Builders Push Back as St. Cloud Council Prepares Second Public Hearing on Fee Hikes

(KNSI) – The St. Cloud City Council will hold a second public hearing Monday night on a sweeping package of building permit fee increases that has drawn sharp criticism from the region’s construction and business community.

The hearing, set for 6:00 p.m. at St. Cloud City Hall, is required after Council President Mike Conway introduced an amendment to the ordinance during the council’s May 4th meeting. Conway’s amendment staggers the adoption of the city’s Building Valuation Data table. Under the revised plan, St. Cloud would adopt the 2020 table first, then move to the most current table on July 1st, 2027. Because the council amended the ordinance during that meeting, the city charter requires another public hearing before final adoption.

The city has been using the 2015 valuation table, while neighboring communities like Sartell, Sauk Rapids and Waite Park already use the 2025 table.

The fee schedule and the valuation table work together to set the cost of a permit. The valuation table, produced by the International Code Council, assigns a dollar value to a project based on square footage. The fee schedule is then applied to that valuation to determine what the city collects.

If approved, the changes would mark the first comprehensive building permit fee increase in St. Cloud in more than 15 years.

City staff estimate the new fee structure would generate about $1.58 million annually, up from roughly $1.08 million under current rates, an increase of nearly $498,000.

Community Development Director Matt Glaesman told KNSI the city is not currently recovering the full cost of providing permit services, with the remainder subsidized by property taxpayers and utility ratepayers. Conway has said the additional revenue is restricted by the city charter and would be used specifically to support the permitting office, which is currently subsidized by roughly $1.5 million from the general fund.

For homeowners, residential roofing and siding permits would each rise from $60 to $100. A combined roofing and siding permit would jump from $75 to $200. Plumbing fixture fees would increase from $10.50 per fixture with a $30 minimum to $15 per fixture with a $50 minimum. Residential HVAC permits for furnaces, air handlers and ductwork would go from $40 per unit to $50 per unit.

The largest revenue gains would come from the commercial side. Commercial building permit revenue is projected to rise from about $354,000 to nearly $580,000, while commercial plan review fees would climb from roughly $230,000 to $377,000.

According to city projections, a typical $160,000 single-family, two-family or townhome project would see a combined permit cost increase of $917 once both the valuation and rate changes are fully in effect. A $500,000 home would see an increase of $4,363, and a $1.1 million commercial or industrial building permit would rise by about $3,536.

The council has already received several letters opposing the increases.

The Central Minnesota Builders Association, representing nearly 300 builders, developers and contractors, is asking the council to reconsider. In a letter from Executive Director Wanda Schroeder, the group warned that fee hikes could discourage construction at a time when St. Cloud has identified a need for roughly 1,000 new housing units per year. The letter notes Sartell has moved in the opposite direction by eliminating certain availability charges to attract builders.

According to the City of Sartell, the city does not have a blanket suspension on building permits, but it launched a pilot initiative called Growing Sartell Together that significantly reduces development costs for new residential construction. The program waives Water Access and Sewer Access fees, a savings of nearly $6,900 for homeowners, and caps core building permit and plan review fees at $1,500. The incentive applies only to new single-family home construction permits on existing, vacant platted lots. The pilot is running through the end of 2026.

Greater St. Cloud CEO and President NeTia Bauman submitted a letter encouraging the council to “pause, moderate the proposed increases, and convene a focused effort to identify creative solutions.” Among Bauman’s suggestions are modernizing the city’s vacant building registry as an alternative revenue source, indexing future fee adjustments annually to avoid another large catch-up cycle, offering fee deferrals until certificate of occupancy and pairing increases with targeted incentives for workforce housing and infill redevelopment.

Rachel Gruber, owner of Dale Gruber Construction, also submitted a letter urging a more measured approach, warning that added costs ultimately get passed on to homeowners and tenants.

Central Minnesota Habitat for Humanity Construction Manager Dan Kurowski has asked the city to consider writing an official discount into the fee structure for Habitat homes and potentially the HRA, citing partnerships with District 742 and St. Cloud Technical and Community College carpentry students.

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