By Pepper Fisher

Port Angeles – The Port Angeles City Council has approved an ordinance they hope will encourage builders to construct more infill, affordable and multi-family housing.

The legislation, effective January 1, will eliminate 25 building permit fees for 15 housing types, impose new performance measures, and updates other fees relative to development, fire, and cemetery services.

City Manager Nathan West described the permanently waived permit fees as a major step forward in incentivizing the kinds of development the city needs to ensure a prosperous future.

“If we continue to see growth at a pace of one single-family residence for each residential lot in this jurisdiction, that is not a sustainable financial model for a municipality in the long run. We need to have higher density to take advantage of the investments that are made in the road systems, in the infrastructure systems that have to be put into play. We want to make sure that people have no impediments to moving forward. Things like duplexes, triplexes, townhomes, multifamily developments and, of course, accessory dwelling units.”

Besides waiving a total of 25 building permit fees for 15 different housing types, the plan also waives permit fees for some single-family homes for qualifying low income families who are working through a range of state and federal programs.

West said the City of Port Angeles is proud to be the first municipality in the state to embrace this approach. We asked what sets this new ordinance apart from what communities are doing.

“Typically, when a building permit comes in, that was not the first step, relative to permitting. There’re so many different factors that could be involved, including, for example, often times people will want to short plat a property first. They likely will have to go through the State Environmental Policy Act. And so, the other unique element is, we looked at the packaging approach, recognizing all of those things add up. And, at the end of the day, if we were to eliminate a fee and incentivize something, if we don’t also do the same for the other steps along the way, it’s not going to work. And so, this is a full package approach, and really a bold move, to ensure we get the housing units we need in our community, and we have long-term fiscal sustainability.”

The new ordinance isn’t all cuts and waived fees. It also includes increases to many existing permit and other fees to reflect the growing costs of services. It’s the first time in over 15 years that these fees have been increased.

More information and a complete list of fee adjustments are available on the City’s website at cityofpa.us.