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Garden City adds $100 compliance inspection fee to building permit schedule
Summary
Council approved an amendment to the city's fee schedule adding a $100 fee for additional compliance inspections to help recoup inspector time and document repeated site visits; staff said the city cannot halt work absent a true safety violation and will withhold certificates of occupancy until fees are paid.
The Garden City City Council voted unanimously to add an additional compliance inspection fee to the municipal fee schedule to cover staff time responding to complaints or following up on long‑open building permits.
Community Development Director Matt Miller told the council the proposed fee — $100 per additional compliance inspection — will fund staff time spent documenting complaints and visiting sites that are not progressing or that have raised neighbor concerns. Miller said the city will document complaints and follow‑up activity in its BS&A tracking system and implement an administrative policy to accompany the fee.
Miller told council inspectors already drive by development sites and may catch work without permits, but there is no formal schedule of routine site visits; the fee is intended to create a record of repeated inspections and incentivize compliance. “Now we'll be able to look and say, we're out there five times,” Miller said.
Council members asked about enforcement if a property owner ignores repeated citations. Staff said the city generally cannot order a stop to work unless a real safety violation is observed or work is being done without a permit; however, the city can withhold a certificate of occupancy until fees are paid to help ensure collection.
Council member Kara Fotis moved to recommend the amendment to the 2026 fee schedule; the motion was supported and passed 7–0.
