Fox River Grove eliminates fees for basic building permits

Home improvements in Fox River Grove are about to be more affordable. The village board approved an ordinance this week that eliminates all permit fees for “basic” building projects — defined as those requiring two or fewer inspections.

Effective March 1, 2026, residents and property owners can pull permits for common repairs and upgrades at zero cost.

While the village is waiving the fees to ease the financial burden on homeowners, the permit process remains in place to ensure all work is performed safely and up to code.

For example, this would mean that a resident could replace a driveway, roof, water heater, deck, siding, fence, furnace, air conditioning condenser, water or sewer service line, etc., without paying any permit fees.

Fees remain in effect for plan review, new construction, additions, and any other project that requires more than two inspections.

If any work requiring a permit is started before a permit is granted, the fee waiver would be voided. The property owner will be charged the original permit fees plus a fine for performing work without a permit.

The basic building permit fee waiver is part of village’s multi-phased plan to provide financial relief for residents and business owners by reducing taxes and fees — which also included recent reductions in the electricity surcharge, the natural gas surcharge, the cable television franchise fee, and the simplified municipal (telecommunications) tax.

“Given rising construction costs, our zero-cost permit program is designed to help our residents make improvements to their homes,” said Marc McLaughlin, village president. “By removing the financial hurdle of the permit fee, we hope people will take advantage of the opportunity to reinvest in their property, and start projects after the zero-cost permit is issued.”