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Hurricane council moves building‑permit valuation update to return with scaled proposal
Summary
Council discussed updating building permit valuation tables (last updated in 1997/2005) to align with 2021/2024 ICC figures and agreed to continue the item so staff can return with a chart set at roughly half the difference and a one‑year review plan.
Hurricane City Council discussed Nov. 20 whether to update the city’s building‑permit valuation and fee tables, which staff said have not been updated since the late 1990s/early 2000s.
Building‑division staff (speaker 9) told council the 2021/2024 International Code Council (ICC) valuation tables would raise per‑square‑foot valuations substantially compared with the city’s current schedule. Using the ICC standard at 100% would increase the single‑family living valuation to roughly $165.67 per square foot versus the city’s current $64 per square foot under the older table, staff said. The change would bring permit valuations closer to industry standards and help ensure development pays for the city services and inspections that new construction requires.
Councilmembers debated speed and scale. Some expressed concern about affordability impacts on homebuilders and urged a phased approach; others said the city’s permitting and inspection costs have not kept pace and that updated fees are necessary to fund additional inspectors and locators. One councilmember proposed a compromise to move to roughly the midpoint (about 50% of the difference between current and ICC values) and to return to council in one year for review rather than adopt automatic three‑year code roll‑ins.
The council voted to continue the item and asked staff to prepare a revised fee table reflecting the council’s 50%‑of‑difference direction and to return with the chart and a recommendation for council review within one year.
What to expect: staff will produce the revised valuation chart and a fiscal impact explanation (how increased fees would support added inspectors, locators and departmental costs) for the council packet at the next meeting.
