Fees are charged whenever any work for which a permit is required by code has been commenced without first obtaining a permit and a code enforcement case has been opened in Accela.
An investigation fee, in addition to the permit fee, shall be collected whether or not a permit is then or subsequently issued. The investigation fee shall be equal to 4 times the amount of the permit fee for the entire project. For example, during the framing stages of a room addition a complaint is received and Code Enforcement opens a case. Subsequent to this happening the contractor comes into to pull a permit to complete the addition. After review it is determined that the addition will not be approved and the contractor must return the house to it’s prior condition. The investigation fee to be charged is based on the permit fee of the completed addition, not just the work finished at the time the project was stopped. If no permit can be issued to complete the addition the investigation fee shall be charged, based on the full valuation of the addition, at the time the demo permit is issued to remove the illegal construction.
A second example is a homeowner begins a kitchen remodel without permits. After removing the cabinets and the countertops a complaint is received and Code Enforcement opens a case. When the homeowner comes in for a kitchen remodel permit he/she shall be charged an investigation fee on the entire valuation of the kitchen remodel. Not just the amount of work completed before the case was opened.
