1309.01 GENERAL FEE REQUIREMENTS.

   (a)   Fees Required:

      (1)   No permit shall be issued or service shall be rendered until the fees as described throughout this ordinance have been paid, nor shall an amendment to a permit be approved until any additional fee required by law has been paid. Permits referenced throughout this ordinance shall also pertain to approvals as described in the Ohio Building Code.

         A.   Fees associated with properties owned by or under the control of the Parks Conservancy or the City of Hamilton may be waived, subject to the approval of the Building Official.

      (2)    The fees for all permits and services shall be determined in and by the Building Department according to the schedule throughout this ordinance. The Building Official is authorized to grant modifications of fees and/or fee requirements for demonstrated cause.

      (3)    The fees shall be paid to the City of Hamilton, Ohio. Applicable surcharges by the Ohio Board of Building Standards shall also be paid at the time of permit issuance.

   (b)   Refunds or Partial Fees:

      (1)    If a permit application requires the examination of documents and is withdrawn by the applicant, the applicant shall pay a fee as follows:

         A.   If the application is withdrawn prior to the examination of the documents, no additional fees shall be charged.

         B.   If the application is withdrawn after or during the progress of the examination of documents, an appropriate fee shall be charged amounting to a percentage of the required permit fee based on the percentage of the examination, processing and/or other services completed as determined by the Building Official.

         C.   If the applicant submits a written request to withdraw a permit and obtain a refund after a permit has been issued but prior to the start of construction, and providing the permit has not become invalid as defined by the Ohio Building Code, the City shall refund an appropriate percentage of the fee paid based on the percentage of the examination and/or processing completed as determined by the Building Official.

      (2)    If a permit application which does not require examination of documents is withdrawn by the applicant after a permit has been issued, but prior to the start of construction, and providing the permit has not become invalid as defined by the Ohio Building Code, the City shall refund such portion of the fee paid that will leave retained by the City 50% of the total fee paid, but not less than $25.00. State surcharge fees are non-refundable.

      (3)    No fee will be refunded for any permit after it has been issued and the work has started or an inspection has been completed.

      (4)    No fee will be refunded for any permit which has expired or become invalid as defined by the Ohio Building Code.

   (c)   Transfer of Permits: A permit for a property may be transferred to an approved individual, provided the permit has not become invalid as defined by the Ohio Building Code, and a request for the transfer is submitted by the owner to the Building Department and approved. A transfer fee of $25.00 shall be paid before the permit can be transferred. If the scope of work is expanded beyond that of the original permit, the appropriate fees will be charged for any additional work being done in addition to the transfer fee.

   (d)   Application Fee: A non-refundable application fee of $10.00 will be collected at the time a permit application requiring plan review is initially submitted for all 1-, 2- or 3-family residences and $50 for applications requiring plan review is initially submitted for all others. This application fee is separate from all other required permit fees.

      (1)    Exceptions: The application fee shall not be applied to demolition permit applications or any permits exempt from permit fees as outlined in subsection (a) above.

   (e)   Fees Based on Value of Construction: An estimate of the value of construction associated with a permit shall be furnished by the applicant at the time the application is submitted. Confirmation of the value of construction shall be subject to the approval of the Building Official and may be modified as necessary. Additional documentation may also be requested by the Building Official to support the estimated value of construction that has been submitted.

   (f)   Reinspections: When an additional inspection is required due to a request for inspection before a job is ready, due to faulty work or misinformation, or if the number of inspections for a project is unusually high, a reinspection fee may be charged at the discretion of the Building Official or his appointed representative. The reinspection fee shall be $50.00 for inspections associated with 1- , 2- or 3-family residences and $75.00 for all inspections associated with all others. The reinspection fee shall be paid before the reinspection is scheduled.

   (g)   Additional Plan Review: If the plans cannot be approved after the first plan examination, a fee for additional plan examination shall be charged for each additional review at a rate of $50.00 per hour or fraction thereof for reviews associated with 1-, 2- or 3-family residences and $75.00 per hour or fraction thereof for reviews associated with all others. The plan review fee will be added to and collected with the other applicable permit fees described throughout this ordinance.

   (h)   Permit Extensions: For the extension of any permit in accordance with the requirements of the Ohio Building Code and with the approval of the Building Official, an extension fee of $50.00 shall be paid for permits associated with 1-, 2- or 3-family residences and $100.00 for permits associated with all others.

   (i)   Phased Permits: When an application is submitted for plan review and a phased permit approval as defined in the Ohio Building Code and approved by the Building Official is requested, a phased permit fee shall be added to the cost of the permit in addition to all other applicable fees. The phased permit fee shall be calculated using 25% of the total permit fee, and this amount shall be applied to each phase and paid at the time each phased permit approval is issued. The total permit fee plus a phased permit fee shall be paid when the first phased permit approval is issued.

   (j)   Penalties:

      (1)    No person, firm or corporation shall knowingly violate any provisions of the Ohio Building Code or any order made pursuant to it or its referenced standards or shall knowingly build in violation of any detailed statement or specifications, plans submitted and approved pursuant to the Ohio Building Code or its referenced standards.

      (2)    If any work is performed without first obtaining the required permits and approvals from the City, unless reasonable doubt exists as to the requirement of a permit as determined by the Building Official, then a penalty fee shall be applied. Occurrences may be tracked using the owner, contractor, applicant, individual, company or location associated with the offense. Penalty fees shall be calculated as follows:

         A.   Work associated with 1-, 2- and 3-family residences:

            1.    First occurrence: Double the permit fee, but not less than $250.

            2.    Repeat occurrence: Triple the permit fee, but not less than $500.

         B.   Work associated with all others:

            1.    First occurrence: Double the permit fee, but not less than $500.

            2.    Repeat occurrence: Triple the permit fee, but not less than $1,000.

      (3)    The payment of penalty fees shall not relieve any person from fully complying with all the requirements of the applicable codes, nor shall such payment exempt the person from any other fee prescribed herein, nor shall the provisions of this section prevent legal action from being taken in any instance against any person, firm or corporation violating or failing to comply with the provisions of the applicable codes.

   (k)   Special Plan Review. Inspection or Other Service:

      (1)    When any person, firm or corporation requests an inspection, plan review, public record inquiry or other special service not already included elsewhere under this ordinance, a fee shall be charged at the rate of $50.00 per hour or part thereof for each inspector or person performing the service. This fee may also be applied for inspections performed on the same day that the inspection is requested . Inspections requested to take place during weekends or holidays shall be charged a minimum fee of $200.

      (2)    When a customer requests an expedited plan review to be performed, an additional fee shall be charged for each expedited review. The fee shall be $100.00 for permits associated with 1-, 2- and 3-family residences and $500.00 for all others. The fee for each additional hour of plan review shall be charged at the normal rate. The fees charged for expedition are in addition to all other applicable fees described throughout this ordinance.

   (l)   Miscellaneous Fees.

      (1)   When needed as part of the permit processing operations, the fee for copies of documents associated with the Building Department will be $.05 per page for black and white, 8 ½” x 11" copies and $1.00 per page of all other copies.

      (2)   When needed as part of the permit processing operations, the fee for scanning documents associated with the Building Department will be $.03 per page for 8 ½” x 11" pages and $0.50 per page for all others.

         (Ord. 2018-10-100. Passed 10-24-18; Ord. 2019-4-29. Passed 4-24-19.)