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Washington Terrace amends building-permit fees to move toward cost recovery
Summary
Council approved Resolution 26-03 to amend the FY2026 fee schedule and building permit inspection fees, a change staff said is intended to approach cost recovery after decades without increases while reducing some setup fees to ease the impact on small projects.
Washington Terrace city staff presented an updated building permit and inspection fee schedule at the May 19 council meeting and the council voted to adopt the amended schedule under Resolution 26-03.
Tom and Jeff (city staff and council members participating in the review) described a long period—decades in some cases—without fee increases and the need to move toward a cost-recovery approach. Staff reported that some setup and pre-inspection fees had been trimmed (roughly a 50% adjustment in certain categories) after council feedback so the new schedule would be less burdensome for small projects while still shifting toward recovering city costs associated with permitting and inspections.
Staff stressed a public-safety rationale for permitting: inspections document code compliance and protect homeowners, buyers, and insurers. Jeff said the base fee under full cost recovery would have been “a lot” for small projects and that the recommended compromise balances cost recovery and service. Councilmembers thanked staff for revising the proposal and discussed ongoing monitoring; the motion to adopt Resolution 26-03 passed on a roll-call vote.
Council directed staff to implement the revised fee schedule and report back as part of future budget monitoring so the council can determine whether further adjustments are required.
