number of existing fees and add roughly 35 new fees and services. "There are new inspection fees," Holabaugh said, citing a new tree‑preservation inspection as an example. He said some additions would be acreage‑based surcharges to reflect larger, more time‑intensive reviews and that an inflation adjustment adopted in 2003 would remain in place.

The amendment covers fees tied to Plan Commission and Municipal Board of Zoning Appeals reviews as well as building‑permit applications. Holabaugh framed the changes as a modernization of the fee structure to match current staff workload and implementation needs: "This comprehensive amendment really modernizes and aligns how we do business today, with the fee structure," he said.

No members of the public spoke during the public‑hearing portion of the docket. Commissioner Debbie Buckler moved to adopt the recommendation and forward the ordinance amendment to City Council; the motion was seconded and the commission voted in favor.

The commission’s action is a recommendation; City Council will consider the ordinance in its own process. Holabaugh said staff will be available to answer council questions and that the committee discussion on Nov. 4 preceded the full commission hearing. The commission did not adopt fee amounts into local code at this meeting but recommended the amendment be transmitted to Council for formal consideration.

What’s next: The ordinance amendment (PZ‑2025‑00205) will be scheduled for City Council consideration; the commission forwarded the item with a favorable recommendation on Nov. 18.