Chilmark Select Board Schedules Hearing on Major Building Permit Fee Overhaul

CHILMARK -- November 13, 2023, Chilmark Select Board unanimously backs public hearing on major building permit fee restructuring. Building Inspector Adam Zajac presented a proposal to replace the town's flat 75-cents-per-square-foot permit rate with a value-based fee of $6.50 per $1,000 of total construction cost, arguing the current structure leaves the department roughly $31,000 short each year against an approximately $80,000 budget. On a $1.1 million new home, the proposed fee would reach about $7,150, compared to $1,500 today. The board voted unanimously to send the $6.50 rate, an updated ancillary fee schedule, and a proposed hardship waiver form to a public hearing tentatively set for November 28 at 5:25 p.m. In other action, the board cleared the way for the Menemsha Preschool expansion by approving use of the existing school septic system, rated for 150 users, well above the projected combined load, and appointed Cameron Parry and Adam Sloan to the nine-member Community Preservation Committee.