Building fees part of the price to pay for growth

It’s hard for most homeowners to work up any enthusiasm for the Mat-Su Borough’s new mandatory building permit process. Like any other bureaucratic paperwork, it will likely be tedious. Add a $25-150 fee, and it is no wonder there’s some grousing.

For most the complaint isn’t the fee associated with getting a building permit, it’s that the Borough requires the permit at all. “Mandatory” can be as loaded and dander-raising as any good four-letter expletive for free-spirited Alaskans who do what they like, like what they do and like it that way.

This is also another example of some of the growing pains the Matanuska-Susitna Borough must endure, even if it pains some in the posterior.

Applying for a permit will become a new hassle in March 2008 for Borough residents outside the municipalities. At that time and thereafter, a building permit will be required for any structure or addition of more than 480 square feet and structural additions of at least 10 percent of the size of an existing structure.

The logic beyond the fee, Borough officials say, is to help them plan infrastructure needs based on areas of growth. There is no doubt truth to that, but some disgruntled Borough residents who will soon be required to pull permits will no doubt see it as a ploy for the Borough to know when it is time to raise a property owner’s tax assessments.

There may be truth to that argument. Now, assessors try to keep up with property improvements simply by driving around the Borough and looking for new construction. It’s inefficient, impractical and arbitrary, as only those improvements physically visible from roadways could be seen. Aerial inspections could also help find other new construction, but is still inefficient and time-consuming.

By getting a permit, Borough officials (yes, and its tax assessors) can let their fingers do the walking while permit applicants in some cases will have paid for the privilege of having their taxes increased. While it may be fair to pay more in taxes for higher-valued property, it isn’t exactly something most people look forward to. It isn’t surprising some aren’t thrilled with the prospect of the permits.

One builder suggested the Borough provide inspection services along with the permitting process. This would help protect property owners from substandard construction and make sure there is code compliance.

It seems a reasonable marriage of convenience. Even if it means the fees end up higher than the recently approved fee schedule, property owners will be getting more for their money than a higher tax bill. Substandard construction, instead of being a hallmark of Alaska, will no longer be tolerated in the Borough.

Now that’s worth a fee.