Cotati City Council
Agenda Staff Report
Item type: REGULAR AGENDA (ACTION)
To: City Council
Subject: Update on City Fee Schedule
Date: November 08, 2022
Written by: Damien O'Bid, City Manager
Recommendation
It is recommended that the City Council discuss the additional information requested and if additional fee reductions are directed, adopt a motion authorizing those fee reductions.
Background
On July 27, 2021, the City Council adopted a comprehensive update to the City fee schedule.
After discussion, the City Council directed changes to the following fees:
• Electric Vehicle Charger Installation (discussion was focused on residential chargers) • Water Turn on Fees
• Water/Sewer Account Deposit for renters and homeowners.
Following this meeting, staff updated the water turn on fees and water/sewer account deposits as directed. As discussed further below, it was discovered that the residential electric vehicle charger installation permit fee was not updated in the fee schedule.
On September 27, 2022, the City Council adopted an updated fee schedule, which goes into effect 60 days following adoption (effective November 12, 2022). Prior to going into effect, the City Council asked staff to follow up on a couple of building permit fees:
• Electric Vehicle Chargers
• Park Use Fees; particularly for events like the Farmers Market Analysis/Discussion
Electric Vehicle Chargers
When staff looked into this issue, it was discovered that the City Council had directed a reduction in this fee last year to $200 for residential chargers. Note that there was no explicit discussion to change the proposed fee for commercial chargers under or over 50 amps (set at $495/$674, respectively).
Upon discovering this oversight, staff reviewed building permit records to determine if any residential or commercial permits have been issued after adoption of the new fee schedule. At this time, none have been found, but staff is continuing to search through combined permits to look for “bundled” work. If any permits are discovered that were issued in the past year, the City will refund the difference as the published fee schedule had an incorrect fee amount. In any case, the permit schedule that will go into effect will indicate the updated fee of $200 for residential chargers unless further changes are directed by the City Council.
Park Use Fees
Prior to 2020, the park fee for events with 50-250 attendees was $150 per event (or week, in the case of the Farmers Market). In accordance with the adopted Park Use Policy, a 50% discount is available to non-profits if no admission fee is charged, which lowered the cost to $75 per week for the Farmers Market. This included allowing them storage all season behind the stage and public works hanging their signs and banners.
With the onset of COVID-19, the City Council adopted Resolution 2020-31 and 2020-59, which included a waiver of park use fees for community events. Therefore, events like the Farmers Market paid $0 in fees to the City from 2020-2022.
Under the updated fee schedule, the cost for this type of event is $200. Using the 50% non-profit allowance in the Park Use Policy, the actual cost will be $100 per week for the Farmers Market in 2023, including free storage and hanging banners and signs. For reference, staff were able to find the following comparable fees in other cities:
City Park Rental Fee Amount*
Santa Rosa $184 (101-200 people)
Petaluma $189 (20-250 people, community event)
Rohnert Park $139 per 4-hour block (Except Alicia Park, City Center Plaza) Healdsburg $133 (limit to 100 people). Special event permits are $1,286-$2,116 *Note: Some cities also charge a $25 application fee.
Financial Considerations
Unless directed to change the adopted fees, there are no further financial considerations.
Environmental Issues
This action is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) because it is not a project which has a potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment, pursuant to CEQA Guideline section 15378.