JAMES CITY COUNTY, Va. (WVEC) — In October, severe weather caused $1.6 million dollars in damage to 32 homes in James City County and the Board of Supervisors wants to do all they can to help these residents rebuild, not get in the way.
In order to do construction or repairs on your home, you typically need to secure building permits, which cost a minimum of $70 dollars but could be much more.
“If there is a need to add on additional trade permits such as electrical or plumbing those could be additional fees as well,” said Paul Holt, Director of Community Development and Planning.
Holt said the situation these particular homeowners are in is different. None of them asked to be in this position.
“This isn’t someone renovating their kitchen or doing some sort of extra work on their home this was damage caused when a very rare tornado touched down,” said Holt.
On Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors voted to waive all of those building permit fees for homeowners who suffered damage during the storm.
“Get rid of one additional step in the process, the ability for a homeowner to come in and repair their homes and get back up and going as quickly and as easily as possible is our goal and objective,” said Holt.
The clock is ticking, no one wants to waste a day as winter weather closes in.
“It’s a case by case basis, we’ve had five or six so far, some of the smaller jobs are ready to go, a couple of trees that fell through garages, and they are ready to get back up and going,” said Holt.
The resolution was passed unanimously and without a discussion. Holt said it’s just an example of local government being there when it matters most.
“Anything we can do to help folks repair their homes and get back to a sense of normalcy as quickly as possible,” said Holt.