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Board reduces penalty for construction without permit to two times fee after homeowner remediation
Summary
The board reduced a DBI-imposed penalty for work done without permits at 480 Amherst Street to the minimum of twice the regular permit fee, finding mitigating circumstances and that the owner corrected the work.
The Board of Appeals on Jan. 29 granted Isabel Navarro’s appeal and reduced the penalty for unpermitted construction at 480 Amherst Street to two times the regular permit fee.
DBI Building Inspector Joseph Duffy reported that an inspector observed work without permit and that the department initially placed a penalty multiplier at 9 times the assessed value of the work. Duffy noted that the owner had since removed the unpermitted work and filed for a building permit to abate the notice of violation. Commissioners discussed the original assessed value and how penalties are calculated; DBI said the permit application listed $5,000 as the estimated cost of the work, and inspectors had recorded an assessed value that generated the larger initial multiplier.
Board members said they saw mitigating circumstances: Navarro had corrected the work and had not held prior permit violations on the property. Commissioner (speaker 3) moved to grant the appeal and reduce the penalty to the minimum allowed of two times the permit fee; commissioners voted 4–0 to approve the reduction.
The board emphasized that the reduction is a one-time mitigation and reiterated that property owners should obtain permits before construction. DBI will process the reduced penalty and finalize required inspections.
