CITY OF FAIRFIELD
RESOLUTION NO. 2026-56
AMENDING FEES FOR RECOVERY OF COSTS OF THE BUILDING SAFETY DIVISION FOR COUNTER
SERVICES, PLAN REVIEW, INSPECTION, CODE ENFORCEMENT, AND ORDERING THE FEES TO BE
ADJUSTED ANNUALLY TO STAY CURRENT WITH EXPENSES
WHEREAS, the Building Safety Division administers and processes permits, certificates, and other forms and documents in connection with counter services, plan review, inspection, and code enforcement, as is mandated and required by the California Building Standards Code and Chapter 5 of the Fairfield Municipal Code; and
WHEREAS, the City incurs costs to perform these services; and
WHEREAS, the City Council has determined that an updated fee schedule is necessary to recover the costs associated with the administration and processing of permits, certificates, and other forms and documents; and
WHEREAS, Health and Safety Code Section 17951 and Government Code Section 66016 allow the City to adopt an ordinance or resolution to establish fees to administer and process permits, certificates, or other forms or documents , or defray the costs of enforcement required to be carried out by local enforcement agencies, provided that the fees do not exceed the reasonable costs to the City; and
WHEREAS, the City retained the services of Willdan Financial Services (Consultant) to review and conduct an independent analysis to determine the full costs incurred by the City to support the various activities for which the Building Safety Division charges user fees; and
WHEREAS, Consultant prepared a study listing the applicable direct and indirect costs for certain services provided by the Building Safety Division, describing the reasonable relationship between the fees and the services provided by the Building Safety Division, which is identified as the “City of Fairfield Building Division User Fee Study,” dated March 9, 2026 (Fee Study), copies of which are on file in the City Clerk’s Office; and
WHEREAS, the council has reviewed the Fee Study and finds that the proposed fees do not exceed the reasonable costs to the city; and
WHEREAS, Government Code Sections 66016 and 66018 require the city to hold at least one open and public hearing as part of a regularly scheduled meeting before adopting an ordinanc e or resolution increasing fees; and
WHEREAS, Government Code Sections 66016, 66018, and 6062a require notice to be given and data to be made available to the public before the open and public hearing; and RES. NO. 2026-56
WHEREAS, notice was provided in accordance with Government Code Sections 66016, 66018 and 6062a; and
WHEREAS, on April 7, 2026, the council conducted an open and public hearing as required by Government Code Sections 66016 and 66018; and
WHEREAS, the user fees and charges established pursuant to this Resolution shall take effect no sooner than 60 days following the adoption of this Resolution, pursuant to Government Code Section 66017.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FAIRFIELD HEREBY RESOLVES:
Section 1. The council hereby approves and adopts the recitals set forth above in support of this Resolution.
Section 2. The council hereby approves the Fee Study, attached hereto as Exhibit A , and incorporated herein by this reference, and adopts the Building Division Suggested User Fees as listed in Exhibit A - Appendix C. A copy of the Fee Study shall be maintained on file with the City Clerk and available during regular City business hours for public inspection.
Section 3. The finance director is hereby authorized to adjust the fees annually, effective July 1, starting in July 2027. The adjustments will be based on the average of each of the percent changes in the CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI -W) in the following three areas: 1) San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA, 2) West, and 3) U.S. city average. This CPI data will be obtained from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, or its successor agency, and the comparison will be made between the CPI values for April of the current year and the preceding April.
Section 4. The finance director is hereby authorized to adjust all construction valuations listed in the Fairfield Square Foot Construction Cost Table, as adopted and updated by Resolution 2021-83, every July 1, starting July 2027, according to the change in the California Constr uction Cost Index based upon the Building Code Index, as reported by the California Department of General Services, from April of the current fiscal year over the preceding April.
Section 5. Any provisions of prior Resolutions of the council establishing, adopting, or modifying user fees for the specific services, programs, or products outlined in the Fee Study , including, but not limited to, Resolution No. 2021-83 and Resolution No. 2024-111, are hereby repealed and replaced as of the effective date of the user fees and charges established herein; provided, however, that such repeal shall not excuse or affect the failure of any person or entity to pay any fee heretofore imposed upon such person or entity.
Section 6. The council has de termined that the adoption of this Resolution does not constitute a project under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA RES. NO. 2026-56
Guidelines Sections 15378(b)(4), as it does not involve any commitment to any specific project which may result in a potentially significant physical impact on the environment.
Section 7. If any section, subsection, subdivision, paragraph, sentence, clause, or phrase of this Resolution or any part hereof is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portion of this Resolution or any part thereof. The council hereby declares that it would have passed each section, subsection, subdivision, paragraph, sentence, clause, or phrase hereof, irrespe ctive of the fact that any one or more section, subsection, subdivision, paragraph, sentence, clause, or phrase be declared invalid or unconstitutional.
Section 8. The rates adopted in this Resolution shall go into effect on July 1, 2026.
Section 9. The city manager is authorized and directed to take all actions necessary to implement this Resolution.
PASSED AND ADOPTED this 7th day of April 2026, by the following vote:
AYES: MEMBERS: MOY/BERTANI/CARR/PANDURO/SANDHU/TONNESEN/WILLIAMS NOES: MEMBERS: _________________________________________________ ABSENT: MEMBERS: _________________________________________________ ABSTAIN: MEMBERS: _________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
MAYOR
ATTEST:
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CITY CLERK