County staff reports 29 home permits for year; commercial permits rise driven by solar farms

During the meeting, county planning staff reported a modest uptick in single-family building permits and a larger increase in commercial permits driven largely by solar farm projects.

An unidentified committee member asked Andrew for a year-to-date count. “This year, thus far, we've issued 29 single family residence permits,” Andrew said, adding that the county typically issues about 24–25 single-family permits per year over the last five years. He said commercial permit counts are “significantly up,” largely because of solar farm applications and higher valuation tied to those projects.

Committee members raised whether recent state legislation covering solar, battery and wind facilities would require local amendments. Andrew said the legislation needs the governor’s signature and that Planning and Zoning will issue recommended amendments to ensure county regulations comply with state law. He said staff expects a grace period for adoption but that tax and ordinance updates will likely be necessary.

Andrew also described current fee practice: new permits are charged based on remaining scope of work (square footage, mechanical, electrical, plumbing) and fees do not automatically increase solely because an applicant has obtained prior permits. He said many extension requests come from homeowners serving as their own general contractors.

The committee did not receive public testimony on these topics during the meeting.