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Gordon County holds first reading to lower permit fees for large farm structures
Summary
County administrators proposed an ordinance amendment to replace an anomalous fee that could make large farm-structure permits (such as chicken houses) very costly; staff proposed a $0.15 per-square-foot fee and invited public comment before a final vote.
Gordon County staff presented a first reading Oct. 1 proposing changes to the building-permit fee schedule after discovering a provision that could produce exceptionally high permit charges for large farm structures.
County Administrator Ledbetter told the commission the fee schedule adopted with the International Code earlier in the fiscal year created an unintended burden on certain farm buildings. He said an application for a chicken house permit under the prior schedule could have produced a permit cost “approximately $90,000.” Staff recommended moving to a median rate of $0.15 per square foot to align with other counties and ensure fees do not exceed statute-limited inspection-cost recovery.
Ledbetter said the county cannot charge more than the actual cost to run inspections and described the proposed per-square-foot approach as both more typical and legally defensible. He gave an example in the hearing: a 50-by-600-foot chicken house (30,000 square feet) would, under the proposed rate, translate into the revised permit calculation described in staff materials.
The item was presented as a first reading; county staff encouraged public comment and said they had shared the proposal with agricultural stakeholders, including a poultry federation representative. No final action was taken; the county will accept comments by email or phone before returning for a subsequent reading.
