Building & Safety
User Fees
August 10, 2026 City Council Meeting
Background
▪September 2024: Contract awarded to Willdan Engineering for complete in-house Building Division operations
▪Tasked with assessing current operations, identifying areas for improvement, and making necessary changes to improve services ▪Identified current permit fee structure presented challenges because fees collected upfront and rolled into one fee
Overview –User Fees
▪City provides two types of services: General Services & Special Services
▪Special Services are provided to or for the private benefit of a limited number of individuals or businesses
▪User Fees are charged for special services to recover the City’s cost of providing those services
▪State law requires that 1) individual use of the service must be voluntary, and 2) fees must reasonably relate to the services provided
User Fee Study
▪Principle goal of the User Fee Study is to determine the full cost of each service that the Building & Safety Division provides
▪Total cost of each service includes:
▪Study determined full cost recovery for each service; each fee may be set at the City Council’s discretion up to 100% of the total cost Personnel
costs
Indirect
costs
Direct
Departmental
costs++
Current Fee Structure
MEPsPermit &
Inspections++=One fee
collected upfront
Plan Check
Review
$
Notable Changes
Bifurcating plan check review and permit/inspection
fees.1
Establishing separate MEP fees based on the
specific permit request.2
Establishing plan check and permit fees based on
project type.3
Clarifying and adding appropriate fire review and
inspection fees.4
Fee Comparisons
▪A current and proposed fee comparison based on the most common types of projects are included in the Staff Report
▪Fee comparisons with 5 other cities (Downey, Paramount, Lakewood, Cerritos, and Long Beach) are included in the Staff Report
Recommendation
1.Open the public hearing; take documentary and testimonial evidence; and after considering the evidence; adopt Resolution No. 26-32; or
2.Alternatively, discuss and take other action related to this item.