For the first quarter of 2012 (January-March), Union County saw a slight increase in building permits compared to the first quarter of 2011, according to information released this week by the Catawba Regional Council of Governments (COG).
The information shows that the number of permits for single-family homes stood at three, a 50 percent increase from the two issued during the same quarter in 2011.
Union County also saw an increase in the number of mobile home permits issued. There were seven mobile home permits issued, compared to the six issued during the same quarter in 2011 — a 16.7 percent increase.
The building permit data contained in the report is supplied by local building and planning officials throughout the region. The numbers shown reflect the actual number of permits issued during the first quarter of 2012. The report also gives local officials a sense of the growth occurring within particular areas via color coded maps.
The Catawba Region includes Chester, Lancaster, Union and York Counties, and each of those counties saw increases in single family permits. Lancaster and Union both saw increases in mobile home permits, while Chester and York saw decreases. York County was the only one with industrial permit activity. Two industrial permits were issued in York County, which was the same amount of industrial permits issued during the same quarter in 2011.
Catawba Regional collects building permit data by county, municipality and census tract for the major residential categories, as well as commercial and industrial. The data collected is for new construction only with the exception of some industrial permits that represent upgrades to existing facilities. Catawba Regional COG’s computerized database contains permit information from 1996 to the present.
By Derik Vanderford, Staff Reporter with The Union Daily Times