Tag:Rants
Extra Territorial Boundary Update
There has been some recent debate about Building Permit Fees in Culver. Two things have prompted this: The first being the new County Online Building Permit system and the second being the low reimbursement fee Culver pays the County Building Inspector.
Culver has a Building Commissioner to review zoning requirements and issue building permits. Our Building Commissioner does not have the proper certifications to do building inspections so we have relied on the County Building Inspector to do building inspections. Several years ago a fee to the County of $50 per permit was set for projects that required building inspections. Building inspections are required on any construction involving new or changes to structural, mechanical or electrical systems. Since that time, some of the larger home projects and commercial projects at Culver Academies have resulted in multiple trips (sometimes dozens) by the County Inspector. Obviously the $50 fee did not cover the costs. The County came to Culver asking for several revisions to the way Culver issues permits so as to bring the fees in line with the County fees and to make it more standardized so that the building permit process could be automated across the entire county.
For various reasons, Culver has chosen to not just raise the fees to cover the additional expenses, but to jump the fees well above those in the County and surrounding area. Where the County has a flat fee for a commercial building, Culver has a fee based on square footage and value which could easily double or quadruple the fee the same building would cost in the county. The same applies to residential projects. This is hard to justify within the Town limits, but almost impossible to justify in the Extra Territorial Boundary where there are no municipal utilities, roads or other services.
As discussed here before, I thought it was in Culver’s best interest to expand their Extra Territorial Boundary to the maximum allowed by law. I fought it when the Town gave up areas due to the new County Online Permitting. I gave up the fight when Culver didn’t follow the County’s Wind Turbine Ordinance for the Extra Territorial Boundary. (Too Tired to Fight About it Further…) Now this latest overreach could jeopardize the Extra Territorial Boundary we currently have. If the County feels the Town is taking advantage of landowners in the Extra Territorial Boundary, they could rescind Culver’s control over this area. Instead of providing a service this could be considered a case of taxation without representation.
This issue will be before the Town Council tomorrow night. It has already been before the Plan Commission where it was passed. I will probably not speak tomorrow night since I already did at the Plan Commission. My points there were the following:
- The fees aren’t justified. While Culver should be able to recoup costs involved with having a Building Commissioner and the costs to reimburse the County for the time spent by the Building Commissioner, Building Permit fees should not be a money making venture. The arguments I’ve heard that the Contractors will just pass on these costs to the owners and in the case of large commercial customers and Lake homeowners that “They can afford it.” don’t justify it. Building Permit fees are supposed to be a fee for services, not an admittance fee.
- It seems ironic that Culver has formed an Entry Level Housing Task Force charged with trying to bring some affordable housing to Culver while they contemplate raising fees on building construction. Granted, the building permit fee is a small percentage of the cost of a new home, but so is the water tap fee and the sewer tap fee and the stormwater control requirements and the green space requirements, etc., etc., etc. All of those small percentages that the Town increases are on top of all the new Building Code requirements and other impact fees that affect the cost of a home. I’m not saying that any of these aren’t necessary or don’t make the home better, but they all contribute to pushing the cost of a home out of reach of the average young family in Culver.
It will be an interesting meeting tomorrow night. I understand the troops have been rallied against this. I think what started as a reasonable response to outside costs have taken an unfortunate turn. We’ll see how it shakes out.
Picture Source: colliergov.net
Comic Source: studious-catz.com
Entry Level Housing Update
Jeff Kenney’s Culver Citizen article on the Entry Level Housing decision by the Town Council popped up on The Pilot News website over the weekend. (You can find The Pilot News version here or the Culver Citizen version in a previous post here.) Unfortunately in the interim, the Council rescinded the decision to move forward this year and instead chose to delay our application until next year. Thus like the wispy home I’ve shown multiple times in the past (see left), affordable housing in Culver has slipped from our grasp until at least 2017. (Wow, that was one of the sappiest sentences I’ve written in a long time!)
I can’t help but be frustrated by this. First because we had been working towards the grant deadline of November 2nd for the last 9 months. Second, after the decision on September 22nd (the meeting in the Citizen article) I was asked to rush around to get the necessary items lined up which included a special Culver BZA Hearing and a tax abatement hearing with the County Council. Both of which had been arranged prior to finding out that the plug had been pulled. (The final piece was completed at 4:55 against a 5:00 deadline. No stress there!)
The abatement hearing has been cancelled. The developer has been told to cool his heels. No follow-up meeting for the Entry Level Housing Task Force has been scheduled. The only thing that is continuing forward is the BZA Hearing. If the BZA is still willing, I plan to go ahead with that hearing. I am thinking that it can’t hurt to vet the location ahead of time. All the neighboring property owners have been alerted.
I hope our development partner hangs with us. I hope we don’t lose opportunities with our target audiences. I hope the grant availability is there next year. I hope the County Council is still supportive next year. I hope any changes in the Council following the election doesn’t realign the will of our leadership. I hope the subsequent changes in the appointed boards and commissions doesn’t change their will to move forward. That’s six “hopes” we now have in trade for the momentum we previously had. Let me throw in one more for lucky seven and say I hope all this works out.
Image Source: www.homeloanstoday.com
Image Source: Unknown (found on Pinterest)
Boehner Retirement
John Boehner
I’m not going to comment on Speaker Boehner’s performance. As with almost all politicians, there has been good and bad. I am going to comment on his “retirement”.
I have a problem with him considering his elected position a job from which he can retire. Stepping down from his position as Speaker of the House is fine, but that doesn’t change the fact that he ran for an office and barring health issues or something else catastrophic, he should honor his commitment to the people of Ohio and finish his term.
Representatives are elected for two year terms. It shouldn’t be that onerous to fulfill his commitment. The problem is that he’s a career politician. I have heard reports that he planned on retiring at the end of 2015 even as he was running for reelection for this term… which ends in 2016. He considers it a job, not a sacred trust with those he represents. It’s another reason so many are fed up with our government representatives theses days… They just don’t get it…
Source: Image borrowed from brietbart.com
Qwerty Revisited
Image Source: wikimedia.org
Last year I wrote a post (here) on QWERTY keyboards and why I thought we were taking a step back with two finger tying on iPads and their ilk. For anyone intrigued by the birth and widespread adoption of the QWERTY keyboard, I ran across an in depth article at discovermagazine.com called “The Curse of QWERTY” that you can read here.
Smoking Merry-Go-Round
So… Culver Elementary School sends their smoking staff across the street to use our curb in front of our office as a smoking lounge since they have a non-smoking campus. Miller’s Merry Manor on the north side of town is a non-smoking campus… so they’re sending the smoking construction workers (Not Ours!) across the street to smoke on the Culver High School non-smoking campus. Can’t you just hear Elton John singing, “It’s the circle of life…” Of course that might not be the appropriate reference since we’re talking cancer sticks here, but you get the drift…
Image borrowed from Shed Simove
