Repair and maintenance items should not require a permit?

By Steve Balich 815-557-7196 sbalich@comcast.net

Call the Will County Board 815-740-4602 to express your opinion

People would never think they need to get a building permit to replace a shut off valve, but they do. Most people replace old doors by going to Home Depot, Menards, or Lowes to buy a new door which is most always better than the old one they are replacing. Will County Land Use staff say an improper door is unsafe and needs a building permit The only thing a permit does is to raise the cost of doing the repair! If the structure of the building is not changed by the repair there should be no need for a permit. Any repair work performed to prolong or maintain the condition of an existing structure should not require a permit. I brought forward the question to discuss which specific items should no longer require a building permit.

Debbie Militello said there is nothing worse than getting up,getting in the shower, only to be hit in the face with cold water. Your water heater just died and you need a new one. Wait… according to Will County Land building code you need a permit before the new water heater can be installed, and what if it’s the weekend. The above scenario is wrong and I will fight to change it.

Mark Ferry said all repairs at ground level should not require a building permit.

Gretchen Fritz: “Many of these types of repairs and replacements are done by the homeowners themselves; motivation is to keep the costs down. Requiring permits for routine maintenance adds to total project cost and negatively impacts the homeowner’s ability to limit costs.”

Darren Bennefield: “Your home is one of your biggest investments, and naturally you want to protect it. We can trust residents to do what is best for their own homes.”

Jim Moustis “We need building permits to make sure projects are done correctly, but there is no reason to require permits for routine repair and maintenance.”

Charles “Chuck” Maher “Keeping an eye on the bureaucracy is the role of the elected official. Part of that over site is ensure that our citizens are protected but not over regulated.”

Mike Fricilone “ I understand the purpose of building permits which is to make sure all work is done to current code. We do however need to address over regulation and added cost to merely doing a repair or maintenance to a property. Some people don’t even know they need a permit and others may not do the maintenance or repair because of the added cost of the permit.”

When we talk about repair and maintenance items that should be excluded from needing a permit It is my contention that most anything that does not change the structure should be exempt. The Will County Assessor lists such items as not qualifying as an improvement such as: Siding, Doors, Plumbing, Solar energy, Cabinets, Counters, Windows, heating, flooring, above ground pools, roofs except the HIE application.

Will County Land Use Meeting https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkcFcXq12Cw&t=3890s

Building code discussion at 39:56