Henniker board adopts ICC-based building fee schedule, adds $200 residential solar permit fee

The Henniker Board of Selectmen adopted a new building-permit fee schedule at its July 14 meeting that uses International Code Council (ICC) valuation data to calculate fees, replacing the town's simpler square-foot formula.

The change, adopted by a unanimous 5-0 vote, follows a public hearing in which town staff and the building department explained that the ICC-based approach ties permit charges to project valuation and inspection workload rather than an arbitrary cents-per-square-foot number. Diane, the town administrator, framed the proposal as an effort to ensure permit revenue more closely matches the building department's administrative and inspection costs.

Bob (the building department presenter) described the method: multiply project square footage by a national per‑square‑foot valuation and then apply a locally set multiplier derived from the town's permit-administration costs. He told the board the multiplier is reviewed regularly and that the ICC values are updated every six months. He said the approach removes much of the guesswork inherent in the town's existing $50 base fee plus $0.25 per square foot system.

Board members asked about likely revenue changes and the impact on smaller projects. The presenter said numbers vary with construction type: a $650,000 house could carry a permit fee that is less than 1% of project value, while larger or specialized projects (hospitals, metal buildings) generate higher fees because they require more inspections and administration. The building department also noted past annual permit revenue and permit counts to illustrate fluctuations in busy years versus slow years.

Discussion included whether to phase in changes. Members asked about exemptions or breaks for accessory dwelling units (ADUs); staff noted illustrative ADU fee figures in the report (ADU examples were discussed in the hearing record) and suggested the board could adopt special treatment for very small ADUs.

Before the final vote, the board approved an amendment to add a fixed $200 building-permit fee for residential solar installations and to leave commercial solar fee-setting as "to be determined." The motion to adopt the overall fee schedule with that amendment passed unanimously, and the chair instructed staff to publish the new schedule and the effective dates.

The board’s action transfers the town toward a valuation-based fee schedule that staff said will be easier to defend and adjust as construction costs and inspection workloads change. The decision includes authority for staff to calculate fees at application time and to return for annual multiplier readoption if needed.

Next steps: the town will post the adopted fee schedule and implementation timeline, and staff said they will calculate individual permit fees at time of application and return to the board if the town wishes to revise multipliers or special-case items such as ADUs.