PRESS RELEASE

101 E. Kansas St. - Liberty, Mo. 64068 - Phone: 816.439.4415 - Fax: 816.439.4419 - W: www.ci.liberty.mo.us

 

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

DATE:             March 11, 2010

CONTACT:     Sara Cooke, communications manager, T: 816.439.4415,
E: scooke@ci.liberty.mo.us

Builders take note: Liberty reducing permit fees for new residential homes

But act fast program only applies to the first 30 qualifying permit applications!

 

 

LIBERTY, Mo. - With approval by the Liberty City Council earlier this year, the City of Liberty has introduced a building permit fee reduction program for new single-family residential homes through which the first 30 qualifying permit applications could see an 80 percent savings in the costs associated with such permits. 

 

"The goal of this program is to spur residential construction in Liberty," said Liberty City Council member Jeff Watt, who championed the program. "The benefits to this community are many.  We could not only see increased property tax and personal property tax revenues, but we could also bring in new customers to Liberty businesses and more sales for Liberty's construction suppliers."

 

Through credits, builders can save 80 percent on the costs associated with the building permit fee, the Roadway Development Tax, the Sanitary Sewer Connection Fee and the Water System Development Charge.  To qualify, houses must be detached, single family homes built on existing platted lots.  Each builder is limited to no more than three speculative permits at any given time.  The only other conditions that apply to the permits issued through this program are that a foundation must be completed within 45 days of permit issuance, and the home must be read for occupancy within one year. 

"This is a brilliant idea," said Don Riead, of Riead Home Construction, LLC. "Liberty is a good, clean community with great schools and great linkages and now, with the lower fees, it makes sense to build in Liberty. By lowering fees, the City is showing that it wants to be a part of the recovery.  There are other communities in this area that are going in the opposite direction.  I think it is more difficult for any builder to build in those communities."

 

In an effort to further spur the local economy and support local businesses, builders are encouraged to utilize local suppliers and contractors.  A list of local suppliers and contractors will be provided to all applicants.  This list, along with other details related to this program, are available on the City's website at www.ci.liberty.mo.us/building

 

The Liberty City Council will evaluate the effectiveness and success of the program after six months to determine whether to take any additional actions that might further spur residential construction in the community.

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