MECKLENBURG COUNTY
Land Use and Environmental Service Agency
Code Enforcement
Memo
Date:
To:
From:
Re:
July 1, 2008
All Customers
Willis Horton, Project Manager
Mega Project Program
New Mega Project Program for Mecklenburg County
Effective July 1, 2008, all projects that meet the “Mega Project” definition will be subject to hourly
permitting charges.
Mega Projects are defined as:
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Any high rise project (building with height at or above 75 feet above Fire Department access,
as defined by the Building Code);
Any assembly project with a gross square foot area of 100,000sf or larger;
Any mixed-use project with a gross square foot area of 200,000sf or larger;
Any commercial or industrial project with a gross square foot area of 300,000sf or larger;
Any institutional project with two smoke compartments or a gross square foot area of 50,000sf
or larger;
Other projects of similar size or complexity, requiring staff resources comparable to the above,
as determined by the Director or his designee.
Mega Accounts:
The Department of Code Enforcement requires that an account be established in order to proceed with
the Mega Project program. The owner, lead designer, or lead design firm may create this account. If
the lead design firm has an existing account, it is the responsibility of the lead designer to notify the
Mega Plan Coordinator. This account is a Land Use Bond account through the LUESA Revenue
Collection Department. The Mega Account shall be set up after the initial Project Entrance meeting
with the review team. Mega Project Accounts are required to be established through the LUESA
Revenue Collection Department. You may contact them at 704-336-3801, for account options. For
information on setting up a bond, please visit our web site at www.meckpermit.com; and look under
Forms.
PEOPLE ● PRIDE ● PROGRESS ● PARTNERSHIPS
700 North Tryon Street • Charlotte, North Carolina 28202 • Phone (704) 336-3821• Fax (704) 336-3839
www.meckpermit.com
Page 2 of 2
Fees:
Customers will be invoiced monthly for Mega Project charges. Detailed billing information will be
available from Revenue Collection upon request.
An hourly charge of $145.00 will be assessed for the time associated with staff review, pre-review, or
other administrative duties by the reviewer on the project. If necessary, management time spent for
project meetings, preliminary code reviews, plan review, or other problem resolutions will require a
separate hourly charge. Additional fees will be charged to the project account for attorneys or
consultants required by Code Enforcement to resolve specific issues with a project. The hours will be
billed in half-hour increments. Plans Examiners will track time dedicated to the review of the project
daily.
Mega Projects will still be subject to phased construction fees, if applicable.
Mega Project charges must be current prior to permit issuance.
Why the Change?
Studies by the Department show that Mega Projects consume over 70% of their permit fees before the
start of inspections. Currently, only 25% of permit fees are allocated to Plan Review and 75% of that
fee covers the inspections. The ordinance change will allow all projects to recover costs equally so
that Mega Projects will not be supported by the smaller projects in the system. Small projects make up
over 50% of submittals to the department.
Hourly fees for Mega Projects will promote plan review readiness, which will reduce staff time and
allow a quicker turnaround time for customers with smaller projects.
The last benefit to the change is that we can remove large projects from mainstream plan review,
which will expedite both large and small projects for our customers.
For a step-by-step process, visit our website at www.meckpermit.com; and look under Architects and
Engineers.
PEOPLE ● PRIDE ● PROGRESS ● PARTNERSHIPS
700 North Tryon Street • Charlotte, North Carolina 28202 • Phone (704) 336-3821• Fax (704) 336-3839
www.meckpermit.com