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Staff pitches new zoning fee schedule, online permitting and code cleanup
Summary
Planning staff proposed a detailed zoning fee schedule June 29 to charge for commonly permitted items (fences, decks, pools, generators), move fee language into the zoning ordinance, and implement fees in the OpenGov portal to fund a permit specialist and improve permit tracking.
City planning staff presented a proposed update to Sunbury's zoning permit fees and related code cleanup at the June 29 planning commission meeting, recommending clearer permit categories, an explicit fee schedule and online integration.
Planning intern Chantria summarized background research showing the city issued many permits without local fees after the 2022 outsourcing of building inspections to Delaware County; staff found the current practice left Sunbury as an outlier among nearby jurisdictions and estimated missed revenue in recent years. The proposed fee schedule adds specific categories (for example, separate fees for fences, pools, decks and generators), and staff recommends moving zoning fee language out of the general building code into the zoning ordinance with a standalone, easily updated fee schedule.
Staff explained that under the new approach the fee schedule would be implemented in the OpenGov permitting portal and that changes to fee amounts could be handled by a resolution rather than a full ordinance, allowing more agility in updates subject to council oversight. Staff said additional revenue would be used to hire a permit specialist to improve permit tracking and free planning staff to focus on higher‑priority development work.
Commissioners asked clarifying questions about whether Delaware County inspection fees would be combined for an applicant's total cost, whether the commission would have recurring involvement in fee adjustments, and how fee administration would interact with the forthcoming zoning code updates; staff said the schedule will be presented to the finance committee and then to council for final approval, and that the commission's current role is to recommend the zoning‑text amendments required to adopt the new structure.
Next steps: planning staff will finalize ordinance language and fee tables, present the proposal to the finance committee, and bring zoning text amendments and a recommended fee schedule to council for readings in the fall.
