Politics & Government

Council to Vote on Fire Inspection Fee Hike

Fees would more than double for larger commercial and industrial buildings under a proposed ordinance.

Correction: When initially published at 6 a.m., April 8, this article contained an error regarding the calculation of proposed fire inspection fees. The proposed fees would be based on the total square footage of buildings' floor space. For example, the fee for a one-story, 200,000-square-foot building would be based on a total of 200,000 square feet, while the fee for a two-story building with a 200,000-square-foot footprint would be based on a total of 400,000 square feet. Patch regrets the error.

The Township Council is set to vote on an ordinance at its meeting Monday night that would increase fire inspection fees.

The proposed hikes would more than double the annual fire inspection fees for commercial- and industrial-use buildings larger than 100,000 square feet.

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The ordinance relates to buildings not listed as "life hazard use" by the state Bureau of Fire Safety, including office buildings and warehouses.

Restaurants and other facilities where fires are more likely to occur are classified as life hazard uses.

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The township's fire inspection fees have not been increased since the mid-1990s, according to Erial Fire Commissioner George Brown.

Under the proposed ordinance, the fee for a building 100,000 to 200,000 square feet in size would jump from $200 to $460. A building between 200,000 and 300,000 square feet would see its fee jump from $225 to $690.

"That's been done to really reflect how much labor goes into it," Brown said. "The bigger properties tend to have more areas you have to look at."

The proposed hikes are significantly lower for smaller buildings.

The annual inspection fees would jump for buildings between 3,000 and 9,000 square feet from $50 to $86, for buildings 9,000 to 15,000 square feet from $100 to $144, and for buildings 50,000 to 100,000 square feet from $175 to $260.

The current fire code dictates that buildings less than 3,000 square feet in size pay $27.50 for the annual inspection. The ordinance would result in that category being split in two, with buildings less than 1,000 square feet carrying a $35 inspection fee and buildings 1,000 to 3,000 square feet a $58 fee.

Also, the current 15,000 to 25,000 square feet ($225) and 25,000 to 50,000 square feet ($150) categories would be merged, and would carry a $200 fee.

Council is also expected to consider on final reading Monday an ordinance that would increase so-called smoke detector inspections, required for changes of occupancy in residential units, from $25 to $35.

"By bringing it to $35, we're moving it to where it will reflect what it is in other towns around us and where it will cover our costs," Brown said.

The ordinance would also penalize those who wait till just days before their home goes to settlement, or they move in a new tenant.

Anyone who waits till four to 10 days before the change of occupancy will have to pay $75 for the inspection. Those calling for the inspection less than four days prior would have to pay $125.

Council unanimously approved each ordinance on first reading at its March 28 meeting.

All fire districts but Blackwood reportedly support the fee hikes.

The new fees would take effect immediately after adoption and publication in the township's official newspapers.


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