DEARBORN — The City Council passed an ordinance last week raising the fee for renewing the permit to build a new house from $25 to $1,000, a massive hike that a representative of the Home Builders Association described as illegal.

Before the ordinance was passed on Tuesday, Sept. 23, building licenses in Dearborn were good for six months and renewable for the same period for $25. The new law extends the time of the initial license to a full year but requires property owners to come up before the City Council in order to obtain a one-month extension beyond the year granted by the original permit. The extension costs $1,000, but the council has the authority to waive that fee.

Lee Schwartz, executive vice president for government relations of the Home Builders Association of Michigan, told The Arab American News that the ordinance is in violation of state law.

“The legislative body of a governmental subdivision shall establish reasonable fees to be charged by the governmental subdivision for acts and services performed by the enforcing agency… including, without limitation… issuance of building permits, examination of plans and specifications, inspection of construction undertaken pursuant to a building permit,” reads Michigan Public Act 230 of 1972. 

The full act can be read at: //www.legislature.mi.gov/(S(5fogld55tsztm3455a40jqvs))/mileg.aspx?page=GetObject&objectname=mcl-Act-230-of-1972

Schwartz said the city would have great deal of trouble to explain how $1,000 for a permit extension is a “reasonable fee.”

“To go from $25 to $1,000 simply does not pass the text of the law,” Schwartz said.

He explained that the state code, which cannot be amended by municipalities, does not set a deadline for finishing construction, but can require a new permit if the construction is halted for 180 days.

“And with a good certifiable cause— like winter is coming and we need to seal it up until spring— you can keep the same permit, as long as you continue to do the work,” Schwartz added.

According to Schwartz, the size and design of the residential unit and labor and weather circumstances, which vary from case to case, dictate the time of construction.

“A house might be done in a few months. Another house might take up to two years of construction,” he said. “I have never heard of an ordinance of this sort.”

The ordinance was passed 4-1, with only Councilman Mike Sareini opposing it. Councilmen Brian O’Donnell and David Bazzi were not present during the vote.

According to Sareini, only 22 homes were built in Dearborn last year, 12 by Habitat for Humanity, so there isn’t enough data to back the concern about prolonged construction.

“To take the fee from $25 to $1,000 I thought was just excessive,” Sareini told the council.

Council Pro-Tem Tom Tafelski said that although the resolution affects a small number of owners, it impacts a lot of residents whose neighborhoods are being affected negatively by the construction work.

“The ordinance holds the property owners and contractors accountable to the timelines,” said Councilman Robert Abraham, who introduced the ordinance along with Tafelski. “What we are trying to do is to keep the neighborhoods clean and safe. A one-year building period in most cases— if not all cases— is reasonable.”

Council President Susan Dabaja said she voted yes for the ordinance because it allows the council to address each case separately and waive the $1,000 extension fee if the prolonged construction is justifiable.

However, Sareini told The Arab American News that putting the matter in the hands of the council might prove problematic. 

“You can’t waive the fee for one person and not waive it for the other,” he said.

Sareini added that he tried to reach a compromise with other council members to extend the validity of the initial permit to 14 months, but failed.

He said his biggest problem with the ordinance is that it affects owners who already obtained the permits before the ordinance was passed.