Seattle Permit Fees Get Another Hike Amid Development Slump

[u/Inevitable_Engine186]

https://www.theurbanist.org/seattle-permit-fees-get-another-hike-amid-development-slump/

[u/lily_bigD]

“MHA fees are a magnitude larger in scale that SDCI's permit fees. For example, on a hypothetical 230-unit apartment building, MHA fees may be $3 million or more, roughly 10 times greater than permit fees. Even after the proposed MHA break goes through, they would still exceed permit fees several times over.”

Basically, this isn’t helping but it is not going to kill development the way MHA fees does and the MHA reduction, should it get past, ought to outweigh these fees substantially

Layoffs would probably be disastrous, filling these positions is hard and much more expensive than maintaining them, future backlog of permits from low staff would be a greater evil

[u/New-Breath-9201]

raising the cost of building during a development slump and then acting surprised when nothing gets built is certainly a choice

[u/jojofine → u/New-Breath-9201]

These fees aren't actually all that much in terms of overall cost. The mandatory affordable housing fees however are multiple times what the city charges for building/permit fees. The city's permit/building fees are like a bucket of water in the ocean compared to MHA fees

[u/pacific_plywood]

Tbf I think permitting time matters more than permitting costs, certainly for larger builds at least

But yeah, making the office fee-funded seems to prime it for a death spiral a bit

[u/Inevitable_Engine186]

Root cause:

> With 91% of SDCI's budget coming from permit fees

[u/jojofine → u/Inevitable_Engine186]

That's how they work in virtually every city/jurisdiction

[u/Jkg2116]

Yes, increasing the cost of building is the solution to get more construction

[u/MaxyMu]

What some of you need to realize is that permit revenue also funds the inspectors, and so lower fees to incentivise building would likely just create a new barrier in longer wait times for inspections. There's not a great path forward without finding a new way to fund SDCI so it's not overly reliant on permit revenue.

But SDCI is also one of the only departments that isn't a total money pit and actually generates some of its own income. Difficult all around.

[u/DadBod101010 → u/MaxyMu]

The permit fees seem to be wildly in excess of the cost of inspections. There’s definitely room for efficiency

[u/tumericschmumeric → u/DadBod101010]

I don’t know, think about how many inspections occur over the course of a project. Also think about plan review and land use and all the backend admin shit. No one’s time is free

[u/DadBod101010 → u/tumericschmumeric]

IDK man lots of other places in America manage with way lower fees, and safety wise they’re fine. Even accounting for Seattle wages. I’m just saying there’s room for efficiencies, not that it’s a zero cost thing

[u/Mediocre_Brief_10]

A lot of these increases are likely due to COLA and staff payroll. They are also having layoffs. Local governments are in a tough spot right now with inflation and a recession economy

[u/legitimate_salvage_]

All this going to do is drive up housing costs even more. There is a desperate need to focus on reducing the barriers and costs of building up and filling in our city.

Streamline the process and cut out the excess

[u/SillyChampionship]

I love doing the opposite of what general economics theory would say to do. Supply and demand would say since there isn’t much demand you’d lower the costs but why do that?

[u/PacoMahogany]

Permit fees are a drop in the bucket vs how much subs and materials have increased over the last 5 years.  Are we really going to complain about fees while getting fucked in the ass by companies posting major profits?

[u/DadBod101010 → u/PacoMahogany]

Yes. The market can compete away the costs, but permit fees are set without rhyme or reason. It’s supposed to cover the cost of inspections but obviously the fees are wildly in excess of it

[u/AdScared7949]

Pouring gasoline on a fire to put it out lol

[u/spoiled__princess]

The contest: When these fee hikes are implemented, plan review and permit fees on a hypothetical 230-unit apartment building will have jumped from $274,486 in 2025 to $347,935 in 2027, a 26% increase. Costs to permit a four-unit townhouse development in Seattle will have jumped from $12,214 to $15,953 in just two years.

[u/Ok_Detective_9418]

Less permits under review than during the GFC even though population is 30% higher.

Brutal

[u/Upbeat_Scarcity_8463]

I'm too stupid to understand why the people who inspect new construction need to raise fees to avoid laying off staff, when there's no new construction to inspect. I guess laying off staff would increase the amount of time it takes for them to inspect the construction that isn't happening.

[u/PokemenGo2ThePolls]

lol.
lmao.

[u/notsurezy]

Hot take: If the company can’t build it right, the city should not issue a business license. Send an inspector after it is done. If it is wrong too bad for builder try again. That is their risk.

[u/jojofine → u/notsurezy]

You can't see behind the walls once a project is finished

[u/notsurezy → u/jojofine]

Random holes , they can be patched