Fees in General.

A.

The City Commission shall establish a fee schedule for review, approval, and permitting of all land development activity and orders regulated by this Code. The City Commission may review and adjust the fee schedule as deemed appropriate from time to time by resolution.

B.

The fee schedule shall be available for public inspection in the City Clerk's office during regular business hours.

Review Fees.

A.

All review fees must be submitted in full to the City concurrently with the application for review. Failure to submit the required fee shall render the application incomplete.

B.

The review fees are in addition to any costs which this Code specifically imposes, such as costs of providing notice.

Construction Permit Fees.

A.

Any person who commences work without having first obtained all required construction permits will be assessed a penalty as provided in the fee schedule.

B.

In calculating building permit fees based on the value of improvements, the value of improvements shall include all costs for plumbing, electrical, mechanical, architectural, engineering, site improvement, and contracting work. The building official shall compute the value of improvements based on the greater of the contractor's estimate or an estimate based on available data approved by the Building Official.

C.

A deposit for plans review shall be made when the value of the proposed construction exceeds $10,000.00. This deposit shall equal one-half of the required construction permit fee, and shall be applied to the subsequent construction permit fee if the construction permit is obtained within 180 days from the date of payment of the deposit. The deposit shall be forfeited if the building permit application is voided or if the building permit fee is not obtained within 180 days from the date of payment of the deposit.

D.

Every construction permit shall become null and void if the construction authorized by the permit is not started and a valid inspection approval is not obtained within six months after the date of issuance of the permit.

E.

Fees shall be automatically adjusted on a biennial basis. The adjustments shall apply to all fees applied for after October 1 of the year in which the adjustment is made. The percentage change in the CPI shall be calculated as follows:

1.

Multiply the percent change in the CPI from July 1 of the calendar year two years prior to the year in which the adjustment is made, through June 30 of the present calendar year, times the existing fee.

2.

Add the product of the existing fees, and round to the nearest cent.

3.

All construction permit fees, as adjusted, shall also be subject to a technology surcharge of ten percent of the fee amount.

F.

Construction permit fees shall be refunded only in accordance with the following provisions:

1.

Permits of $100.00 or less shall not be refunded unless issued in error by the City.

2.

No more than 50 percent of building, electrical, plumbing, fire, gas or mechanical fees shall be refunded.

3.

No permit fee shall be refunded after six months from the date of issuance unless the City issued the permit in error.

4.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, no refund shall be given for plan review or administrative fees.