An Act concerning local enforcing agency fees and amending P.L.1979, c.121.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. Section 3 of P.L.1979, c.121 (C.52:27D-126a) is amended to read as follows:

3. a. Where the appointing authority of any municipality shall appoint an enforcing agency and construction board of appeals pursuant to section 8 of P.L.1975, c.217 (C.52:27D-126), the municipal governing body by ordinance, in accordance with standards established by the commissioner, shall set enforcing agency fees for plan review, construction permit, certificate of occupancy, demolition permit, moving of building permit, elevator permit and sign permit, provided, however, that such fees:

(1) shall not exceed the annual costs for the operation of the enforcing agency, and, except as provided in subsection b. of this section,

(2) shall not exceed the amount of fees charged by the department when it performs code enforcement services, as set by rule pursuant to subsection g. of section 6 of P.L.1975, c.217 (C.52:27D-126).

b. A municipal governing body may apply to the commissioner for a waiver from the fee limitations imposed by paragraph (2) of subsection a. of this section. The commissioner shall approve, approve in part, or disapprove a waiver application within 10 business days of his receipt of an application. If the commissioner does not act within 10 business days of his receipt of an application, the application shall be deemed approved.

c. The fee to be charged for a construction permit shall be the sum of the basic construction fee computed in accordance with subsection d. of this section plus any applicable special fees, such as elevator or sign fees. This fee shall be paid before a permit is issued.

d. The basic construction fee shall be computed on the basis of the volume of the building or, in the case of alterations, the estimated construction cost, and the number and types of plumbing, electrical, and fire protection fixtures and devices as herein provided. The basic construction fee shall be computed as a unit rate per $ 1,000 of estimated cost of the work. The unit rates may vary for different occupancy groups or for structures of different sizes within the same occupancy group. The unit rate for large, open-volume buildings, such as barns, silos, greenhouses, warehouses, distribution centers, and other agricultural, recreational, and storage-use buildings, shall be less than the unit rate for other types of buildings and occupancy classifications. This shall be clearly indicated in the ordinance and schedule.

(cf: P.L.1979, c.121, s.3)

2. This act shall take effect on the first day of the fourth month next following the date of enactment.

STATEMENT

This bill would limit the fee amounts that local enforcing agencies may charge for performing construction code enforcement service to the fee amounts that the Department of Community Affairs charges when it performs code enforcement services. The bill allows municipal governing bodies to apply to the Commissioner of Community Affairs for a waiver from the fee limitation.

Additionally, the bill adjusts building permit fees for large, open-volume buildings, because construction fees are normally computed on the basis of the volume of a building, but the time required for plan review and inspection of large, open-volume buildings, such as barns, greenhouses, warehouses, and distribution centers, is significantly less than for other building types and use groups. Therefore, the bill specifies a lower unit rate for the computation of the permit fee for a large, open-volume building.