Effingham staff proposes $50 change-of-use fee and flat solar permit line; town to research fees and hold public hearing

Rebecca (S6), the town zoning/permits staff member, told the board she wants to add two lines to the permit fee schedule: a $50 change-of-use fee for simple conversions (for example, a home-business addition) and a separate flat fee for solar installations to avoid time-consuming square-footage calculations and extensive digital verification.

Rebecca said the change-of-use form is simple and rarely used but would provide an administrable fee line. On solar she said the last application involved extensive emails, multiple agents and a digitally signed agent form that required verification, and that a flat fee would reduce administrative overhead and uncertainty. "So this would be instead of trying to calculate the square footage of the solar array ... we would just have a flat fee for applying for a permit for a solar array," she said.

Board members discussed whether fees should reflect administrative time or project size and noted the 2022 schedule might need updating. The board did not set amounts beyond Rebecca's $50 suggestion for change-of-use; they agreed to research what nearby towns charge, then hold the required public hearing before any formal change. Rebecca also announced her planned departure at the end of August and proposed overlap training for a successor starting in September; the board agreed to begin recruitment and consider the level of overlap and onboarding support.

Next steps: staff will research comparable municipal fees for change-of-use and solar permitting, circulate findings to the board, and schedule a public hearing before any fee-schedule changes are adopted.