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Council discusses waiving building fees for Canton 1st Methodist Church expansion
Summary
Canton 1st Methodist Church requested waivers for building permit and plan-review fees for a roughly 10,000 sq ft expansion; staff noted impact fees cannot be waived under ordinance and council members expressed broad sympathy and precedent for a prior 2018 waiver for a nonprofit.
Canton 1st Methodist Church asked the council to waive building permit and plan-review fees for a roughly 10,000-square-foot expansion that the church says will support youth and community programming. City Manager Peppers summarized the request and noted the council cannot waive statutorily defined impact fees; he said the plan-review and permit fees would total roughly $36,000 while impact fees were estimated at about $4,492 and would have to be paid.
Council members spoke in favor of the church request, noting the congregation's long history of community service and previous council precedent in 2018 when a waiver was approved for Canton Community Ministries. "They've donated hundreds of thousands of dollars in men and women hours to local missions," one councilmember said. Staff will place a formal waiver request on a future agenda for action and present the precise fiscal impact and precedent for council consideration.
