Summary of estimated permit fees

In effect as of July 1, 2009

Grading

Attention:
The following is an example only. Actual fee depend upon services required and length of review. Current hourly charges are $140/hour. Sample may be rounded to the nearest dollar.
Go to Index

POTENTIAL PROCESSING FEE DETAIL:

This permit/review process may be subject to Project Management.

Scope of Review: Applicants for standard grading permits are typically seeking approval to fill, excavate or grade in excess of 100 cumulative cubic yards, are proposing alterations to critical areas, or are creating more than 2000 square feet of new impervious surface. Grading permits in this category are very diverse and can range from construction of a residential driveway on less than 0.01 disturbed acres to development of a commercial surface mine involving hundreds of disturbed acres.

Grading permit review and inspection fees are calculated using both fixed and hourly fees. The total cost of a permit will vary depending upon the complexity of the project and the number of ancillary reviews (e.g., drainage, sensitive areas, SEPA) that are required. Fixed grading fees are calculated based upon disturbed acreage of the project. An estimate of project fees is calculated at the pre-application meeting. Base grading review fees are listed below.

Grading Plan Review Disturbed Acreage Base Fee Hourly after
Type 1. Residential not subject to SEPA0.00 to 0.20$414No hourly
0.21 to 1.00$580Six
over 1.00$1,014Nine
Type 2. Residential subject to SEPA$1,014Nine
Type 3. Nonresidential0.00 to 0.20$725Seven
0.21 to 1.00$2,173Seventeen
1.01 to 5.00$4,347Thirty-two
Type 4. Review other applications,
  Residential
$414No hourly
Type 5. Review other applications,
  Nonresidential
1/2 Type 31/2 type 3
Type 6. Plan revisions - each occurrence$290Four
Type 7. Other miscellaneous gradingNoneHourly

Grading Inspections

Disturbed Acreage

Base Fee

Hourly after
A. Field monitoring or inspection,
  residential site
NANoneHourly
B. Field monitoring or inspection,
  nonresidential site
0.00 to 0.30$280Two
0.31 to 5.00$560Four
5.01 to 20.00$1,120Eight
Over 20.00$1,680Twelve
C. Miscellaneous Inspections
  1. Reclamation bond release inspection$332
  2. Reinspection of nonbonded actions$332

In addition to the standard review and inspection fees listed above, other fees and base fee adjustments may apply to your proposal. These include, but are not limited to 1) Counter Service Fees - Intake fees are assessed for all grading permit applications. Issuance fees are assessed for all grading permits except short form permits; or 2) Investigation Fees - Investigation fees are assessed any time work proceeds prior to issuance of a permit. Investigation fees are equal to the amount aof the base review fee.

Other review fees may be assessed during the course of project review depending on the project scope or complexity. These reviews may include sensitive areas, drainage or SEPA among others. Most of these reviews are billed hourly at $140 per hour. DDES will provide an estimate of these hourly charges at the time of the pre-application meeting. This estimate of permit review fees will be the maximum fee charged for the permit, subject to the limitations set forth with the estimate, and provided the project or scope of review does not change during the course of project review. The applicant will be provided a revised fee estimate if either of these circumstances arise. If, upon completion of the permit review, the actual hours charged to a permit are less than the total estimated deposit hours, a refund will be provided.

The following are representative examples of how these permit fees might apply to a particular project. These are examples only. Actual fees will depend upon the type of application, the total scope of reviews required and the length of review, and, for certain small residential projects, whether the application was filed as the result of a code violation. Current hourly charges are $140 per hour.

Example 1: Assume a residential lot or 0.15 disturbed acres, SEPA, sensitive areas and drainage reviews are not required and three hours of site inspections are performed.
Counter Service Fee (Intake)     $205
Plan review fee based on disturbed acreage     $414
Application Fees Subtotal     $619
Site Inspections     $420
Estimated Total     $1,039

Example 2: Assume a residential project involving 1.5 disturbed acres of grading, no ancillary reviews required, total review time is 12 hours, and total inspections three hours.
Counter Service Fee (Intake)   $205
Plan review fee based on disturbed acreage   $1,014
Plan review over base fees   $420
Inspections   $420
Estimated Total   $2,059

TO TOP