Homeowners could soon get a break on fees the city charges for building permit applications as they repair roofs and structures damaged during Hurricane Irma.
City Council member Garrett Dennis introduced Ordinance 2017-695, which allows the city Building Inspection Division to waive fees connected to permit applications to repair roofs and structures damaged by the September storm.
The Building Inspection Division is under the city Planning and Development Department.
“It incentivizes homeowners and business owners to repair their property,” Dennis said.
Dennis, a roofing contractor who also chairs the council Finance Committee, said the idea came in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew in 2016 when his company, Shifting Gears LLC, was doing work in Palm Coast.
Dennis said he was surprised when the permit fees were waived.
“Based on the dollar amount of that repair, those fees could be thousands of dollars,” Dennis said.
“I thought if they can do it, why we can’t do it here in the city of Jacksonville,” he said.
The waiver would be available to homeowners through the end of the year. Dennis said “a lot of insurance checks probably won’t roll in for a month or so,” referring to claims filed after the storm.
The city charges fees to pull permits for roof repairs or replacements, typically based on the square footage.
A minimum fee for a roofing permit that doesn’t require an inspection costs $80 per 1,000 square feet, while permits that require one or more inspections are $150 per 1,000 square feet.
Council member Lori Boyer, also on the Finance Committee, supports the idea, but said the city needs to “make sure the benefit goes to the homeowners and not just contractors.”
She also would like the waiver to be retroactive for homeowners who’ve already started rebuilding.
“It wouldn’t be fair to them,” Boyer said.
One question is accountability so the Building Inspection Division can vet applicants to make sure fees are forgiven only for repairs directly related to Irma damage.
According to the current bill language, the Building Inspection Division “shall develop a policy” to ensure roof repairs or replacements are only for existing buildings damaged by the hurricane, but doesn’t get into specifics.
Dennis said he plans to host a public meeting next week with other council members to decide those guidelines.
Several council members asked to co-sponsor the bill, including Finance Committee members Katrina Brown and Danny Becton.
Karin Tucker, president and CEO of the Florida First Coast Chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors Inc., spoke in support of the legislation at Tuesday’s Finance Committee meeting.
She said the association backs the bill because of the benefit to homeowners.
“It takes out some of the red tape burden that they feel,” Tucker said. “It’s one less thing they have to worry about in the aftermath of this storm.”
According to the association’s website, the group represents 22,000 members in construction and related industries through 70 chapters nationwide.
The legislation was introduced Sept. 26 as an emergency bill, which requires only two public hearings before a full council vote.
A request for comment from Mayor Lenny Curry’s office was not immediately returned.