City Council
MEETING DATE: 8/9/2017
TITLE:
Title
2017 Building Fee Review and Recommendation
End
FROM:
Al Jimenez, Chief Building Official
Pat Milos, Community Development Director
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
Staff recommends the City Council accept the 2017 Cathedral City Building Fee Review recommendations and approve a Resolution adopting the recommended fees.
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BACKGROUND:
The Cathedral City Municipal Code Title 8 addresses the payment of building fees on buildings, structures, electrical, gas, mechanical, and plumbing systems or alterations requiring a permit under the Building Code, which states that a fee for each permit shall be paid as required and in accordance with the fee schedule adopted by the City Council, a copy of which is on file with the Building and Safety Division.
The current Building Fee Schedule was adopted from the 1997 Uniform Building Code and in many cases, has not been updated or adjusted in accordance with the local Consumer Price Index.
DISCUSSION:
At the May 5, 2017, Study Session the City Council discussed the current fee schedule for building and cannabis permitting and directed staff to perform a complete review and comparison of Building Permit and Application Processing Fees and Cannabis processing and inspection fees. Once the comparison and process review was completed staff was directed to propose adjustments and bring the recommendation back to the City Council in the form of a resolution for Council review, consideration, and adoption. Staff was also directed to provide the recommended Building Fee adjustments to the Desert Valleys Builders Association (DVBA) as well as the Building Industries Association (BIA) for review and comment. Staff conducted the review and the results are addressed in Attachment 1. (2017 Cathedral City Building and Processing Fee Review Recommendations) An individual breakdown of the fully burdened staff rates, processing time and expenses for each recommended fee adjustment as well as a comparison to neighboring Cities is provided in Attachment 2. (Building Permit Fee Study 2017 Worksheet) and the 2014 Desert Valleys Builders Association Development Fee Study is provided in Attachment 3.
The City Council Considered the Staff review and recommendations at the July 26, 2017 Regular City Council Meeting and based on a request by the BIA for additional time to comment on the Building Fee Recommendation (Attachment 5), approved only the Cannabis and ancillary fee recommendations.
The DVBA supports the building fee adjustments. (Attachment 4)
The consideration of the adjusted Building Fees was postponed to the August 9, 2017 City Council meeting to allow the BIA additional time to review and comment.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no immediate fiscal impact with the recommended fee adjustments, however the adjusted fees will allow the City to recover staff expenses related to processing.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. 2017 Cathedral City Building Fee Review Recommendations
2. Building Permit Fee Study 2017 Worksheet
3. Desert Valleys Builders Association Development Fee Study (November 2014)
4. Desert Valleys Builders Association Letter of Recommendation
5. BIA request for further review letter
6. Resolution