The city of Plano has changed its building inspection fee schedule to comply with a new state law.

Plano City Council on June 10 adopted a pair of new building inspection fee rates: $0.48 per square foot for upgrades to single-family homes and $0.65 per square foot for multifamily construction.

The city adopted the new rates in response to House Bill 852, which Gov. Greg Abbott recently signed into law May 21. The bill, which went into effect immediately, prohibits cities from using the value of a dwelling or the cost of any construction to set building inspection fees.

The bill also bans cities in most situations from requiring residential property owners to disclose the cost of construction as a condition of obtaining a building permit.

The changes will only apply to residential construction and will not affect Plano's commercial building permit fees.

City staff told council members in a memo that it recommended the $0.65 rate for multifamily projects because the rate reflects the costs usually associated with this type of inspection work.

“This takes into account that multi-family permits are larger commercial projects involving different construction types,” wrote Selso Mata, the city’s chief building official, in a memo provided to council members.