BACKGROUND:
The Historic Preservation Ordinance, Chapter 8.62 of the Cathedral City Municipal Code, was approved by the City Council on November 30, 2022. The Ordinance establishes three application processes; 1) to obtain historic designation, 2) certificate of appropriateness, and 3) removal or downgrading of historic designation.
The Planning Department, who will administer the application and review process and serve as the staff liaison to the Historic Preservation Committee and the City Council in the review of these applications, conducted an analysis of the costs associated with processing each application (see Discussion section) and the analysis was presented to the City Council during a study session on January 25, 2023.
The City Council directed staff to prepare a resolution establishing the application fees as follows:
•Obtain historic designation = $100
•Certificate of appropriateness = $1,691.50
•Removal of downgrading of historic designation = $2,619.00 In addition, the City Council requested that a hardship waiver provision be established for the certificate of appropriateness application, which is included in the resolution.
DISCUSSION:
The Planning Department completed an analysis of the costs incurred by each application type (see attachment), excluding additional costs that may be incurred for City provided surveys, studies, or investigations:
•Obtain historic designation = $3,096.50
•Certificate of appropriateness = $1,691.50
•Removal of downgrading of historic designation = $2,619.00 The policy of the City Council is that in normal circumstances fees should be charged to recover the fully burdened costs incurred by the City in providing services to applicants.
However, where there is determined to be a substantial public benefit, the City Council may consider not recovering the costs.
Staff also researched the processes laid out in the ordinances in neighboring cities and the fees charged by cities with comparable processes. The fee for historic designation is:
•Palm Springs = no fee
•Rancho Mirage = $500
•Palm Desert = no fee
•Redlands = no fee
The cities analyzed did not have a process or fee for removal or downgrading of the historic designation after approval and only the cities of Palm Springs and Redlands charged for the certificate of appropriateness:
•Palm Desert – Minor alteration = $561, Major alteration = $1,956, Demolition = $2,952
•Redlands – Minor alteration = $356, Major alteration = $615 The application and fee analysis were presented to the Historic Preservation Committee on January 17, 2023. After deliberation, the Committee approved a recommendation to the City Council that no fee be charged to obtain the historic designation and the fees for the certificate of appropriateness and removal or downgrading of historic designation be adopted as presented. The Committee also recommended a fee be charged for the issuance of the markers for approved sites that would help offset staff costs associated with obtaining the historic designation.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The potential fiscal impact for an application to obtain historic designation is $2,996.50 per application, $1,691.50 for each applicant granted a hardship waiver for the certificate of appropriateness, and any additional costs that may be incurred for conducting application-specific surveys, studies, or investigations. However, the reduced fee and granting of the hardship waiver would likely encourage applicants to seek the historic designation.