Councilman Mike Sareini (second from left) sits across from Councilman Robert Abraham (third from right) after a heated debate in a briefing meeting, Dec. 16.

DEARBORN — The Dearborn City Council will revise two ordinances that raise building permit renewal fees from $25 to $1,000 and limit the time of construction to one year. 

Nick Siroskey, the director of the city’s residential services department, briefed the council at a special meeting Tuesday that the ordinances are unenforceable because they conflict with state law. Revising— and possibly retracting— the ordinances will be on the agenda of the next regular council meeting on Dec. 23.

The city council passed two ordinances at the end of September to regulate and speed up the construction of homes. There are only 10 houses under construction in Dearborn.

Siroskey told the council that state law does not allow municipalities to put an expiration date on building permits. 

“A permit remains valid as long as work is progressing and inspections are requested and conducted,” he quoted from the Michigan building code. “A permit shall become invalid if the authorized work is not commenced within six months after issuance of the permit or if the authorized work is suspended or abandoned for a period of six months after the time of commencing the work.”

Siroskey said he was in “disbelief” when he learned about this provision in state regulations, describing it as “counterintuitive.”

“This would mean that as long as they had an inspection or the work was progressing every six months, the permit would last forever,” Siroskey added.

The director suggested stricter enforcement of existing ordinances to make sure that homes under construction are completed in a timely fashion. 

The Arab American News reported in October that the ordinances are illegal, citing the Michigan building code, which requires that permit fees must be reasonable. 

Lee Schwartz, executive vice president for government relations of the Home Builders Association of Michigan, told The Arab American News on Oct. 3 that municipalities cannot legally set deadlines for home constructions— what Siroskey explained to the council last week.

Councilman Mike Sareini, who voted against the fee hike, said he had a problem with the ordinances from the beginning.

“I said it on tape; I said it on the TV; I said it in the meetings,” said Sareini of his opposition to the ordinances. “It’s our job to read [the laws].”

Sareini said he asked the city attorney about the legality of the ordinance that sets a year-deadline for the construction and that she assured him it was okay. 

“How did we all of us a sudden now discover that it was illegal?” he asked.

The councilman said his major objection to the ordinance that limits the life of the permit to one year is that it applied to people who already started building, a provision he missed when he voted for the ordinance. 

Councilman Robert Abraham, who introduced the ordinances, grew frustrated with Sareini’s remarks and a heated debated ensued between the two council members.

“You’re right. The ordinance is not valid. What do you want us to do?” Abraham asked Sareini in an irritated tone.

“This needs to be retracted and the $1,000 fee needs to be retracted,” Sareini replied. “I’m not letting it go by this time.”

Council president Susan Dabaja intervened and assured Sareini that the ordinances will be revised, as they are unenforceable at this point. State law trumps municipal regulations.