Title
Public Hearing Request - FY27 Mecklenburg County Fee Ordinance Changes effective January 1, 2027 (LUESA)
Action
ACTION:
Schedule a public hearing for November 17, 2026, to revise the Land Use and Environmental Services Agency (LUESA) Fee Ordinance
Staff Contact: Ebenezer Gujjarlapudi, Director, Land Use and Environmental Services Agency (LUESA)
Patrick Granson, Director, Code Enforcement (LUESA)
Don Ceccarelli, Director, County Storm Water (LUESA)
Presentation: No
BACKGROUND/JUSTIFICATION:
Code Enforcement Fees
This is a request to modify the current Mecklenburg County Land Use and Environmental Services Fee Ordinance to align with the newly adopted legislation, Senate Bill 257(S257-PCCS55034-NExr-2). This bill requires local Code Enforcement agencies to assess and transfer additional fees to the State for the new Department of Labor (DOL) State Building Code Regulatory Fund, to support the new Building Codes and Interpretations Bureau.
This legislation requires the following additional charges:
a) $100.00 dollars for all building permits that are issued for building structures subject to the North Carolina Building Code.
b) $25.00 dollars for all building permits that are issued for building structures subject to the Residential Code.
c) $10.00 with all building permits issued for work subject to the North Carolina State Building Code, other than listed a & b.
This new requirement takes effect on January 1, 2027, per the regulation’s implementation date.
Land Development Fees in the Town of Cornelius
County currently provides Land Development Services on behalf of the Towns (including the Town of Cornelius) and collects fees to provide Plan Review services and Inspection Services. For select projects, Cornelius desires to provide their own Plan Review Services beginning January 1, 2027, but desires the County to continue to provide all other Land Development Services including land development program management and Inspection Services. As a result, the County must establish new land development fees for these select projects. The Town of Cornelius will collect the plan review fees separately.
Fees for Right-Of-Way (ROW) Abandonments
Under NC General Statutes 136-63 and 153A-241, the County provides ROW abandonment services in the Extraterritorial Jurisdiction area (ETJ) when petitioned by property owners / developers to: 1) Request NCDOT to cease maintenance of an existing section of roadway and ROW, and 2). Request the County to abandon a section of ROW.
Previously, the County funded these services using General Funds (County Dollars). As these services are requested by (and for the benefit of) individual property owners / developers, staff are proposing a new fee to cover the cost of providing these services.
PROCUREMENT BACKGROUND:
N/A
POLICY IMPACT:
N/A
FISCAL IMPACT:
N/A