Lafourche slashes building permit fees

The Lafourche Parish Council last week approved seven of 12 proposed reductions to fees the parish charges for construction permits.

Parish President Charlotte Randolph was a staunch opponent of the changes, saying the fee schedule her administration proposed is necessary to fund the department’s services, such as inspections to ensure buildings meet state code. She said the reductions were done so “arbitrarily.”

“It’s not a fee just to get a permit,” Randolph said. “It’s a fee for a service, and the service is required by the state in order for us to be compliant with all the rules and regulations.”

Councilman Daniel Lorraine sponsored the amendments. He said the cost reductions are necessary so that lower-income families in the parish can afford to build houses.

“I’m just trying to give the people a break,” Lorraine said. “To me, this is a hidden tax.”

The amendments were tacked on to the parish’s new code of building construction regulations.

Approved cost reductions targeted the following fees: cost per square foot of new residential construction; cost per square foot of new residential accessory structures, cost per square foot of new commercial structures and flat fees imposed on farm structures, residential generators, mobile homes and code violators.

Proposed cost reductions to non-residential camps, recreational vehicles, change of occupancy permits, certificates of compliance and sign permits failed.

Councilman John Arnold, a general contractor, said after the meeting he did not consider recusing himself from voting in lieu of a perceived conflict of interest. Arnold voted in favor of reducing two fees – farm structures, from $200 to $100, and residential generators, from $150 to $100. He voted against all other reductions.

Arnold said he wanted to vote, so that he could oppose the measures that he didn’t believe were necessary. An abstention, however, is essentially a vote against, because only the in-favor column actually matters – five votes to pass, in this case.

The new parish regulations were introduced earlier this year and approved last week. This comes nearly two years after the parish established its own planning and permitting department and almost one year after its inaugural director resigned amid frequent criticism.

The parish split from South Central Planning and Development, which handles inspections and design for several government entities in the region, amid charges that parish officials were circumventing SCP’s chief building official and issued more than 100 permits without his consent.

SCP officials have said they would welcome back Lafourche Parish Government as a client, a move the council endorsed early this year, but Randolph has been staunchly opposed to doing so.

According to figures provided by Randolph’s administration, the permitting department is projected to expend more than $120,000 in excess of the $400,000 collected from permit fees this year.

The department is supported with two state grants, one of which will expire this year. Without either grant, which is a possibility, and before the permit fee cut, the parish projected the department would operate at a $132,000 deficit in 2013.

“I don’t see where we’re giving (the residents) a break,” said Councilman Phillip Gouaux in response to Lorraine, “because if I don’t need a permit, you’re taking from me to subsidize the permit department, and that’s not the way it should work.”

Lorraine voted in favor of all amendments. Councilmen Jerry LaFont and Lindel Toups each voted in favor of all but one – LaFont opposed reducing fees for recreational vehicles, and Toups opposed reducing fees for non-residential camps. Both measures failed.

Gouaux voted against all but two of the 12 fee amendments. He supported reducing the fees for residential generators and the penalties levied to violators of the code. Both measures passed.

The charges proposed by Randolph’s administration were almost identical to South Central Planning’s fee schedule.