2020-02 Ordinance Amending City Code Chapter 67.2 - Residential Building Code

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City Manager DATE: 1I6J202p MEM4; 2020-02 TO; Ha�rab]e Mayor Moore Walfe&City Council Members FROM: Scat Wrightan,City Manager Jon Kindsett�,Deputy City Manager David Greenwell,Building Inspection Manager SUBJECT: Consideration of Ordinances Amending Chapters 6'7,67.2,68,69,&70 as they relate to fees. SUMMARY RECOMMENDATiC1N: Staff recommends approval of the five following Ordinances which will prirnarily �dify the fees staff eollects when processing and issuing buiiding permit fees. BACKGROUND: Staff has perForc�d an a�lysis of our surraunding peer communities and determined we are significantly lawer than any others. More irnportantly than tlus is the fact that the City lpses maney on our pernutting service as currently provided. Our current fee structure is very complex and confusing for the average property owner,general contractors,and our staff tasked with administenng this service. The pemut fees are currently found in five separate ordinances depending upon the type of work being done. Under our current fee model,we lose tnoney an the srnallest projects and the larger,rnore complex projects. The big�est benefits of this new fee structure is the simplicity of knowin�what the fees are for any project that a persan would undertake. The fees are based on the value of the work being done by the owner ar contractor. The City will start charging for full plan reviews,as ppposed to the current structure where plan review and inspecrion costs are absorbed by the City with the issuance of a pemrit fee. We believe the new fee shucture is a more equitable model and thus we havc seen tivs sarne trend among other prafessianally mar�ged cammunities. Even with this fee inerease,it is not expected that pem3it fces will cover all expenses related to processing and adrninistering the building deparhnent division, Our fees will be more in line with unincorporated Macan County after this change,whereas now our fees are anly abaut 50%af what theirs are. Most pemuts far residential or commercial repairs are not likely to be impacted by this change. Most srnall prajects are only going ta be subjected to the rninimurn permit fee,thus not significantiy impacted by this change. The pemsits that will be impacted are the smaClest fee pernuts like fences,where they were$10 they will now likely be$50. The most significantly impacted projects are the large new canstruction prajects,where fees were not covering the pian review or ir�spectian casts iustorically. Over the next year,the City will strive to conduct a rnore detailed analysis af the building division to detetmine if these new fees are adequate to cover costs,over if additional changes should be rnade ta get permit related fees to cover the administratian costs af providing this servica. This proposed increase in building fees was tentatively autharized by tl�City Council during their review of the recar�vr�nded FY 2020 budget. These five ardinance amendments implernent this council directive. PRIOR COUNCIT.,ACTION: A cornprehensive pernut fees rnodification has not becn done in the past decade ot longer. Mast of ow current fees are significantly lawer than wl7at we believe to be the market average. A brief discussian over raising pernut fees was had during the budget workshops in November. POTENTIAL OBJECTIUNS: There are no known objections to this recommended approach to the pernut fees. INPUT FROM�THER SOURCES: Staff used budget data and fee scbedules frorn our ncighboring comrnunities of Champaign,Peoria,Bloomington,Norn�al, Springtield,Quincy,and Macon County. STAFF REFEREIVCE. Jon and C}avid are available ta answer any questions and will be in attendance at the City Council meeting to provide answers nat previously provided. BUDGETlTIME IMPLICATIONS: Currently taYes and general fund reveriues are being used ta subsidize the expenses related to pernutting a new hause being built in Decatur,far exarr�le. The increase in permit fees will reduce ar eliminate that subsidy,and set the user fees ta a level that pays for the service.