Plan to end home improvement permit fees advances

A move to rescind fees for residential roofing, siding and window replacement in La Crosse cleared its first vote Tuesday.

The city's Judiciary and Administration Committee came out 7-2 in favor of dropping the permit requirement, now $32 for any or all of the three home improvement projects if done within a certain period.

Mayor Tim Kabat has pushed for the repeal, saying it would free up city inspectors to focus on priorities such as code enforcement. He also said voters told him during his mayoral campaign a year ago they saw the fees as a disincentive to upgrading their properties.

The council approved an extensive list of new fees during the 2012 budget process as a way to better control 'fly-by-night' contractors, avoid faulty work in the city and generate funds after significant cuts in state revenue.

Several at the meeting noted Tuesday the fees are not unique to La Crosse but are done in some form in cities such as Eau Claire, Fond du Lac, Oshkosh, Racine and neighboring Onalaska.

'We're playing catch-up,' council member Francis Formanek said.

He and committee chairman Bob Seaquist were in the minority in opposing the measure, which moves on to the Committee of the Whole. If approved by the full council next week, it would be retroactive to Jan. 1.

The committee also granted another 13 properties a waiver to be registered as rentals during the city's moratorium against single-family home conversions, but did turn down four applications either because the owners were not present or did not demonstrate a hardship if it could not be rented out.

More than 100 homes have been granted waivers during the moratorium, originally to be six months ending in January before it was extended another 90 days, to April 21.

The city is looking at ways to better control the spread of rental properties into La Crosse's residential neighborhoods. About half of the city's residential property already is rental, and a staff study for the committee indicated the city could have another 1,400 homes not on the registry.