Grand County building inspector reports surge in permits, highlights floodplain work

Bill Hulse, Grand County building inspector, told the county commission on Oct. 15 that activity in the building department has increased markedly this year. “We’ve issued 331 building permits as of Monday,” Hulse said, noting that figure is up from 269 total permits in 2023. He said the department has completed more than 1,000 inspections and has collected “over $644,000 in fees to date,” compared with about $607,000 last year.

Hulse listed several large projects expected to move forward that account for the uptick, including the Desert Soul project, the Ledges, and multiple apartment buildings he described as “two buildings with 42 units and one with 36.” He said the department is also processing impact fees and plan reviews; he estimated plan-review receipts at roughly $270,000 so far this year.

On floodplain work, Hulse said the county is completing its yearly review for the Community Rating System (CRS) and expects to maintain a Class A rating that gives policyholders a 10% discount on premiums. He described recent collaboration with the city, state agencies, FEMA and the Army Corps of Engineers on flood mitigation projects and said the county recently completed a flood emergency action toolkit to guide local flood response.

Commissioners asked whether the insurance discounts apply to residents; Hulse replied the CRS discounts apply to “every property in the unincorporated Grand County.” No formal action was taken during the report; commissioners thanked Hulse and moved to the next presentation.