MARGARETVILLE — Building activity in the Town of Middletown remained strong in 2023, according to Code Enforcement Officer Hiram Davis.
Mr. Davis delivered his Annual Report for the Building and Zoning Department at the Middletown Town Board’s March 13 meeting.
There were 188 permits issued by Mr. Davis’ office in 2023, five fewer than the previous. He noted that the values reported for projects were significantly higher than the year before.
In 2023, the Building and Zoning Department collected $51,308 in permit fees, compared to $36,379 in 2022. The Zoning Department took in $1,450 in permit fees. The total reported value of new construction and improvements was $4,527,083.
The report showed the following breakdown for types of building permits issued. There were permits granted for construction of five new homes. This figure is down from eight and 10 for the years 2022 and 2021, respectively.
There was one permit issued for installation of a doublewide home. Garages and outbuildings accounted for 29 permits; a figure comparable to the past two years.
Alterations up
The permit total for alterations, additions and repairs was 149. This is one more than last year and up significantly from 117 in 2021. There were three permits for commercial projects. In the past two years, there were three total commercial permits issued.
The Building and Zoning Department received 11 applications for demolition permits. All were approved, with $650 in fees collected for these permits.
Mr. Davis indicated his department conducted five inspections on the installation of new woodstoves.
Consistent
Overall, the 188 building permits issued in 2023 compares to 193 last year and 160 in 2021.
Mr. Davis reported that there were seven floodplain development permits issued. In the Zoning Department, one subdivision was approved.
There were six boundary line adjustments applications approved resulting in 10 lots being put back together.
The Zoning Department received seven applications for variances, and these were all approved.
The Planning Board received and approved two applications for Special Use Permits. There were two four sign permits issued.
The Code Enforcement Officer’s reported said the department was involved in two new zoning violations, with both matters still pending. The report indicated there are four open violations from 2021, two open from 2020, and one open violation from 2018.
A review of the past three years shows that last year the town conducted 116 municipal searches and collected $2,900 for this assistance. In 2022, there were 118 municipal searches with payments totaling $3,075. During 2021, there were 163 municipal searches with fees collected total $4,075.
