Fremont City Council Meeting: 02/18/25 07:00 PM
3300 Capitol Avenue Div/Dept: Code Enforcement
Fremont, CA 94538 Category: Fees & Rates
SCHEDULED
Sponsors:
COUNCIL STAFF REPORT (ID # 5356) DOC ID: 5356
Updated: 2/14/2025 9:21 AM by Susan Gauthier Page 1
BUILDING APPEALS BOARD AMENDMENT TO MASTER FEE SCHEDULE – Public Hearing (Published Notice) to consider an Amendment to Master Fee Resolution 8672 (Master Fee Schedule) to Amend the Fee for Appeals to the Building Appeals Board
Contact Persons:
Name: David Wage Mike Wayne
Title: Code Enforcement Manager/Senior
Planner
Building Official
Div/Dept: Code Enforcement Building Inspection
Phone: 510-494-4447 510-494-4487
E-Mail: [email protected] [email protected]
Executive Summary: In September 2024, the Council took action to create the three- member Building Appeals Board to hear and decide appeals of orders, decisions, and determinations by the Building Official and Fire Chief/Fire Marshall. To recover City costs associated with appeals, a fee of $2,101 was adopted for all appeals to the Building Appeals Board. Staff is recommending replacing the single appeal fee of $2,101 with three separate appeal fees for appeals to the Building Appeals Board: $335 for appeals of administrative citations; $770 for appeals of a building official determination and any other non-specified appeals; and actual cost with a $960 deposit for appeals of a notice and order to abate nuisance or notice and order to vacate.
DISCUSSION/ANALYSIS: Staff is recommending replacing the adopted fee of $2,101 to make an appeal to the Building Appeals Board with separate appeal fees for: appeals of administrative citations, appeals of building official determinations or other non-specified appeals, and appeals of a notice and order to abate nuisance or notice and order to vacate.
All these appeals are heard by the Building Appeals Board; however, they typically involve different staff persons and vary in average degree of complexity, which is reflected in the average amount of time required to prepare for and conduct an appeal hearing. Replacing the single appeal fee with separate fees for each type of appeal will more accurately reflect the actual cost of an appeal hearing.
For appeals of administrative citations related to the Building or Fire Code, staff is proposing a flat fee based of $335 on average staff time to process the appeal and participate in the appeal hearing. A similar fee of $770 is proposed for appeals of a Building Official determinations or other non-specified appeals. The proposed fees would include time spent by Development Cost Center staff involved in processing appeals and staffing the appeal hearing, primarily Building Division staff, but not Code Enforcement staff or City Attorney’s Office staff which are budgeted in the General Fund. Excluding Code Enforcement and City Attorney staff costs would ensure there is not a significant barrier to due process and is like other City flat appeal fees, which do not include the full cost of processing an appeal. These appeal fees would include a cost adjuster to automatically adjust for inflation annually.
For appeals of a notice and order to abate nuisance or order to vacate, staff is proposing a deposit-based fee and billing after the hearing. The amount of the initial deposit would be Council Staff Report (ID # 5356) Meeting of February 18, 2025 Updated: 2/14/2025 9:21 AM by Susan Gauthier Page 2
$960, again based on average time spent by staff other than Code Enforcement and the City Attorney’s Office. There can be substantial variation in the complexity and amount of time required for this type of appeal. A deposit and billing for actual amount of time spent would ensure that the cost to an appellant is consistent with staff’s cost to process the appeal. If those costs are less than the $960 deposit, the remaining balance would be refunded to the appellant. This methodology is like that used to set other City deposit-based appeal fees such as appeals of land development projects.
FISCAL IMPACT: Staff is recommending replacing the single appeal fee of $2,101 for all appeals to the Building Appeals Board with three separate appeal fees: $335 for appeals of administrative citations, $770 for appeals of a building official determination s or other non- specified appeals, and a $960 deposit for appeals of a notice and order to abate nuisance or notice and order to vacate. Appeal fees will cover the cost of Development Cost Center staff.
Costs for Code Enforcement and City Attorney staff will not be charged to the appellant; however, staff has received an average of only three appeals per year that would go to the Building Appeals Board based on data from the past five years, so the proposed fee amendments are not expected to have a significant fiscal impact.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW: The proposed fee for the Building Appeals Board hearing is exempt from the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) because, without limitation, it is not a “project” as defined in CEQA Guidelines Section 15378(b)(2) and/or 15378(b)(5) as it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity may have a significant effect on the environment per CEQA Guidelines Section 15601(b)(3), each as a separate and independent basis for CEQA compliance.
ATTACHMENTS:
• Exhibit A - Draft Resolution Building Appeals Board Fees
RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends adopting the resolution attached as Exhibit A, approving an amendment to Master Fee Resolution 8672 (Master Fee Schedule).