RESOLUTION NO. 2024-9389
RESOLUTION NO. 2024-9389 REPEALING RESOLUTION 2001-5777 ACCEPTING THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE UPDATED CITYWIDE USER FEE STUDY, ESTABLISHING A NEW SCHEDULE OF FEES EFFECTIVE MARCH 3, 2025 WHEREAS, Government Code Section 66014 provides that when a local agency charges fees for filing and processing applications for planning services or under any other authority, those fees may not exceed the estimated reasonable cost of providing the service for which the fee is charged, and such fees may include the costs reasonably necessary to prepare and revise the plans and policies that a local agency is required to adopt before it can make any necessary findings and determinations; and WHEREAS, Government Code Section 66016(b) provides that any action by a local agency to levy a new fee or service charge or to approve an increase in an existing fee or service charge shall be taken only by ordinance or resolution; and WHEREAS, the City of San Marcos has previously adopted resolution 2001-5777 establishing a Citywide User Fee Schedule for services provided by the development services department and fee recovery for other city departments; and WHEREAS, the City of San Marcos (“City”), commissioned Willdan Financial Services, to prepare the Comprehensive User Fee Study dated November 26, 2024 (“User Fee Study”) attached hereto as Exhibit A, to evaluate cost recovery related to limited-benefit, voluntary services and have found that the fees charged for these services provided by the development services department and other City departments do not align with the City’s goal of fiscal sustainability and does not demonstrate a sufficient relationship between reasonable costs of providing services and fees charged; and WHEREAS, Staff recommends adoption of the fees outlined in the User Fee Schedule attached hereto as Exhibit B, with regular reviews of fees charged for limited-benefit services to ensure fees charged are reasonable to cost of providing such services to ensure the fiscal sustainability of the City; and WHEREAS, the City seeks to adopt the recommended User Fees outlined in Exhibit B and have ensured that the fees do not exceed the estimated reasonable cost of providing the services in accordance with California Law; and WHEREAS, the User Fee report further analyzed the User Fees in comparison to charges for similar services observed in the market and surrounding communities in order to ensure the proposed updated fees align with market trends and do not present an unreasonable burden to users; and WHEREAS, a public workshop was held on October 23, 2024 regarding the proposed change in User Fees, with public notification being provided in advance of the public hearing in accordance with California State law, and WHEREAS, Government Code Section 66018(a) provides that prior to adopting a resolution adopting a new fee or approving an increase in an existing fee, a local agency shall hold a public hearing, at which oral or written presentations can be made, as part of a regularly scheduled meeting with notice of the time and place of the public hearing, including a general explanation of the matter to be considered, published in accordance with Section 6062a of the Government Code; and WHEREAS, Government Code Section 6062a provides that publication of notice of the hearing shall be for 10 days in a newspaper regularly published once a week or oftener with two publications, with at least five days intervening between the dates of first and last publication not counting such publication dates, being sufficient; and WHEREAS, the City has complied with the procedural requirements of Government Code Section 66018(a) and 6062a, including the publication of a public notice regarding the proposed fee adjustments; and WHEREAS, the User Fee Study and the 2025 User Fee Schedule, the latter of which was prepared based off the User Fee Study with minor deviations, were made available for public review at least 10 days prior to the November 26, 2024 City Council public hearing; and WHEREAS, a City Council public hearing was scheduled for November 26, 2024, at which public comments, both written and oral, and all documents and other information received and/or submitted at, or prior to, the public hearing supporting and/or opposing the staff recommendation was considered by the City Council.
WHEREAS, the costs of providing services related to the filing and processing of applications, including but not limited to staff salaries, benefits, materials, and overhead, are subject to annual increases due to inflation and other economic factors; and WHEREAS, in order to ensure that the User Fees continue to reflect the City’s actual costs of providing services, the City Council finds it necessary to allow for an annual administrative adjustment of the permit fees based on a recognized cost index, such as the Consumer Price Index (“CPI”), to avoid the need for more frequent comprehensive fee studies and to maintain cost recovery in a fair and consistent manner.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the City Council of the City of San Marcos resolves as follows:
SECTION 1. The above recitals are all true and correct and are incorporated herein by this reference.
SECTION 2. Based upon all the recitals, exhibits and evidence described herein, the City Council hereby finds as follows:
The User Fee Study and the 2025 User Fee Schedule, attached hereto as Exhibits “A” and “B” respectively and incorporated herein by this reference, provide adequate evidence to conclude that the current service fees charged for the City’s services do not adequately recoup the City’s costs of providing certain services and thus, a significant amount of these costs are currently paid out of the City’s general fund and, therefore, borne by the general public; and Providing these services is of special benefit to applicants both separate and apart from the general benefit to the public; and therefore, in the interests of fairness to the general public, the City desires to better recover the costs of providing these services from applicants who have sought or require the City’s services by revising its schedule of fees; and SECTION 3. Based upon all the recitals, exhibits, and findings described herein, the City Council hereby repeals Resolution 2001-5777 and approves and adopts the 2025 User Fee Schedule.
SECTION 4. Following a duly noticed public hearing, the User Fees may be adjusted periodically, no more frequently than annually, based on the Consumer Price Index to maintain the City’s ability to recover the reasonable costs of providing permit-related services. Any increases made to the Fees in the 2025 User Fee Schedule must be below the estimated reasonable full cost of providing the service as described in the User Fee Study. The adjusted amounts shall be submitted to the City Council for consideration. If adopted by the City Council, the adjusted amounts shall become effective no earlier than sixty (60) days thereafter, or a later date as may be set by the City Council.
SECTION 5. Pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) of the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) Guidelines, the adoption of this Resolution approving the 2024 User Fee Schedule, is categorically exempt from CEQA review because it concerns adoption and approval of a funding mechanism for recovery of costs reasonably borne by the City relate to processing applications and other types of submittals related to projects that have been or will be evaluated under CEQA. CEQA applies only to projects which have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment, whereas here, it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment.
SECTION 6. The City Council declares that, should any provision, section, paragraph, sentence or word of this Resolution be rendered or declared invalid by any final court action in a court of competent jurisdiction or by reason of any preemptive legislation, the remaining provisions, sections, paragraphs, sentences or words of this Resolution as hereby adopted shall remain in full force and effect.
SECTION 7. This Resolution is adopted November 26, 2024, and the adopted User Fees shall take effect March 3, 2025.
PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN MARCOS at a regular meeting held on the 26th day of November, 2024, by the following roll call vote:
AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS:
NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS:
ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS:
______________________________
Rebecca D. Jones, Mayor
City of San Marcos
ATTEST:
_____________________________
Phillip Scollick, City Clerk
City of San Marcos
ATTACHMENT(S):
Exhibit A – USER fee nexus study
EXHIBIT b – 2025 uSER FEE SCHEDULE
Resolution No. 2024-9389