Fox River Grove waiving permit fees for ‘basic’ home improvements

Fox River Grove residents will have no permit fees for “basic” building projects, as part of a move to lessen resident costs after the village board enacted a 1% sales tax last year.

The village board approved an ordinance to eliminate all permit fees for building projects that require two or fewer inspections. The measure went into effect Sunday.

“Given rising construction costs, our zero-cost permit program is designed to help our residents make improvements to their homes,” Village President Marc McLaughlin said in a statement. “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.”

Examples of permitted upgrades or repairs that will have no fees include work on driveways, roofs, water heaters, decks, siding, fences, furnaces and water and service lines. Fees remain for plan reviews, new construction, additions and other projects that require more than two inspections.

The permit fee waiver is one of many financial relief initiatives made by the village to offset a 1% non-home-rule sales tax and an extension of the 1% municipal grocery tax approved by the board last year. Fees and taxes were dropped for local residents and business owners in electricity, natural gas, cable TV and telecommunications bills last year.

The idea is that adding a sales tax — which is applied to anyone shopping in Fox River Grove — can lessen the burden for taxes that apply only to residents and businesses within the village.

The village warned that the building permit fee waiver would be void if any work that requires a permit is started before a permit is issued. In such cases, the property owner will be charged the original permit fees, plus a fine for performing work without a permit.