- May 2, 2024
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The Palm Coast City Council, at its Oct. 4 regular meeting, unanimously approved to extend the building permit fees reduction ordinance for another year.
The city implemented a 90% reduction in building permits fees in June 2009. According to Nestor Abreu, community development director for the city, approximately $173 million has been spent on construction within the city since the reduction was put into place. The reduction in fees has translated to about a $1.5 million savings for permit-seekers.
One of the intentions of the program was to decrease the building fund to about $2 million — leaving $1 million for reserves and $1 million for capital.
The building permit and inspection fund is accounted as an enterprise fund, receiving no tax subsidy and doesn’t contribute to the general fund, Abreu said.
“This dedicated fund balance is our rainy-day emergency fund to be used only to support building permitting, review and inspection activities such as operations, vehicles, fuel, employees and capital facilities, equipment, programs and related costs,” Abreu added.
The program was also put into place to stimulate the local building activity.
The program was scheduled to sunset Dec. 31, 2011, but now will extend another 12 months, or until the building activity picks up.
