FARMINGTON — Work has begun on a proposed building permit ordinance to address the state’s requirements for towns that have 2,000 or more residents to adopt building codes by Jan. 1, 2012. The state will impose a fee of 4 cents per square foot on local construction at that time, town Code Enforcement Officer Steve Kaiser said.

Selectmen had their first look at the preliminary draft of a building permit ordinance Tuesday, he said. They requested some more background information to see what other towns do, Kaiser said.

The town will need to establish a building fee collection system for the state fee and state-mandated codes and possibly local permit fees, he said.

If the town chose to do so, it could impose its fee system in advance of the state doing so, although whether this is linked to code adoption earlier than 2012 is a separate consideration.

Kaiser advises the town hold off on local adoption of the new codes until after the state’s new code training and technical help becomes available.

Under the state’s guidelines, new single-family and duplex homes would be inspected by the code enforcement and licensed plumbing inspector. Commercial, industrial, institutional and larger residential projects of three or more units would have to provide documentation of code compliance by retaining third-party certification, Kaiser said.

That would have to be done either through professional engineers or licensed technicians or inspectors. It would not preclude the town’s inspections, nor the town’s ultimate authority in granting certificate of occupancy.

The town’s draft ordinance requires all persons planning building projects within the town in excess of $1,400 in material costs to first obtain a building permit. It covers new construction, expansions/additions, relocation, installation of manufactured housing, demolition of structures and conversion of single-family or duplex structures into multi-family structures, among other conversions.

The ordinance would require a permit application fee of $15 and a permit fee. Those fees range from 5 cents per square foot to 15 cents per square foot. There are also proposed set fees ranging from $40 for structure demolition to $50 for a mobile home or in-ground swimming pool.

Kaiser estimated that a building permit would cost $250 to $300 for an average home.

The town currently has a building notification and building registration process that doesn’t cost users.

The Budget Committee has recommended for two or three years that a permit system be implemented, Kaiser said.

He expects the ordinance to take a lot of work and he wanted to have plenty of time to get input.

Voters will have the final say on adoption of an ordinance.

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