Mojave County advisory board backs $65 one-time inspection to reinstate expired residential permits

The Mojave County Building Code Advisory Board voted to recommend that the Board of Supervisors allow a one-time special inspection fee of $65 to reinstate expired single-family residential permits when a final inspection was never completed.

Chief building staff described rare situations in which a contractor left a job unfinished or went bankrupt and a subsequent owner discovered the original permit lacked a final inspection. "In the case where a permit has expired in excess of 1 year through no fault of the primary property owner and construction has been completed without a final inspection, a 1 time special inspection fee of $65 may be charged in lieu of full permit fee to reinstate the permit and complete final inspection," staff read into the record and recommended to the board.

Board members pressed staff on potential time gaps between construction and inspection. One member said lengthy gaps — five or 10 years — could trigger different code requirements and more extensive work, while another proposed limiting the relief to more recent expirations. To address that concern, the board amended the recommendation so that any reinstatement inspection would be conducted using the building code cycle that was in effect when the structure was originally permitted.

A member moved to approve the amendment with that stipulation and another member seconded. After a voice vote, the chair said the motion carries and directed staff to forward the recommendation to the Board of Supervisors.

The recommendation is aimed at helping homeowners who unintentionally inherited unfinaled permits without requiring payment of full current permit fees, while preserving a safeguard that inspections use the historic code cycle when appropriate. The board closed the public hearing on the item before moving to the next agenda matter.