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.