N.J. Admin. Code § 5:23-4.18

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 24, December 18, 2024

Section 5:23-4.18 - Standards for municipal fees

(a) General:

1. The fee for plan review, computed as a percentage of the fee for a construction permit, shall be paid at the time of submission of an application for a permit. The amount of this fee shall then be deducted from the amount of the fee due for a construction permit, when the permit is issued; provided however, that the municipality may provide by ordinance that the plan review fee be paid at the time of granting the permit. Plan review fees are not refundable.

2. The fee to be charged for a construction permit will be the sum of the basic construction fee computed in accordance with (c) below herein plus any applicable special fees, such as elevator or sign fees. This fee shall be paid before a permit is issued.

3. The fee to be charged for a certificate of occupancy shall be paid before a certificate is issued. This fee shall be in addition to the construction permit fee;

4. The fee to be charged for an annual construction permit shall be charged annually. This fee shall be a flat fee based upon the number of maintenance workers employed by the facility and who are primarily engaged in work that is governed by a subcode. Managers, engineers and clericals shall not be considered maintenance workers for the purposes of establishing the annual construction permit fee. Annual permits may be issued for building/fire protection, electrical and plumbing. Annual permit fees shall be non-refundable.

5. Prior to the issuance of the annual permit, a training registration fee of $ 140.00 per subcode and a list of not more than three individuals to be trained per subcode shall be submitted by the applicant to the municipal construction official, who shall forward the fee and list to the Department of Community Affairs, Division of Codes and Standards, Training Section, along with a copy of the construction permit (Form F170). Checks shall be made payable to "Treasurer, State of New Jersey." The Department shall register these individuals and notify them of the courses being offered.

(b) Plan review fees:

1. Plan review fees shall be computed as a percentage of the fee to be charged for the construction permit. This percentage shall, to the extent possible, approximate the actual costs incurred in plan review activities, but in any case shall be not less than five percent nor more than 25 percent of the amount that would be charged for the construction permit. For projects which do not require plan review for all subcodes, the fee shall be the appropriate percentage of the subcode fee which is applicable.

2. When plans have been reviewed and released by the Department or when a plan review is waived by the municipality in accordance with N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.15(f)1 x, then the enforcing agency construction permit fee shall be reduced by 20 percent from the amount otherwise specified in the municipal enforcing agency fee schedule.

3. If a municipality has not established a plan review fee by ordinance, 20 percent of the construction permit fee shall be designated as the plan review fee for prototype plans.

4. Whenever a permit application is received based on a released prototype plan, the permit fee shall be reduced by the amount of the plan review fee.

i. For Statewide prototype plans released by the Department or for other prototype plans where the prototype did not include the foundation detail, the construction permit fee shall be reduced by 15 percent from the amount otherwise specified in the municipal enforcing agency fee schedule.

5. The municipality may establish an hourly fee for review of any amendment or change to a plan that has already been released.

(c) Basic construction fee: The basic construction fee shall be computed on the basis of the volume of the building or, in the case of alterations, the estimated construction cost, and the number and types of plumbing, electrical and fire protection fixtures and devices as herein provided.

1. Fees for new construction or alterations shall be as follows:

i. Fees for renovations, alterations, reroofing, repairs, and site construction associated with pre-engineered systems of commercial farm buildings, premanufactured construction, and the external utility connections for premanufactured construction, shall be based upon the estimated cost of the work. The fee shall be computed as a unit rate per $ 1,000 of estimated cost.

ii. Fees for renovations, alterations, and repairs shall be based upon the estimated cost of the work. The fee shall be computed as a unit rate per $ 1,000 of estimated cost.

iii. Fees for additions shall be computed on the same basis as for new construction for the added portion;

iv. Fees for combination renovations and additions shall be computed as the sum of the fees for the addition and alteration computed separately in accordance with (b) and (c) above;

v. The unit rates may vary for different occupancy groups or structures of different sizes within the same occupancy group.

vi. The unit rate for large, open-volume, single story spaces in buildings, such as barns, silos, greenhouses, warehouses, distribution centers, and other agricultural, and storage-use occupancies, shall be less than the unit rate for other types of buildings and occupancy classifications. This shall be clearly indicated in the ordinance and schedule.

(1) For the purpose of calculating the volume to determine the fee for these spaces, the height shall be limited to 20 feet notwithstanding the fact that the actual height of the space may be greater than 20 feet;

vii. Temporary structures and all structures for which volume cannot be computed, such as swimming pools and open structural towers, shall be charged a flat rate;

viii. Fees for minor construction work shall be based upon the estimated cost of the work. The fee shall be computed as a unit rate per $ 1,000 of estimated cost or fraction thereof.

ix. Fees for retaining walls shall be as follows:

(1) A retaining wall with a surface area greater than 550 square feet that is associated with a Class 3 residential structure shall have a flat fee.

(2) A retaining wall with a surface area of 550 square feet or less that is associated with a Class 3 residential structure shall have a flat fee.

(3) A newly constructed retaining wall of any size at other than a Class 3 residential structure shall be based on the cost of the construction.

x. A different unit rate may be established for permits for work done in response to Notices of Violation issued pursuant to N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.35.

2. Plumbing fixtures and stacks: Fees shall be based upon the number of plumbing fixtures, devices, plumbing stacks and utility service connections to be installed. Utility service connections include sewer connections and water service connections. The fee shall be a unit rate per fixture, stack, and utility service connection. The unit rate may vary for different types of fixtures and utility service pipes, but this shall be clearly indicated in the ordinance and schedule. There shall be no inspection fee charged for gas service entrances.

3. Electrical fixtures and devices: Fees shall be based upon the number of electrical fixtures or rating of electrical equipment and devices to be installed. The fee shall be a unit rate per fixture or per kilowatt, horsepower or ampere rating of the device or equipment. The unit rate may vary for different types of fixtures or devices, but this shall be clearly indicated in the ordinance and schedule.

4. Fees shall be based upon the number of sprinkler heads, standpipes, and detectors (smoke and heat) and shall be reasonable unit charges. Fees may also be charged for the inspection of premanufactured fire suppression systems, for gas and oil fired appliances not connected to the plumbing system, for kitchen exhaust systems and for incinerators, replacement of an existing transmission means as per N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.17A(c)5 v, and crematoriums. The municipal ordinance shall clearly set forth what fees are to be charged for what devices.

5. The municipality shall set a flat fee for a mechanical inspection performed by a mechanical inspector or a plumbing inspector in a structure of Group R-3 or R-5. No separate fee shall be charged for gas, fuel oil, or water piping connections, including the bonding conductor (jumper), associated with the mechanical equipment inspected.

6. Fees for construction permits for individual tenant spaces in multi-tenant buildings shall be applied as follows:

i. If full plans and specifications for the space(s) are not part of the original permit application, the fee for permit updates shall be based on the cost of the work. For electrical, fire, and plumbing work, the fees for permit updates shall be based on the equipment installed in accordance with (c)2, 3, or 4 above.

(d) Demolition permit fees: Permit fees for demolition of a building or structure shall be a flat fee. This fee may vary according to type of structure or whether there has been a condemnation, but this shall be clearly indicated in the ordinance and schedule.

(e) Sign permit fees: The fee for a permit to construct a sign shall be either based upon the square foot area of the surface of the sign, computed on one side only for double-faced signs, or a flat fee per sign.

(f) Certificate fees:

1. The fee for a certificate of occupancy for new construction shall be computed as a percentage of the fee to be charged for the construction permit. This percentage shall be an amount sufficient to cover the actual costs for processing the certificate of occupancy. In the alternative, the municipality may establish a flat fee for the certificate of occupancy.

2. The municipality shall establish a flat fee for certificate of continued occupancy, for certificate of occupancy granted pursuant to a change of use, for multiple certificates of occupancy (as for a shopping center), and similar conditions.

3. The fee for the first issuance and the renewal of a temporary certificate of occupancy shall not exceed $ 30.00.

i. Exception: There shall be no fee for the first issuance of the temporary certificate of occupancy provided the certificate of occupancy fee is paid at that time.

4. Where a written request for a temporary certificate of occupancy is made for reasons other than uncompleted work covered by the permit (such as prior approvals from state or municipal agencies), the duration of the temporary certificate of occupancy shall be reasonably consistent with the time required for compliance with the conditions of the prior approval.

5. There shall be no fee charged for a certificate of approval issued pursuant to N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.23(j).

6. There shall be no fee for a certificate of compliance.

(g) Elevator, backflow preventer and cross connection fees are as follows:

1. The fee for a permit to install an elevator device shall be a flat fee. The fee may vary for different types of inspections, tests and elevator devices.

2. The fees for inspections and witnessing of tests for an elevator, escalator, moving walk, dumbwaiter or other elevator device shall be flat fees. These fees may vary for different required inspections and tests, but any variation shall be set forth in the ordinance and the schedule.

3. The categories of municipal elevator fees shall be identical to the categories of elevator fees listed at N.J.A.C. 5:23-12.6(a) and (b).

4. For cross-connections and backflow preventers that are subject to annual re-testing, the fee shall be a flat fee.

(h) No special fee shall be established for any class or type of work which is undertaken as a part of work authorized by a construction permit, except elevator and sign permits as herein provided. Other special fees may be established for work regulated by the code but not undertaken as a part of the new construction project. Such special fees shall be flat fees.

(i) Rules concerning the appeal of fees are:

1. Whenever any person shall believe that the fees established by a municipality, pursuant to this subsection, fail to meet the standards of this section for establishing fees, that person shall be entitled to petition the commissioner for a review of the fee schedule in question.

i. Any such petition shall state the name, place of residence and the manner in which the fee schedule affects the petitioner. It shall further state the manner in which the petitioner believes the fees established to be inconsistent with the standards established herein.

ii. If, upon investigation, the commissioner determines that there is reason to believe that the fees in question do not meet the standards established herein, then the commissioner shall set a time and the place for a hearing. The purpose of the hearing shall be to determine the facts.

iii. No such hearing shall be called except upon 30 days notice to the municipality and the petitioner. The municipality shall be required to furnish such information concerning construction volume, construction activity, and local enforcing agency costs as the commissioner may require in order that a determination may be made.

iv. As soon as practical after the conclusion of such a hearing, the commissioner shall make a finding and determination as to whether the fee schedule in question, as a whole or in any of its parts, conforms or fails to conform to the standards established in this section.

2. In addition to any other actions that he may take upon determining that the fees established by a municipality fail to meet the standards of this section, the commissioner may order the repayment of the excess amount of such fees to the persons who have paid them.

3. Any appeal of hourly charges imposed pursuant to (l) below shall be made in accordance with N.J.S.A. 40:55D-53.2a and N.J.A.C. 5:23A.

(j) Fees to be charged by municipalities where private on-site inspection and plan review agencies or supplemental private on-site inspection agencies carry out subcode official responsibilities shall not exceed those amounts to be paid to those private agencies for those services, pursuant to the contract between the private agency and the municipality, plus such amount as may be sufficient to cover a proportionate share of administrative costs incurred by the local enforcing agency in connection with inspections performed by private agencies.

(k) The fee charged for the annual electrical inspection of a swimming pool, spa, or hot tub shall be a flat fee and the amount of the fee shall be set to cover the cost. A reduced fee shall be set for each additional swimming pool, spa, or hot tub on a site.

(l) Fees for development-wide inspection of homes after issuance of a certificate of occupancy shall be in accordance with N.J.A.C. 5:23-4.17(d).

N.J. Admin. Code § 5:23-4.18

Amended by 48 N.J.R. 801(a), effective 5/16/2016

Amended by 50 N.J.R. 1888(a), effective 8/20/2018

Amended by 56 N.J.R. 469(a) effective 4/1/2024

Administrative Change, 56 N.J.R. 1708(a), effective 7/23/2024