Building permit fees

109.1 Payment of fees. A permit shall not be valid until the fees prescribed by law have been paid, nor shall an amendment to a permit be released until the additional fee, if any, has been paid. 109.2 Schedule of permit fees. A fee for each permit shall be paid as required, and as set forth in the annual budget ordinance, and shall be paid prior to the issuance of any building permit. Exceptions: 1. Affordable housing projects built and offered for sale or rental in accordance with chapter 2.86 of this Code, shall be assessed 50 percent of the building permit fee. 2. All units in a residential development in which 100 percent of the units qualify as residential workforce housing units, as defined in section 2.96.020 of this Code, shall be exempt from the fee. 3. A residential workforce housing unit, as defined in section 2.96.020 of this Code, shall be assessed 50 percent of the fee. 4. When building permits are required for a county capital improvement program project, no fee shall be charged for such permits. 5. When permits are required for projects located on the island of Molokai, pursuant to County Council Resolution No. 96-42 relating to designation of the island of Molokai as an enterprise zone, no fee shall be charged for such permits for projects valued at $200,000 or less. This fee waiver shall be applied only once per structure. The final determination of value or valuation under any of the provisions of this code shall be made by the building official. Adjustments to the valuations may be made by the building official for special architectural or structural features, type of materials, and location of project. The value to be used in computing the building permit and building plan review fees shall be based on the square feet of the occupancy and type of construction of the structure. The minimum valuation per square feet shall be based on table 109.1 for one- and two-family dwellings, garages, carports, decks, patios, lanais; the architect or engineer's submitted value; or the awarded cost of construction. The building official can request for written confirmation of the value from a qualified individual. Table 109.1 — Minimum Valuation Table 1. Dwellings: Cost Per Square Ft. Type VB $150.00 Basement—Unfinished $80.00 2. Private Garages & Carports: Garage $80.00 Open Carports $60.00 3. Decks & Patios Covered $60.00 Open $40.00   109.2.1 Plan review fees and fund. A plan review fee shall be paid at the time of submitting the submittal documents for plan review. The fee shall be set forth in the annual budget ordinance. The plan review fees specified in this section are in addition to the permit fees in this code. If the building permit valuation is undervalued at application, the difference shall be paid at permit issuance. No refund shall be granted if the building permit valuation is overvalued at application. The building official may authorize an expedited plan review process. When the building official issues a building permit where a plan review is waived, pursuant to section 105.3.3 of this Code, the applicant shall pay 50 percent of the building permit fee as the plan review fee. There is hereby established and created a fund to be known as the "Plan Review, Permit Processing, and Inspection Revolving Fund." The fees collected pursuant to this subsection are hereby deemed appropriated upon receipt and may be expended for salaries, training, contracts, rent payments, fixtures, materials, supplies, and equipment that facilitate plan review and for payment of overtime for plan checking, permit processing, and inspections. 109.3 Building permit valuations. The applicant for a permit shall provide an estimated permit value at time of application. Permit valuations shall include total value of work, including materials and labor, for which the permit is being issued, such as electrical, gas, mechanical, plumbing equipment and permanent systems. If, in the opinion of the building official, the valuation is underestimated on the application, the permit shall be denied, unless the applicant can show detailed estimates by qualified individuals, to meet the approval of the building official. Final building permit valuation shall be set by the building official. 109.4 Work without a permit. When work for which a permit is required by this code is started or proceeded with before obtaining a permit, the fees as set forth in the annual budget ordinance shall be doubled or increased by an additional amount of $500, whichever is the greater, but the payment of such fees shall not relieve any persons from fully complying with the requirements of this code in the execution of the work or from any other penalties prescribed in accordance with the Maui County Code and any rules adopted by the department. Inspections shall be required for any work commenced without a permit required by this code. It shall be the responsibility of the permit holder to cause the work to be accessible and exposed for inspection purposes. When any work has been concealed prior to inspection, the property owner may submit a certificate from a building contractor, an architect, or a structural engineer licensed in the State of Hawaiʻi that all work done without inspection complies with the provisions of this code and a unilateral hold harmless agreement, releasing the county of all liability. This agreement shall be recorded with the Bureau of Conveyances. The contents of the certificate and the hold harmless agreement shall be in a form acceptable to the building official. The property owner or permittee shall pay for all recordation fees and any applicable fees for concealing work without inspection(s). The permit holder must still obtain a final inspection which the building official shall perform. Upon receiving an acceptable certificate and hold harmless agreement, the building official may issue a certificate of final inspection or a certificate of occupancy, subject to the terms and conditions contained in the aforementioned agreement, indicating that certain work has been exempted from inspections at the property owner's request. 109.5 Related fees. The payment of the fee for the construction, alteration, removal or demolition for work done in connection to or concurrently with the work authorized by a building permit shall not relieve the applicant or holder of the permit from the payment of other fees that are prescribed by law. 109.6 Refunds. If requested in writing by the permittee, the building official may authorize refunding 50 percent of the permit fee paid when no work has been done under an unexpired permit. Work includes any earthwork covered by chapter 20.08 of the Maui County Code. If requested in writing by the permittee, the building official may authorize refunding 50 percent of the plan review fee paid when an application for a permit for which a plan review fee has been paid is withdrawn or canceled before any review of plans is initiated. The building official shall not authorize refunding of any fee paid if any work covered by the permit has been initiated. ( Ord. No. 5507 , § 2, 2023) SECTION 110 INSPECTIONS