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Supervisors schedule work session to revise building-permit fees and enforcement
Summary
Humboldt County supervisors agreed to hold a work session to update the county's flat $100 building-permit fee, penalty structure and enforcement options after members raised concerns about inconsistent enforcement and agricultural exemptions.
HUMBOLDT — Humboldt County supervisors directed staff to convene a work session to draft changes to the county’s building-permit fee structure and enforcement after a lengthy discussion about the current $100 flat fee and weak penalties.
Unidentified Speaker 1 (presiding officer) led the discussion, saying the county currently charges a flat $100 fee "whether you're building 1,000 dollar deck or a $500,000 house." Concerns centered on how that flat fee fails to reflect project scale and does not deter work that begins without a permit.
Board members suggested alternative approaches: moving to a graduated fee based on project value or square footage, increasing penalties for failing to obtain permits before breaking ground, or allowing unpaid permit fees to be added to the tax roll for collection. Unidentified Speaker 5, the county engineer, cited the existing penalty as "double the permit" (turning a $100 permit into $200 when obtained after construction) and said larger commercial projects would carry higher permit fees under a graduated scale.
"So that's an answer we gotta come up with first," Unidentified Speaker 1 said, and several members agreed to a work session "sooner rather than later" with Ben and the county's new staff member to hammer out ordinance language and fee schedules.
Supervisors raised process questions including which body sets permit fees — the board or the planning and zoning committee — and noted state law and agricultural exemptions can affect local authority. One supervisor referenced House File 718 and the Farm Bureau's influence in previous changes; the transcript records discussion that some agriculture-related structures may be exempt or handled differently.
The board directed staff to assemble materials and circulate background information by email before the scheduled work session. No formal ordinance changes were adopted at the meeting; the work session is intended to produce draft options for later formal action.
