East Hartford’s Town Council voted April 18 to lower fire marshal inspection costs, after complaints of excessive costs were raised by an expanding car dealer, hotel developer and others.
“The new fee structure will make development in East Hartford less expensive and more straightforward,” Mayor Mike Walsh said. “Developers will no longer need to spend time and effort requesting reductions to fees, and they can be confident that all projects are subject to the same low fee structure.”
The change follows a recent letter from Hoffman Auto Group Co-chairman I. Bradley Hoffman to Walsh asking for relief from its “extremely uncompetitive” permit fee structure. The auto dealer is planning to demolish its former Used Car Superstore at 650 Connecticut Blvd., to make room for a new 35,000-square-foot “Generation 5” Porsche dealership.
Hoffman wrote he was surprised by the fee estimate of $360,000. It was more than double the permit fees paid for a BMW dealership recently constructed in Waterbury, Hoffman noted.
Walsh received a similar request for permit fee relief from New Jersey-based Kautilya Group, which is working on a multi-million dollar rehab of the vacant Hartford Hotel & Conference Center on Roberts Street.
East Hartford Fire Marshal John Pelow said the town looked at its rates and discovered they are relatively high compared to other municipalities, resulting in the fee schedule adopted by the Town Council on April 18. The idea is to be business friendly, he noted. The reduction calculates to a roughly 25% loss in inspection revenue, Pelow said. But he doesn’t anticipate a budget gap as revenues regularly exceed budget estimates.
Previously, East Hartford charged a flat inspection fee of $40 for the first $1,000 in construction cost and $20 for every subsequent $1,000 in value.
Now, buildings without fire suppression systems will cost $20 for the first $1,000 in construction costs and $13 for every additional $1,000.
Buildings with fire suppression systems will cost $20 for the first $1,000 in estimated construction costs and $15 for every subsequent $1,000.
Projects with suppression systems that come with accompanying certification from a fire protection engineer (or equivalent) will cost $20 for the first $1,000 in construction and then $13 for every subsequent $1,000.
