MEMORANDUM

Form revised: May 6, 2011

2012 BUDGET LEGISLATION FISCAL NOTE

Department:	Contact Person/Phone:	CBO Analyst/Phone:
Planning & Development (DPD)	Jeff Davis / 684-8071	Joe Regis / 615-0087

Legislation Title: AN ORDINANCE related to fees and charges for permits and activities of the Department of Planning and Development; repealing a section of Ordinance 123453; and amending Seattle Municipal Code Chapter 22.900A, Administration and Enforcement; Chapter 22.900B, General Provisions; Chapter 22.900C, Fees for Land Use Review; Chapter 22.900D, Fees for New and Altered Buildings and Equipment; Chapter 22.900E, Fees for Certificates and Registrations; Chapter 22.900F, Compliance and Other Inspections; and Chapter 22.900G, Fees Collected for Other Departments.

Summary of the Legislation:

This legislation revises some of DPD’s permitting fees and charges, which were last revised and adopted as part of the 2011-2012 budget process. The proposed fee revisions include corrections and adjustments to certain permit fees and other charges, creation of new fees and charges, the restructuring of certain fees, and the elimination of some fees and charges.

Background:

DPD is primarily fee-supported and its fees and charges are necessary to provide financial support for the operation of DPD’s permitting operations. All fees collected by DPD for processing DPD’s permits are used for that purpose, and the fee structure is reflective of the Seattle Municipal Code requirements to recoup the cost of providing the permitting service.

The proposed ordinance raises the minimum fee for Design Review projects and Type IV or Type V Council approvals from $2,500 to $5,000. This change represents a shift in when fees are taken in, to ensure that DPD receives enough fees at intake to cover the cost of performing the initial reviews on certain projects, but will not raise the overall fees for these permit applications. This fee change will affect approximately 10-12% of all land use permit applications, for only the most complex permit applications. Examples of these projects include applications for full Design Review, Rezones and Council Conditional uses. Streamlined design review will not be affected by this change.

Attachment A to this Fiscal Note “DPD Permit Fee and Charges Changes from 2011 Adopted Budget to 2012 Proposed” provides a summary of 2011 DPD fees affected by this proposed ordinance, and the proposed changes for 2012. These fees have been reviewed to determine whether the cost of providing the service warrants a fee change, if improvements to the fee structure are necessary, or if new fees are required.

_ X _ This legislation has financial implications.

Summary of Changes to Revenue Generated Specifically from this Legislation:

	Revenue Source	2012 Proposed
Planning and Development Fund (15700)	Building Development Fees	$17,700
Planning and Development Fund (15700)	Land Use Fees	$75,000
Planning and Development Fund (15700)	Other Fees and Charges	$13,650
Total Fees and Charges Resulting From Passage of This Ordinance		$106,350

(If new revenue is for a partial year, provide estimate for full year in the notes section below.)

Revenue Change Notes: None.

Anticipated Total Revenue from Entire Program, Including Changes Resulting from this Legislation:

Fund Name and Number	Revenue Source	Total 2012 Revenue
Planning and Development Fund (15700)	Building Development Fees	$18,723,066
Planning and Development Fund (15700)	Electrical Fees	4,563,605
Planning and Development Fund (15700)	Land Use Fees	4,036,705
Planning and Development Fund (15700)	Site Review & Development Fees	1,529,766
Planning and Development Fund (15700)	Boiler Fees	1,203,809
Planning and Development Fund (15700)	Other Fees and Charges	1,328,211
TOTAL		$31,385,162

Total Revenue Notes: None.

Other Implications:

a) Does the legislation have indirect financial implications, or long-term implications? No.

b) What is the financial cost of not implementing this legislation?

This legislation, in addition to making a number of technical changes, does address areas where the revenues DPD collects through fees do not align with the cost of providing services. Not implementing this legislation as proposed would continue situations where costs incurred are not supported by adequate revenue. It is possible that this would result in reductions to services or programs in the future.

c) Does this legislation affect any departments besides the originating department?

No significant impacts to other departments are expected.

d) What are the possible alternatives to the legislation that could achieve the same or similar objectives?

With respect to increasing certain fees, the City could contemplate reducing the level of service provided to its customers or could contemplate supplementing DPD’s budget with General Subfund resources to offset its increased costs.

e) Is the legislation subject to public hearing requirements? No.

f) Other Issues: None.

Please list attachments to the fiscal note below:

Attachment A: DPD Permit Fee and Charges Changes from 2011 Adopted Budget to 2012 Proposed

Attachment B: DPD Electrical Feeders Proposed Changes from 2011 Adopted Budget to 2012 Proposed

22.900A.030
Payment and responsibilities for fees	3	Fees and charges related to certificates and licenses.	2005	--	--	Clarification of responsibility for fees and charges not tied to permit issuance.
22.900A.040 and 22.900G.070
Parks Plan Review	4	New fee to recover Parks Department’s staffing costs for plan review.	New	n/a	$128/hour	Parks Department is including this proposed fee in their 2012 fee ordinance.
22.900B.020.E – Table B-1
Electronic Records	5	Fees for copies from electronic plans	New	n/a	8½" x 11" - $0.50 per printed page 8½" x 14" - $0.50 per printed page 11" x 17" - $0.50 per printed page	Charges for printed copies of electronic plans and records.
Diazo	5	Charges for plans reproduced onto Diazo from the microfilm library	2008	$5 per diazo	n/a	This fee is eliminated (no longer have the capability to make a copy onto a diazo).

22.900C.010 – Table C-1
Design Review and Type IV and V Discretionary Land Use decisions needing Council approval.	6 & 7	Minimum fee is raised for complex projects to cover the cost of initial reviews for Design Review project (except Administrative Design Review or Streamlined Design Review) and all Type IV and Type V site-specific Council approvals such as, but not limited to, Rezones, Council Conditional Uses, Major Institutions Master Plans, Public Project approvals, etc. Fee description in Table C-1 #13 is consolidated into #10.	May 2005 -for Item 2 Jan. 2001 –for Items 10 and 13	Land Use Hourly x 10	Land Use Hourly x 20	Adjusted for Design Review Type IV and Type V land use approvals only; a higher minimum fee is required to cover the greater initial review hours for these project types.
Council concept approvals, Planned residential community development, etc., approvals	7	Fees for non-standard Type II land use approvals	2011	Land Use Hourly x 10	Land Use Hourly x 10	Clarified language for fee description in Table C-1 #9 to distinguish from land use approvals described in Table C-1 #10.
Major Institution Deposit	7	Deposit required for Major Institution Master Plan review	2001	40 hour deposit	n/a	This deposit against hourly fees is no longer needed due to the implementation of monthly land use billings.
Pre-application Conference	8	NSF fee, in addition to remainder of fees due and any delinquent fees assessed	Jan. 2011	Land Use Hourly x 1	Land Use Hourly x 2	Adjusted to include the first hour of research and follow-up review time that normally occurs.
22.900D.010 – Table D-2
Mechanical, Part of Building Permit Application	11	Plan Review Fee – clarified to refer to “mechanical review”	Jan. 2011	DPD hourly rate, 1 hour minimum	no change	No change to fees, but added clarification of applicability of fees.
Mechanical, Separate from Building Permit Application or Mechanical Only	11	Plan Review Fee – clarified to refer to “all applicable fees”	Jan. 2011	DPD hourly rate, 1 hour minimum	no change	No change to fees, but added clarification of applicability of fees.
Blanket Permit Review Fees for Earlier Alterations	11	Permit Fee Plan Review Fee	Jan. 2011 Jan. 2011	$2.20 per 100 sq. ft. $2.55 per 100 sq. ft.	no change no change	No change to fees, but replaced reference to issuance of first “tenant permit” with “certificate of occupancy” for clarification and consistency with code.
Blanket Permit Review Fees for Later Alterations	11	Permit Fee Plan Review Fee	Jan. 2011 Jan. 2011	100% of DFI 60% of DFI	no change no change	No change to fees, but replaced reference to issuance of first “tenant permit and other tenant alterations” with “certificate of occupancy” for clarification and consistency with code.
Nonblanket Permit Initial Tenant Improvements to Shell and Core	11	Permit Fe Plan Review Fee	Jan. 2011 Jan. 2011.	50% of DFT based on new building value of shell and core 50% of DFT based on new building value of shell and core	no change no change	No change to fees, but replaced reference to issuance of first “tenant permit” with “certificate of occupancy” for clarification and consistency with code.
Building review associated with platting actions and/or LBAs	12	Plan Review Fee	New	n/a	DPD hourly rate	A new fee is proposed to cover costs of providing service.
Noise Survey Reviews	12	Plan Review Fee	Jan. 2011	DPD hourly rate, 30-minute minimum - as referenced in Table D-2; but DPD hourly, 1 hour minimum is what is specified in Table F-2	DPD hourly rate, 1 hour minimum	Correction to Table D-2; 1-hour minimum is what is established in Table F-2, where primary authority for this fee resides.
Phased Permits, Value less than or equal to $5,000,000	14	Plan Review Fee	2007	Base Fee x 1	No change	No change to fee, but clarification that fee applies to phase permits less than or equal to $5 million.
22.900D.145 – Table D-SR
Drainage or grading site review	15	Minimum Fee Review time Included in the minimum fee	2005 2005	1 hour at the DPD hourly rate 1 hour	1 hour for each review location at the DPD hourly rate 1 hour each	No change to fees, but clarification that it applies to drainage or grading review separate from a development permit or as part of a MUP application; plus additional clarification that fees apply per review location.
22.900D.150 – Table D-15
Feeders – please see Attachment B	16	Electrical permit fees for Feeders.	Jan. 2011	Various	No change	Fee table is simplified and corrected to reflect actual equipment in use. Please see Attachment B.
22.900E.050– Table E-4
Air conditioning contractor license	20	Fees for licenses and examinations	Jan. 2011	$189	n/a	License is being phased out, fee is eliminated.
Refrigeration service shop license	20	Fees for licenses and examinations	Jan. 2011	$85	n/a	License is being phased out, fee is eliminated.
Refrigeration service shop mechanic license	20	Fees for licenses and examinations	Jan. 2011	$85	n/a	License is being phased out, fee is eliminated.
Industrial refrigeration license	20	Fees for licenses and examinations	Jan. 2011	$85	n/a	License is being phased out, fee is eliminated.

22.900F.060
Housing and Building Maintenance Code Variance Decisions	20	Fees for research, inspections and reviews associated with HBMC variance decisions	New	n/a	DPD hourly x 2	New fee proposed to cover costs of providing service.
22.900G.020 – Table G-1
Building grade sheet	21	Fees for review by SDOT	2003	$430 for 1-3 lots plus $85 per lot over 3	n/a	No longer in use, fee is eliminated.
Processing of right of was dedications	21	Fees for review by SPU	2003	$110 per hour	n/a	No longer in use, fee is eliminated.

*Date late modified is effective date of change.

3. Feeders¹
Size	120v-480v	>480v
15-25A 30-50A 60-125A 150A & less than 400A 400A	$14 $29 ½ x base fee ¾ x base fee Plan review required	¼ x base fee ¼ x base fee ½ x base fee 1 x base fee plan review required

3. Feeders¹
Size		120v-480v		>480v
	15-25A	$14	((~~Na (see below)~~))¼ x base fee
	30-50A	$29	((~~Na (see below)~~))¼ x base fee
	((~~15-50A~~	Na	~~¼ x base fee~~))
	60-125A	½ x base fee	½ x base fee
	150A & ((~~above~~))less than 400A	¾ x base fee	((~~Na (see below)~~))1 x base fee
	((~~150-400A~~	Na	~~1 x base fee~~))
	((~~450 & above~~))400A	((Na))plan review required	plan review required

3

4

5

6 & 7

7

7

8

11

11

11

11

11

12

12

14

15