The Homewood Village Board approved amendments to the village’s fee schedule at the May 12 meeting, increasing a range of planning, zoning, subdivision and building permit fees to better align with rising administrative costs and fees charged in neighboring communities.
According to Homewood Interim Director of Economic and Community Development Noah Schumerth and Homewood Fire Chief Bob Grabowski, village staff reviewed the current fee structure after determining that some fees had not been updated in more than a decade.
The review was also initiated by the implementation of a new Village Sign Code, which creates new application types that did not previously have assigned fees, Schumerth and Grabowski said.
At the April 28 meeting, Homewood Trustee Jay Heiferman suggested raising the fees for the special use permits, zoning variance and site plan review to be more in line with other communities since Homewood is below average.
Staff compared Homewood’s fees with 20 other suburban municipalities and evaluated the costs of staff review time, legal notices, hearings and administrative work.
Among the approved changes, special use permit application fees will increase from $150 to $300, while residential zoning variance application fees will rise from $150 to $300 and non-residential variance applications will increase from $250 to $500. Fees for zoning map and text amendments will also increase from $250 to $500.
Site plan review fees will also double from $150 to $300. Planned development review fees will increase based on project size, with projects smaller than 1 acre increasing from $300 to $500, projects between 1 and 4 acres increasing from $450 to $700 and projects larger than 4 acres increasing from $550 to $900.
The village also approved several new fees that previously did not exist, including annexation fees ranging from $500 to $1,000 depending on property size, a $50 zoning verification letter fee and a $300 environmental assessment review fee.
Some fees were reduced under the new schedule. Appearance review fees for smaller projects such as fences and signage will decrease from $150 to $100, while larger redevelopment-related appearance reviews will increase to $200. Sign variance fees will increase from $150 to $250. Staff also recommends implementing a $200 fee for comprehensive sign plans.
Subdivision and development engineering fees will increase by approximately 50%, while tree permit fees will increase by 25%.
According to Schumerth and Grabowski, the changes are intended to help the village recover costs associated with development review services and keep pace with inflation and operating expenses.
The village also plans to incorporate the updated fees into its SmartGov digital permitting portal, which began processing planning, zoning, engineering and building permit applications May 1, they said.
The updated fee schedule is expected to increase in fiscal year 2026-2027 budgeted amounts, including a projected 50% increase in building permits and contractor registration revenue, and a 300% increase in subdivision and zone fees revenue, Schumerth and Grabowski said.
