On May 21, 2019, Governor Greg Abbott signed House Bill 852 into law. This new law is associated with the calculation of building permit fees associated with residential dwellings. In particular, this new law precludes municipalities from using "the value of the dwelling" or "the cost of constructing or improving the dwelling" in determining building permit or inspection fees.
Staff has performed a thorough review of data related to permit fees collected over the last 18 months, including time use assumptions, house sizes, building volumes and other factors, and propose a revenue-neutral fee change ordinance.
The proposed fees included in this resolution modify our current fee structure to be in compliance. Fees for residential dwellings are proposed to be calculated based upon area (in square feet) of a residential dwelling or improvement; or on a flat rate basis as described in the Resolution.