City Council Approves Building Permit Fees

by Tony Vindell/LFN

New home and commercial builders are going to pay about the same they have been paying before in permit fees but this time the assessment will be based on the square footage of a construction project.

The new fee system calls for 25 cents per square foot.

For example, a 1,000 and 2,000 square foot dwelling will be pay $250 and $500, respectively, in building permit fees only.

If a shell is built and its interior is not finished, the fees are 15 cents per square foot and another 15 cents per foot will be added once it’s completed.

The city council approved the fees during its Tuesday, June 11, meeting.

City Manager Mark Milum said other cities have a similar systems and he wanted to put Los Fresnos in the same category and to comply with a new state law .

In other business, the council voted to make about a dozen alleys a one-way streets in different areas of the city so traffic flows better.

The council also voted to reschedule its July 9 meeting to July 16.

Four council members, Swain Real, Mayor Polo Sandoval, Yolanda Herrera-Cruz and Joe Collinsworth voted in favor of the change, while James Herrera and Juan Munoz voted against it.

The council voted to appoint Jesus “Chuy” Garcia to the Community Development Corp. of Los Fresnos board.

Garcia told the board he was interested in the position because of his dedication and involvement in city matters.