By JAN McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
In hopes of continuing housing growth in Bowling Green, City Council voted Monday to keep some building fees low and some waived all together.
The current moratorium, adopted in 2023, is set to expire on Dec. 31. The ordinance approved Monday will extend the moratorium for another two years.
The building permit fee moratorium is credited with positively impacting housing starts in the city. In 2022, the city had 22 new homes built, compared to 48 in 2024. In the first nine months of this year, the city had seen 46 housing starts.
In 2023, city leaders wanted to clear hurdles that may have been holding back new housing in the city. So City Council passed two pieces of legislation hoping to encourage residential builders to break ground in Bowling Green.
Earlier this year, council removed another possible barrier by waiving some utility related fees for new home construction.
The original ordinance in 2023 placed a two-year moratorium on residential building permit fees for expenses such as sidewalk staking, subdivision plan approval, zoning permits, construction inspections, and excavation permits.
The initial resolution also offered tax abatements on the increased assessed valuation on renovated or new housing.
Since the fee moratorium was first approved in 2023, Bowling Green has seen some growth in new homes being constructed. Information from the city’s planning department shows the number of new houses built each of the last five years as:
- 2020 – 23 houses.
- 2021 – 24 houses.
- 2022 – 22 houses.
- 2023 – 29 houses.
- 2024 – 48 houses.
Over the last few years, conversations between city leaders and area businesses, economic development officials and Bowling Green State University leaders often circled back to the lack of housing options in the community.
“That’s a common theme we hear,” Mayor Mike Aspacher said when the initial fee moratorium was first introduced. “We need to develop more housing options in Bowling Green.”
The need for more housing is clear, city leaders said, as evidenced by the low housing inventory, increasing workforce demands, and feedback from economic development partners that new housing is imperative.
The original fee moratorium dropped charges to homebuilders. Those fees included $1,451 for the city planning department, $275 for the public works department, and $180 for the engineering department.
Then the utility fee legislation cut some service and inspection fees. Those new residential construction fee moratoriums included the following:
- $75 for temporary electric service.
- $100 sanitary lateral inspection fee.
- $35 storm lateral inspection fee.
Brian O’Connell, director of the city’s utilities and infrastructure, also recommended the utility department reduce water meter fees and water tap fees by eliminating city labor and city equipment costs from the fees. This allows the city to collect the cost of the water meter, valves, and other materials needed to serve new houses.
Reduction in the meter and tap fees would change the rates:
- From $1,090 to $910 for a ⅝-inch meter.
- From $1,330 to $1,150 for a 1-inch meter.
- From $1,520 to $800 for a 1-inch tap.
City officials have said the financial impact of dropping the fees is worth it if the moratorium attracts new housing. Adding homes will benefit the community, with the city consensus being that those benefits will offset the temporary revenue reductions.
While the fee moratorium may seem like a drop in the bucket for builders, Aspacher heard from contractors in 2023 that it would be helpful.
“I’m told that it is enough to make a difference,” Aspacher said.
Through the Community Reinvestment Areas program, 100% tax abatement over 10 years is offered for improvements made to properties, either for new construction or remodeling. The program includes an agreement that Bowling Green City Schools and Penta Career Center be made whole, and not lose any tax revenue.
While the CRA abatements apply to the increase in taxes created by improvements, the current taxes remain on the books. The abatements increase the likelihood of investments in housing in the city – then the taxes are collected in perpetuity once the abatement period expires.
