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Town board extends permit-amnesty program after building department reports drop in expired permits
Summary
The Pawling Town Board voted to extend its permit-amnesty program through the end of 2025 after a building department update showing a decline from 637 open or expired permits at the start of the year to 391 and improved permit-closing rates.
The Pawling Town Board voted to extend its building-permit amnesty program through Dec. 31, 2025, after a building department briefing showing substantial reductions in open or expired permits.
"So currently this year, we've issued 152 permits," the building department chief said while summarizing activity. He told the board that from Jan. 1 the town had 637 open or expired permits and that a report run the morning of the meeting showed 391 remain, meaning "since the beginning of this year, we've closed out 246 open or expired permits." He added the department has issued 15 stop-work orders since June 24, 2024, for reasons such as working without a permit, failure to schedule inspections and timber-harvest violations.
Supervisor Schmidt moved to extend the amnesty program "to the end of 2025" and keep fees and penalties the same. He made the motion during the meeting; a roll call followed and the motion carried. The Clerk called the vote: Councilwoman Pitt, Councilwoman Snow, Councilor Meigan and Supervisor Schmidt voted in the affirmative; Councilman McCarthy was absent.
The chief described several amnesty provisions the board is using: permits that expired in 2024 may be renewed at half the original permit cost or closed out; permits from 2023 and earlier are being charged a $250 amnesty fee. "We've had little or no pushback when it comes to closing out these expired permits," he told the board, adding that many permits should have been closed by contractors but were not.
Board members said the program has helped compliance and assisted the assessor's office with property evaluations. Supervisor Schmidt and the chief thanked staff across departments — including the assessor's office, the planning board and the clerk's office — for assistance in closing permits. The chief recommended continuing the program through the year and revisiting it at the board's end-of-year review.
Next steps: staff will continue processing renewals and closures under the extended amnesty program and will report back to the board for further direction at a later date.
