Item 5/2026
Final
City of Garden Grove
INTER-DEPARTMENT MEMORANDUM
To:
Lisa L. Kim From: Patricia Song
Dept:
City Manager Dept: Finance
Date: 1/27/2026
Subject: Adoption of a Resolution amending User Fees for Engineering and Grading Plan Check services. (Action Item)
OBJECTIVE
For the City Council to conduct a public hearing to consider the adoption of the attached resolution amending certain user fees.
BACKGROUND
State law grants cities the authority to establish and implement fees, rates, and charges for municipal services, provided they do not exceed the estimated reasonable cost of delivering those services. This framework ensures that the City can recover the direct and indirect costs associated with providing specific services to the community, without placing an undue burden on the general taxpayer.
Over the years, the City Council has approved various fees and charges to support a wide range of City services – such as planning fees, building permits, water services, and facility uses – based on this cost -recovery principle. To enhance transparency and streamline the management of these fees, the City Council adopted a Master Fee Schedule in 1994. This consolidated document brought together all approved fees and charges across departments into a single, comprehensive reference. The Master Fee Schedule continues to serve as the City’s central source for service-related fee information and is periodically updated to reflect changes in service delivery costs, regulatory requirements, and community needs.
DISCUSSION
User fees and charges are payments made for voluntarily requested, publicly provided services that benefit specific individuals rather than the general public. In accordance with sound financial management practices, these fees should aim to fully recover the costs of providing such services to protect the broader public interest. Since fees are to be based on actual service costs, periodic reviews are essential to ensure they remain aligned with current cost structures.
Item 5/2026
During a recent review, staff identified several Public Works user fees that require updates to accurately reflect current labor and contractual costs, thereby ensuring fairness and cost recovery.
Engineering Plan Check for Public Improvements
This fee is intended to recover the City’s cost of providing engineering review services, which include analysis, coordination, and review to ensure grading plans comply with City standards and applicable codes for development projects.
Final Map Check
The Engineering Final Map Check services consist of a review of final improvement plans prior to permit issuance and encompasses three areas: lot line adjustment, parcel, and tract maps.
Final review of each of these verifies that improvement plans accurately incorporate conditions of approval, prior plan check comments, and existing City Standards to ensure that all documents are accurate and legally suitable for recording with the County Recorder.
Grading Plan Check
The Grading Plan Check service fee reflects the cost of review for proposed grading plans to assess their compliance with safety, drainage, erosion, and building code standards. These reviews also include coordination with necessary studies and supporting technical documents to ensure successful development.
The services described above are primarily provided by consultants and coordinated by City staff. Current fee rates no longer cover the actual cost of delivering these services. Rising consultant expenses and personnel -related costs have significantly increased the cost of service delivery. As a result, the City is not fully recovering costs under the existing fee structure and has been subsidizing a portion of these services with General Fu nd resources that could otherwise support broader community needs.
The proposed increase in hourly rates is intended to align user fees with the City’s actual cost of providing plan check services and restore full cost recovery. These fees are charged solely to project applicants who directly benefit from the services and are not intended to generate revenue beyond the cost of providing plan check reviews.
Additionally, the City proposes implementing annual fee adjustments over the next five years, in accordance with existing contracts, to account for anticipated increases in contractual and labor costs.
A summary of the recommended fee increases for the next five years is presented on the next page.
Item 5/2026
FINANCIAL IMPACT
The proposed fee increases are intended to improve cost recovery for engineering and grading plan check services and do not exceed the City’s actual cost of providing these services.
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the City Council:
Conduct a public hearing; and
Adopt the attached resolution amending certain user fees.
ATTACHMENT(S)
1. Resolution Amending User Fees for Engineering and Grading Plan Check fees
Current Proposed New Hourly Rate2
Description Hourly Rate 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030
Engineering Plan Check
for Public Improvements
(Tracts & Non-Tracts) 1 155.00$ 187.00$ 195.00$ 203.00$ 211.00$ 220.00$ Engineering Final Map Check:
Lot Line Adjustment 155.00$ 187.00$ 195.00$ 203.00$ 211.00$ 220.00$ Parcel 155.00$ 187.00$ 195.00$ 203.00$ 211.00$ 220.00$ Tract 155.00$ 187.00$ 195.00$ 203.00$ 211.00$ 220.00$ Grading Plan Check:
Plan Check 145.00$ 187.00$ 195.00$ 203.00$ 211.00$ 220.00$ 2 The proposed new rates would take effect on January 1st of each applicable year. 1 In addition to the listed fee, a deposit of 3% of construction costs, as determined by Engineering Division is required.