Thanks to a new law out of Tallahassee, homebuilders and developers could soon pay less in fees related to permits.
The Belleview City Commission recently approved a new building and development fee schedule in response to Florida House Bill 803, legislation that prompted local governments to revise portions of their permitting requirements.
Prior to this, many of Belleview’s building permits were calculated as a percentage of a project’s construction cost, meaning permit costs increased as labor and material prices climbed. The new schedule replaces that approach for many residential and commercial projects with rates based primarily on square footage, a change expected to lower costs for many builders and developers.
For example, if a 2,500-square-foot home cost $500,000 to build, the city’s previous fee schedule would have charged about $7,500 for the building permit (1.25% of construction cost plus the 20% administrative fee). Under the new schedule, that same permit would cost about $2,125, based on the new rate of 85 cents per square foot, a difference of roughly $5,375.
The revised fee schedule affects a wide range of permits, including new homes, commercial construction, additions and accessory buildings, while also updating development fees for site plans, subdivisions and other planning applications.
