DILLON — To encourage its current and future residents to think green, the Town of Dillon decided to do away with development permit fees associated with adding renewable-energy features. Council members canceled the fee in November.

“We all felt that it's one small, yet important, incentive we can do to encourage green building practices,” said Mayor Barbara Davis. “We would love to have more solar panels.”

Dillon's town planner Beverly Kaiser said the fee removal is applicable if the permit is for remodeling a building for energy efficiency, or if it's for adding renewable-energy features to a home or building, like solar panels.

“Normally for minor remodels, even for just the addition of solar panels, we charge $175 for permits,” Kaiser said.

No one has taken advantage of free permitting — but several homes and one commercial building in Dillon had solar panels installed this fall, Kaiser said.

“We're hoping that by doing away with the fee, it will be an incentive for more,” she added.

Davis also said that “it would be great to include something in the (town's) urban renewal plan to encourage people to reduce their carbon footprint.”

Town officials remain undecided on specific urban renewal redevelopment incentives. They'll continue discussions about urban renewal plans into 2010.

In addition to canceling permit fees to encourage green growth, Kaiser said the town is getting energy audits done on three main buildings in Dillon — the town hall, its water plant, and the public works shop.

“The purpose of that is to get background data to apply for grants as well,” she said. “We're just rolling along on energy conservation.”

Additional grant funding could help Dillon add more renewable energy technology within town limits.

Caitlin Row can be reached at (970) 668-4633 or at crow@summitdaily.com.