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Lane County commissioners adopt 9.5% increase to building permit base fees after public hearing
Summary
After a public hearing July 14, the Lane County Board of Commissioners adopted Ordinance 26‑04, approving a roughly 9.5% increase to base building permit fees (part of a three‑year phased adjustment). The board and staff said the rise is intended to close a roughly $1.3 million shortfall and stabilize Land Management Division services.
The Lane County Board of Commissioners on July 14 adopted Ordinance 26‑04, a second reading that raises base building permit fees in the Land Management Division by about 9.5%, part of a multi‑year plan staff said is necessary to address a budget shortfall.
Kier Williams, interim director of the county’s Land Management Division, told the board the division has seen steady permit volumes since pandemic recovery and that a consultant’s fee study showed LMD was recovering ‘‘less than half of our full cost’’ of services, producing roughly a $1.3 million shortfall. ‘‘We’re just proposing a 9.5% increase on the base fees of permits,’’ Williams said during the staff presentation.
The increase follows a phased approach the board began last year; commissioners previously approved a 7% increase in 2025 and directed staff to return with a second year of adjustments. Williams said the county will continue some affordability protections: fees for accessory dwelling units and emergency RV placement permits were kept frozen in this proposal.
Commissioners discussed the trade‑offs between fiscal sustainability and housing affordability. ‘‘We need to take very seriously any increase of the cost of housing,’’ Commissioner Farr said, adding that the board had weighed the impact and concluded the increase was necessary. Commissioners also urged improved front‑line customer service in Land Management’s intake and phone response as part of making fee increases more palatable to the public.
The hearing produced no public testimony; staff reported no in‑person or online speakers. The board voted to close the public hearing (voice vote recorded earlier as 4–1 on that procedural motion) and then adopted the ordinance by roll call in a subsequent motion. The motion to adopt carried on a unanimous roll call vote recorded by staff.
Williams told the board the packet contained a typographical error about the effective date; staff announced the adopted amendments are scheduled to take effect on September 1, 2026, unless appealed. Williams said even with the increase the division will continue relying on reserves while pursuing additional efficiency measures and a third phase of fee adjustments next year.
The ordinance covers the Land Management Division’s building program base permit fees; staff said the proposed change does not alter some surcharges or separate technology fees and that other fee schedules (stormwater/erosion) will be discussed separately this fall.
What happens next: the ordinance becomes effective September 1, 2026, unless appealed. The board also approved a related order to amend sanitation, land‑use planning and code‑enforcement fee schedules, which staff said applies the same percentage adjustments to those fee tables.
