Non-residential plan review fees drop
With construction season approaching, anyone wishing to open a business in an existing building in more than 80 percent of Fayette County’s municipalities may be pleasantly surprised to learn that non-residential plan review fees have decreased. For the first time since the establishment of the Fayette County Uniform Construction Code office in August 2004, there is a fee change. As of March 1, the costs for non-residential plan reviews dropped 50 percent.
According to a press release from the Fayette County Office of Planning, Zoning and Community Development which oversees the UCC office, the plan review fee for non-residential new buildings and additions as drawn by an architect and/or engineer will remain at $300; while the plan review fee for alterations and renovations to an existing commercial building will drop to $150 and applicants requiring an occupancy permit only will not be changed a fee for plan review.
As an example provided by Tammy Stenson, director of the Fayette County Office of Planning, Zoning and Community Development, if someone wants to open a beauty shop in an existing building, the plan review fee now is $150, and before it was $300. The county enforces the UCC for 34 of the 42 municipalities in the county and issues building permits and demolition permits for both residential and non-residential structures.
When the office was opened, the county did an analysis of comparative fees with other municipalities, and Stenson said some people thought the fees were low. However, she surmised that most of the fees were right on target. “We haven’t increased our fees since the office was opened,” Stenson said.
The UCC code was mandated by the state for municipalities to handle, and the county opted to handle the work for the municipalities that didn’t want to take it on themselves.
Stenson said builders should be aware that permits must be issued through the county UCC office if the county handles the municipality. She said in the past there have been a few incidents in which Paul Pato of the county UCC office has not issued the permits. Stenson said the office will work with developers, but she stressed that if you are in a municipality handled by the county UCC office, “you must contact us and work with the program to get the permits through us.”
Stenson said no building permits would be processed without a valid zoning certificate. Only after obtaining a valid zoning certificate can application be made for a building permit. To find out which office handles zoning, contact the Fayette County Planning Office at 724-430-1210.
According to the press release, residential building permit fees include the cost of processing the permit, plan review and performing all the necessary inspections.
For example, for the construction of a new single-family homes the UCC fee is $475, which includes processing the permit application, reviewing the building plans, conducting the five state-mandated inspections and the issuing the occupancy permit.
For residential additions, the UCC fee is $240, which includes processing the permit application, reviewing the building plans, doing all the state-mandated inspections and issuing the occupancy permit.
The permit fee for any type of manufactured home- singlewide mobile home, doublewide mobile home or modular home – is $180. This fee covers the cost of processing the permit application, performing the three state-mandated inspections and issuing the occupancy permit, the press release states.
Commercial building fees can only be determined upon complete plan review. Commercial property owners who plan construction or renovation must contact the UCC office at 724-430-4864 concerning their individual needs.
Stenson said since the county has opted to handle the UCC code issues, it has been going extremely well. She said there is a list of subcontractors available at the office and most permits are issued within a week. “We have had no bumps in the road. I was expecting a few, but we haven’t had any,” Stenson said.
The eight municipalities not covered under the county are the city of Uniontown; the boroughs of Dunbar and Smithfield; and the townships of Connellsville, Menallen, North Union, South Union and Washington.