Montgomery County approves new $1,000 permitting fee for subdivision development

Montgomery County Commissioners Court on Oct. 10 approved a new permitting cost for subdivisions that requires developers to pay a $1,000 fee as well as an additional $20 per lot within newly constructed subdivisions.

What you need to know

The new fee, which is effective immediately, will apply to any subdivision developments that:

• Contain more than four single-family residential lots
• Have newly named streets
• Include plats that contain a combination of roads and restricted or unrestricted reserves
• Have replats that result in an increase of more than four single-family residential lots or replats that dedicate new roads

When developers turn in the permit, they will be required to also pay a flat $1,000 fee for permit processing and an additional $20 for each lot, which must be reviewed, according to information at the meeting.

How we got here

Commissioners unanimously approved the creation of a new fee schedule for subdivision permitting after an excessive backlog within the Montgomery County Permit Department was revealed during the August budget workshop process.

Assistant County Attorney Amy Dunham said the permitting process for large-scale developments usually took an extended period of time and effort on behalf of the department with no fees associated for developers.

Quote of note

“It was originally put into the development regulations, and the portion that was brought forward today is so we could begin implementing the permits,” Permitting Director Scott Nichols said.