Garfield County commissioners on Monday unanimously approved a second annual increase in county building permit fees, raising the cost of a permit for the construction of a single family home by almost 67%. 

“The issue with today’s fee structure is that it puts a burden on the broader taxpayer/general fund to cover the difference between the incoming fees and the actual operating costs of the building department,” a memorandum from Chief Building Official John Plano to county commissioners states.

In 2025, building permit fees for a single family home increased about 37% — from roughly $74 per square foot to around $102 per square foot — marking the first building permit fee increase in Garfield County in over 20 years. 

The raised fees were meant to cover the department’s 2025 operating budget. Projected 2025 revenue without a fee increase was about $430,000, while 2024 department expenses totaled $763,911. 

However, current county building permit fees — the International Code Council’s (ICC) national average price per square foot multiplied by a .6 modifier — only cover around half of the budget, according to Plano. 

To cover the entire operating budget, building permit fees will now increase to the August 2025 ICC national average and automatically update every six months when valuations are adjusted to account for inflation. 

A building permit for a single family home will now cost almost $171 per square foot, a 130% increase from 2024. The Garfield County Building Department’s income is projected to rise by about 25% due to the increase, Plano told commissioners Monday. 

It costs anywhere from $250 to $800 per square foot to construct a home in Garfield County, according to Plano’s memo. Even with increased fees, building permits will only account for around 0.73% of the total construction costs for a 3,000 square foot home at $250 per foot.                                         

Permit fee increases will go into effect within the next month, after county commissioners sign a resolution officially implementing the new rate, according to Plano. 

“I think we have two conflicting issues in front of us: One is that it will increase the cost of housing by about $2,000 (for a 3,000 square foot home) and housing’s already tough in Garfield County,” Commissioner Tom Jankovsky said Monday before voting in favor of the change.                   

“The second issue is that we’re going through a change in Garfield County with our budgeting,” he added. “We went from a county that had lots of reserves and money from the oil and gas industry to where we’re really struggling this year with our budget and any additional funding in the long run helps our budgeting process.”