Currituck may drop fees to spark home construction

Currituck County could eliminate building permit fees in an effort to spur construction.

There were 159 building permits for new construction last year - the lowest in 20 years and a 77 percent reduction from the all-time high of 695 in 2003, according to county records. In 1989, the earliest year Currituck has records available, there were 431 new construction permits.

County revenue from the permits fell to $226,557. The record high is $938,758, collected July 2003 through June 2004.

"It's a large portion of our unemployment population right now," said Currituck Commissioner Barry Nelms. "We have people who have been without a job for one or two years. Some of them are at the point of being destitute."

Currituck County had 891 unemployed in November, a rate of 7 percent. One-hundred workers from construction trades have filed for unemployment in the county, said Wade Denney, manager of the Elizabeth City office of the North Carolina Employment Security Commission. That is more than 11 percent of Currituck's total unemployment.

Currituck collects 25 cents per square foot on permits for new construction, plus $50 flat fees for permits on such work as plumbing and heating installation. A typical set of building permits could cost $600 to $1,200, depending on the size of the house.

Commissioners hope that eliminating building permit fees for a while would at least spark home improvements. Most building permits come from additions and alterations, according to county records. Total permits from construction including alterations came to 2,994 in 2009, down from the peak of 4,263 in 2003.

"They're looking for anything," he said.

Removing building permit fees might help a segment of retirees consider an addition or improvement, Nelms said.

"Every little bit helps," said Duke Geraghty, legislative committee chair and past president of the Outer Banks Home Builders Association.

Geraghty is also owner of Starco Realty & Construction. During the construction boom, his company built 15 to 20 homes a year on the Dare and Currituck Outer Banks. But he has built only three homes in the past three years and has had to lay off employees.

"We have nobody left," he said. "I don't even have a secretary anymore."

Richard Bell, owner of Across the Board Construction, has seen business increase but only after spending $10,000 to $15,000 annually in advertising and dropping prices by 20 percent or more. Building permits and fees are less than 1 percent of the total cost of construction, he said.

"I don't see how dropping those fees is going to help my costs," he said.

Jeff Hampton, (252) 338-0159, jeff.hampton@pilotonline.com