Glen Ellyn raising fees on some building permits

Residents looking to do development or remodeling in Glen Ellyn may have to pay higher fees in the upcoming year.

The village agreed on Tuesday to raise some fees for things like elevator inspections, special use permits and sign variations.

Staci Hulseberg, director of planning and development, said the revenue brought in by those fees has dropped off. In 2005-06, fees brought in $1 million, but that dropped to $450,000 in the past year.

However, the village board said it decided to increase some of the numbers to more accurately reflect the cost it takes to file permits.

"They really should just cover our costs," Hulseberg said.

The fees are expected to bring in an additional $40,000 to $50,000 next year.

Some of the items that will go up include: special use permits, going from $550 to $650; zoning map amendments, going from $450 to $500; zoning text amendments, increased from $450 to $500; appeals, going up $200 from $500; and sign variations, increasing from $450 to $500.

Hulseberg said her department also compared permit fees to build single-family homes and commercial structures. Glen Ellyn is in line with other communities, charging $4,183 for a two-story 5,500-square foot house and between $3,620 and $4,934 for a 5,000-square foot commercial building.

No building feels will be changed either, since those are in line with surrounding communities.

There was some dispute over zoning variation fees, which are currently set at $450 and are proposed to move up to $500.

Trustee Pete Ladesic argued that the fee should be at $800, because that's the cost to the village.

"The whole goal was to bring fees in line with our costs," he said.

However, the $800 figure would put Glen Ellyn well above its neighbors, giving pause to some trustees.

For now, the fee is still at $500, with the caveat that Hulseberg will bring back some suggestions for possible changes in the future.

A new $150 fee will be added to evaluate stormwater improvements for smaller projects, which Hulseberg said have just as much effect on the environment as large projects do.

A rundown of all the fee changes will be available at the village's Web site, www.glenellyn.org.