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Keweenaw Co. OK’s zoning fee schedule

Implementing permitting charges

EAGLE RIVER -- The Keweenaw County Board of Commissioners has voted to approve a restructured zoning administration fee schedule, implementing permitting charges across the countywide system.

The decision adopts a detailed price chart compiled by the Keweenaw County Planning Commission titled “Summary of Financial Discussion and Development of Proposed Zoning permit fees.” The document outlines an overhaul of the county’s low-cost permit system. For decades, the county has administered zoning permits with nominal or zero fee recovery, a practice that has left the department without adequate revenue to cover rising costs and legal fees.

Keweenaw County Board of Commissioners Chair Don Piche told the Daily Mining Gazette on Friday, the analysis was by request.

"That comes from about a month or so ago. We asked for a breakdown of the costs of the increases, and they're pretty much right on the money," he said. "I mean, that's just what it costs now to do this stuff."

During Wednesday's board discussion, Commissioner Bob DeMarois emphasized that the new numbers trace back to administrative expenditures rather than estimates.

"Based on actual numbers, time, and not just numbers picked out of the sky, even a newspaper publication itself is something like $500," DeMarois said.

Under the new schedule, developers and residents face a standard baseline fee of $75 for any basic zoning permit application and a $40 charge for a six-month permit extension. To offset the immediate operational strain of local travel and site verifications, a flat fee of $100 is mandated for every physical site visit conducted by department staff.

The schedule specifically targets larger commercial expansions and high-demand land-use modifications that require intensive local legal and administrative review. Applicants face a flat $150 fee for conditional use applications, $300 for special land use applications, $500 for a major site plan review, and a $1,200 application and review fee for Planned Unit Developments (PUD) or condominium projects.

Additionally, the text mandates a uniform $1,100 deposit for conditional use requests, special land uses, variances, appeals, zoning text amendments, map rezonings, and PUD (Planned Unit Development) applications to secure necessary public hearing costs.

Keweenaw County Zoning Administrator Susan Hockings addressed public complaints regarding the non-refundable nature of the county’s historical permitting system, clarifying how the new deposit structure functions if an application is withdrawn early.

Hockings said that while the baseline Planning Commission recommendation states standard fees are non-refundable, the extra cost allocated specifically for public hearings can be returned to the applicant if the formal session does not occur.

"This way, the actual permit fee is reduced, but the cost for a public hearing is actual," Hockings explained, addressing past resident complaints of, "You took my money and there was no public hearing."

DeMarois made the motion to accept the zoning administration fee schedule as recommended by the Planning Commission, which was seconded by Vice Chair Del Rajala. The motion passed by the board.