City of Ripon
Building Permit Fee Schedule
Justification Study
Background and Purpose
California cities may impose user and regulatory fees for services through provisions set forth in the State Constitution, Article XIII C § 1. Under this statute, a fee may not exceed the reasonable cost of providing the service or performing the activity. For a fee to qualify as such, it must relate to a service or activity performed at the request of an individual or entity upon which the fee is imposed.
The City of Ripon’s Building Department is responsible for safeguarding the health, safety, and welfare of those who live and work in the City by enforcing building safety standards established in the California Building Code, as well as local municipal codes and policies. The department reviews and approves building plans and conducts field inspections to ensure that all construction performed under a building permit complies with approved plans and applicable regulations.
The City of Ripon Building Department currently does not maintain a formally published fee schedule for its services. Instead, permit and inspection fees are determined by referencing Tables 3-A through 3-H of the 1994 Uniform Administrative Code, which were adopted by Ordinance No. 557 in 1996 and have remained unchanged since then. As a result, the permit fees are based on outdated standards that do not account for current costs, evolving construction practices, or the increasing service demands faced by the department.
The purpose of this fee study is to evaluate the City’s existing building permit fee structure and determine whether adjustments are necessary to ensure the City is appropriately recovering the cost of services provided by the Building Department. This includes plan review, inspections, and other administrative functions related to building permits.
Cost of Service Analysis
This fee study evaluates the fees associated with building and safety construction plan review, issuing of permits, and inspection approvals that are completed by the City of Ripon Building Department.
The Cost of Service Analysis is used to determine the full cost of providing these governmental services and activities. This analysis considers the direct and indirect cost associated with the Building Department operations. Direct costs include salary, benefits, payroll taxes and overhead.
This analysis also considered ancillary costs associated with staffing the Building Department such as, Workers Compensation, Capital Replacement, Software/IT Costs, and Training.
Staff was interviewed to determine the time associated with non-recovery activities such as responding to phone calls and general information requests/questions. It was determined approximately 90% of the Building Department’s time is associated with the processing, review, and/or inspection of a specific fee category while the remaining costs should not be considered in the calculation of fees for services. Therefore, the “target” level of cost recovery for each fee was established at 90% of the full cost of service.
The following table provides a summary of the annual costs incurred by the Building Department for services that are eligible to be recovered through fees.
Table 1
Building Services –
Processing, Plan Review,
& Insp.
Direct Cost including Overhead * $372,775
Workers Compensation * $ 13,279
Software/IT Costs ** $ 38,783
Capital Replacement ** $ 6,400
Training ** $ 4,000
Cost Recovery Target from Fees $ 396,632
* 90% Cost Recovery Goal
** 100% Cost Recovery Goal
To estimate resource requirements, staff time for permit processing, plan review, and inspections was evaluated through interviews with the personnel responsible for these activities. Staff provided input on the average time necessary to complete a typical service.
The fully burdened hourly rate was then applied to these staff time estimates, resulting in the cost of service analysis attached as Appendix A. As shown above, an average cost recovery rate based on the preceding 4.5 years of data would achieve the established cost recovery target, consistent with the amounts outlined in Table 1 above.
Cost Recovery Evaluation
The table below presents a comparison of estimated average annual revenue generated by the Building Department over a four-year period (2021-2024) under the current fee schedule versus the projected revenue under the recommended fee schedule. The analysis includes the corresponding cost recovery percentage based on the City of Ripon’s cost recovery target of 90%.
Table 2
Average Annual
Revenue (2021-2024)
at Current Fee
Cost Recovery
Percentage
Average Annual
Revenue (2021-2024) at
Recommended Fee
Cost Recovery
Percentage
Building Dept $ 255,322 58% $ 396,530 90%
Annual Fee Indexing
To maintain alignment between the City’s cost of providing services and the revenues generated through building permit fees, staff recommends that all fees be adjusted annually based on the “Consumer Price Index (CPI) for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), All items – Bay Area Cities”, as published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. An exception applies to the Technology Maintenance and Program Recovery Fee (IT Fee), which shall be increased by a flat five percent (5%) annually. Because staffing costs represent the single largest component of the Building Department’s service delivery expenses, applying an annual adjustment of at least this amount ensures that the fee schedule remains consistent with actual cost drivers and prevents future underrecovery of costs.
Recommendation
City staff recommends adopting the updated Building Department fee schedule, as outlined in Appendix B, to achieve a cost recovery rate of approximately 90%, aligning with the City’s financial sustainability goals while continuing to provide quality building services.
Appendix A
Building Permit Current Fee
Average
Cost
Recovery
Rate
Average
Recommended
Fee Average
Cost
Recovery
Rate
Average
Permit Fee
Type Permit Processing Time Analysis
Addition $ 2,893.49 71% $ 3,660.74 99% Valuation Based on 6 hours of clerical time and 28 hours of plan check and inspections (6 inspections)
Demo $ 126.78 23% $ 533.23 98% Valuation Based on 2 hours of clerical and 3.5 hours of plan check and inspections (1 inspections)
Electrical - No Plan Check $ 58.01 29% $ 141.34 100% Time Based on 1.25 hours of clerical time and .5 hours of inspections (1 inspection)
Electrical - Plan Check $ 256.54 31% $ 760.20 97% Valuation Based on 2 hours of clerical time and 5.5 hours
of plan check and inspections (2 to 3
inspections)
HVAC $ 82.88 59% $ 145.69 104% Time Based on 1.25 hours of clerical time and .50 hours of inspections (1 inspection)
Main Panel Upgrade $ 55.07 28% $ 200.37 100% Time Based on 1.25 hours of clerical time and 1 hour of inspections (2 inspections)
Mechanical - No Plan Check $ 50.82 36% $ 141.31 100% Time Based on 1.25 hours of clerical time and .50 hours of inspections (2 inspections)
Mechanical - Plan Check $ 59.31 8% $ 768.93 99% Valuation Based on 2 hours of clerical time and 5.5 hours
of plan check and inspections (2 to 3
inspections)
New Construction $ 3,960.89 72% $ 5,198.12 100% Valuation Based on 7 hours of clerical time and 40 hours of plan check and inspections (12 inspections)
Patio Covers $ 290.00 46% $ 566.03 102% Valuation
Based on 1.25 hours of clerical time and 4
hours of plan check and inspections (4
inspections)
Plumbing - No Plan Check $ 68.25 48% $ 143.77 102% Time Based on 1.25 hours of clerical time and .50 hours of inspections (1 inspection)
Plumbing - Plan Check $ 64.05 16% $ 394.56 101% Valuation Based on 1.5 hours of clerical time and 2.5
hours of plan check and inspections (2
inspections)
Remodel $ 759.09 71% $ 1,174.35 100% Valuation Based on 3.5 hours of clerical time and 8 hours of plan check and inspections (6 inspections)
Re-Roof $ 215.66 62% $ 344.71 99% Valuation Based on 1.25 hours of clerical time and 2.25 hours of inspections (2 to 3 inspections)
Sign $ 337.57 51% $ 595.17 99% Valuation Based on 2 hours of clerical time and 4 hours of plan check and inspections (3 inspections)
Solar $ 280.96 58% $ 476.47 99% Set Fee
Based on 1.5 hours of clerical time and 3.25
hours of plan check and inspections (2
inspections)
Swimming Pool $ 1,102.27 66% $ 1,529.64 100% Valuation
Based on 4.5 hours of clerical time and 10.5
hours of plan check and inspections (5
inspections)
Tenant Improvements $ 1,896.32 72% $ 2,406.68 99% Valuation Based on 4.75 hours of clerical time and 18
hours of plan check and inspections (6
inspections)
Water Heater $ 34.76 25% $ 140.92 100% Time Based on 1.25 hours of clerical time and .50 hours of inspections (1 inspection)
46% 100%
Appendix B