The City of Elswick Board of Appeals voted 5–1 on Dec. 22, 2025, to refund $1,200 in contested building-permit fees to appellant Corey Wegen after determining permits had been issued while a required subdivision registration was not on file.

Robert Grant, a city code officer identified during the hearing, told the board that the city “reviewed the plans, issued the permits, [and] did a series of inspections” but later discovered the applicant “never registered the plans with the registry of deeds, which ... voids his planning board approval.” Grant said staff had performed inspections in good faith before the lapse was discovered.

Board members discussed the city ordinance requiring registration and the 90-day window for filing; staff said the applicant’s filing was beyond that window (about 110 days was cited in the packet). Board members noted the office had not consistently checked registration in prior cases and described the situation as a procedural confusion rather than deliberate wrongdoing.

After extended discussion about whether a refund would effectively give the applicant a free permit for work already completed, a member argued, “I just think it'd be clean if we give him his money back,” and moved to refund the fees the appellant was contesting. The motion to refund, described in the hearing as $1,200, was seconded and approved by voice vote, recorded in the meeting as five in favor and one opposed.

The board directed staff to issue a refund check to Wegen and advised that, if he wants to finish the project, he must reapply and obtain new permits under current fee rates. Staff identified the current fee schedule in the hearing: the new rate for a new-build fee increased from $0.20 to $0.30 per square foot and alteration permits increased by $2 per $1,000 of estimated cost. A stop-work order remains in place until proper permits are pulled and inspections completed.

The Board adopted the April 7, 2025 minutes earlier in the session and adjourned the hearing at the close of the meeting.