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City building inspector outlines proposed increases to miscellaneous fees, citing rising costs
Summary
Building inspector Jeremy Cedo reviewed proposed updates to miscellaneous and permitting fees, including raising fence permits from $15 to $60 (including a $10 technology fee), variance and demolition-bond changes, and flagged items still under review. No formal action was taken at the workshop.
Jeremy Cedo, the city’s building inspector, opened a council workshop presentation on proposed updates to Cosmopolis’s miscellaneous fees and fee schedules, saying many charges “have been forever” and no longer cover the city’s costs.
Cedo said the proposals on the table would raise the residential fence permit fee from $15 to $60, folding in a $10 technology fee he said the city began charging several years ago to pay for computer and software upgrades. He described the $15 permit as “not even cover[ing] the cost of issuing the permit,” and explained that routine board-by-board repairs normally would not require a new permit, while full fence replacements would.
On variances, Cedo said the city currently collects $175 and that a 2021 proposal included higher charges; he said he recommended a $300 fee to cover mailing, legal notice and publication costs but that the council might revisit moving the fee as high as $750 given rising advertising and legal expenses.
He also discussed demolition bonds, saying residential demolition bonds of $500 are likely insufficient to cover cleanup costs in many cases and that an industrial demolition bond of $5,000 is proposed to protect the city if an owner fails to complete required demolition work. Cedo explained that bonds are refundable when work is completed and approved.
Council members and staff asked procedural and scope questions, including how fence permits are enforced relative to property lines and corner-lot sight-line rules; Cedo said ordinances require fences to be on a property line but that the city issues permissive-use permits to allow placement nearer sidewalks when appropriate. He also noted that some code provisions are in separate sections, which can cause confusion for applicants and suggested staff will follow up.
No formal vote or ordinance change was taken during the workshop; Cedo said he is still finalizing building-permit fees and will return with more detail. Councilmembers directed staff to continue reviewing the proposals and to clarify where specific ordinance language and permit forms control application of the fees.
The workshop also covered turnaround times (Cedo said fence permits can often be approved the same day he processes them, with more complex permits taking several days to a week) and the rationale for technology fees and surface-posting costs for hearings.
