Planning & Zoning Director Tim Nelson submitted a final report to the Cook County Commissioners on Tuesday, February 18, 2014 with recommendations regarding possible modifications to the “after-the-fact (ATF)” fees the county now charges people who have inadvertently or purposely, not followed the county’s rules for getting a permit to build or remodel.
The ATF Fee Committee was made up of two county commissioners, one planning commission member, two planning department staffers and the county attorney was also was on hand for advice if needed.
According to Nelson, the committee discussed the disparities that exist when someone adds on a 6,000 square-foot addition to their house or when someone adds on a small deck. Currently each is charged a $300 fine and $300 is added on every 30 days the person doesn’t get a permit for the work.
“It was the goal of the ATF Fee Committee to produce recommendations that would balance the need to reduce the amount of un-permitted construction that takes place within Cook County, with the fair application of ATF fees relative to the size of the construction projects,” said Nelson.
After the fact fees are typically put into place for two reasons, said Nelson. The first is to cover additional costs associated with the processing of ATF permits and the second is to serve as deterrent for the non-permitted construction of structures, which may or may not adhere to all of the appropriate setbacks.
State statute only allows ATF fees to reflect the additional costs associated with processing the after the fact permits, and are not meant to be punitive or a deterrent, said Nelson.
The committee reviewed information provided by other counties from Minnesota before coming up with three amendments to the current zoning ordinance. Much of their discussion centered on variances and land use permits.
Nelson said, “With regards to variances, it was noted that the Board of Adjustment expressed their interest in being able to employ a greater level of flexibility than to just uphold or completely waive the ATF fees. They wanted to consider the egregiousness of the ATF construction, which would allow them to waive part or the whole fee depending n the severity of the case.
“Since the ATF fee is a fee and not a penalty, the Board of Adjustment would not be able to assess more than the prescribed fee amount, but would have the opportunity to waive all or a portion of the fee on a case by case basis if the ATF fee is appealed,” Nelson said.
Before sending the county board its recommendations the committee contemplated several different variable rates, including percentages relative to the cost of the project, or to the size of the project in square footage. The committee finally settled on recommending a graduated ATF fee schedule for both land use permits and variances based on the square footage levels for the existing standard land use permit fees.
Additionally the ATF committee offered three amendments for consideration— to provide the Board of Adjustment the ability to either affirm the ATF fee, or to waive all or part of an ATF fee; to authorize the planning director to administratively waive parts of the ATF fees when multiple fees apply for enforcement cases in order to gain compliance and to add a contractor’s responsibility and liability for securing the proper permits prior to construction instead of holding only the property owners responsible.
The county board will consider the recommendation at a meeting that will be held sometime in April, said Nelson, noting that Cook County Auditor Braidy Powers will be the one to set the date, time and place for the meeting.
County could see savings in household hazardous waste expenses
Household hazardous waste collections typically cost the county money, but under some new changes by the state legislature, the county stands to save about $5,000 per year, said Nelson.
“The 2014 household waste collection dates have been set for July 19 and September 27, which is later than usual,” Nelson told the board.
“Normally we hold the spring collection a month earlier; however legislative changes have opened up some new opportunities for us. As of July 1, the disposal costs of paint will be covered under the product stewardship requirement for paint manufacturers, so in order to get our paint disposal costs taken care of, we had to push our spring collection into July, and the 19th was the first available date.
“Depending on the amounts of paint collected, this new development could result in a cost savings of approximately $5,000,” Nelson said.
The legislature is also working on similar legislation concerning electronics, said Nelson.
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