2009-018 - Modifying Fees for Processings of Applications for Development Approval

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bk: 3/9/09 RESOLUTION NO. 2009-018 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCil OF THE CITY OF SANTA ANA MODIFYING FEES FOR PROCESSING OF APPLICATIONS FOR DEVELOPMENT APPROVAL AND REPEALING IN PART RESOLUTION NO. 2008-041 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCil OF THE CITY OF SANTA ANA AS FOllOWS: Section 1: The City Council hereby, finds, determines and declares as follows: A. The FY 2008-09 Miscellaneous Fee Schedule was established by the City Council by Resolution No. 2008-041. The Planning and Building Agency has continued to analyze the cost to administer the various programs, activities and applications for which the City charges application processing fee, and recommends certain modifications of this Resolution to adjust for increased costs to provide the programs, activities and services outlined herein. B. On May 7, 2007, City Council approved an agreement with MGT of America, Inc. ("MGT") for a study of the City's General Fund development processing fees in order to analyze the cost of providing these City services. The study included an analysis of staff time spent on the various development applications, as well as a thorough analysis of all indirect costs of City agencies in the support of these services. C. One of the major subjects of the MGT study are the fees charged for building permits. Historically, the Uniform Building Code set building permit fees in California cities and counties based on the valuation of the construction project. More recently, however, numerous court decisions, including a judgment against the County of Orange, indicate that valuation-based fees do not satisfy the state requirement to show the connection, or nexus, between the fee amount and project value. Consequently, cities throughout the state continue to move away from this methodology in favor of one based on a comprehensive analysis of actual costs. The MGT analysis follows this more rigorous methodology. D. A true and correct copy of the full MGT study has been placed on file with the Clerk of the Council for the statutory period required by Government Code S 66000, et seq. The MGT study methodology analyzes the average volume of development and permit applications during a year. A separate evaluation analyzed the time and motion of processing the various project types. The third and final analysis calculated the average overhead and indirect expenses required to provide these city services. To be conservative, the consultants utilized FY 2006-07 general fund salary and operation expenditures for the agencies, or portions thereof, involved in processing development applications and permits. Budget allocations for other agencies, such as City Manager's Office, Clerk of the Council, City Attorney's Office, and Personnel Services were Resolution No. 2009-018 Page 1 of 38