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ORANGE COUNTY <br />BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br />ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br />Meeting Date: December 10, 2002 <br />Action Agenda <br />Item No. ~ _ J+( <br />SUBJECT: Plans Review Fees for Commercial and Residential Projects <br />DEPARTMENT: Planning & Inspections PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No <br />ATTACHMENT(S): <br />Proposed Resolution <br />INFORMATION CONTACT: <br />Craig Benedict, ext. 2592 <br />TELEPHONE NUMBERS: <br />Hillsborough 732-8181 <br />Chapel Hill 968-4501 <br />Durham 688-7331 <br />Mebane 336-227-2031 <br />PURPOSE: To consider approving proposed plans review fees for commercial and residential <br />projects. <br />BACKGROUND: The North Carolina State Building Code, Volume 1-A, Administration and <br />Enforcement requires, along with the duties of code compliance and code enforcement, that the <br />Inspections Division, during the process of issuing a Commercial permit, shall review plans for Code <br />Compliance to the North Carolina State Building Code. On average, 84 commercial plans are <br />reviewed per year by Orange County with an average time of 6 hours per review. <br />The Insurance Services Office (ISO) provides recommendations for local residential insurance ratings <br />through measurement of resources and support made available and applied to local building code <br />enforcement, as well as the utilization of those resources as applicable to the mitigation of the natural <br />hazards common to the jurisdiction being measured. In order to participate in the ISO Building Code <br />Effectiveness Grading Schedule (BCEGS), residential plans review is required of the local Building <br />Division. In order to maintain compliance, the Orange County Building Division instituted procedures <br />for Residential Plans review this past spring. On average, 895 residential plans (including new single <br />family, additions, renovations and accessory buildings) will be reviewed per year with an average <br />time of 0.75 hours per review. <br />Establishing plans review fees will help cover the services of the Division and more fully offset the <br />operating costs of the Inspections Division. Proposed plans review fees are: <br />• Commercial Plans Review: $.025 per square foot for projects < 5,000 s.f. ($75.00 minimum) <br />$.020 per square foot for projects 5,000 to 20,000 s.f. <br />$.015 per square foot for projects 20,000 to 150,000 s.f. <br />$.010 per square foot for projects >150,000 s.f. <br />