Title
Consider a resolution amending "Appendix A: Fees, Rates and Charges" to the Code of Ordinances (2018 Edition) related to subdivision fees, building permit fees, and zoning fees.
Body
This resolution updates some fees related to planning and development applications. Many fees have not been increased in at least 15 years and a comprehensive review was recently completed by Planning & Development Services staff. In some cases, fees are being raised to reflect increased prices for services the city must use to carry out lawful duties. In others, fees are increasing due to increased staff time required to administer certain components of the development process brought about by larger and more complicated projects combined with new or revised development regulations. In all cases, the fees proposed for new rates have been compared with the rates in peer cities within our market, and our best practice cities, to ensure Round Rock remains a competitive place to do business from a fee standpoint.
The most notable changes include the following:
• Raising the base building permit fee for single-family and townhome construction from $285 to $485.
• Raising the base building permit fee for new commercial, office, industrial, and multifamily construction from $0.08 to $0.12 per square foot of floor space.
• Raising the Fire Code review and inspection fee for commercial, office, industrial, and multifamily construction from $0.05 to $0.08 per square foot of floor space.
• Adding a new fee for major revisions to preliminary plats that is half the amount of the original preliminary plat.
• Increasing the base fee for site development permits from $1,000 to $2,000 and removing the $5,000 maximum.
• Increasing the subdivision inspection fee from 1.5% of the total cost of public improvements to 3%.
• Increasing the fee for notices placed in the newspaper (required by the state for procedures requiring a public hearing) from $150 to $275 due to price increases instituted by the publisher.
The base building permit fee is one of the smallest components of the overall set of fees due, so raising these fees has a very slight impact on the overall amount of money charged to applicants. The bulk of the fees are roadway and utility impact fees. For example, a new building permit application for a standard single-family home would owe a total of $12,375.89 in fees after the increase compared with $12,175.89 before. A large sized-based project, such as a recent 176,534 square-foot warehouse, would see its total amount of building permit fees due rise from $110,004.01 to $123,361.39.
The subdivision inspection fee is based on the total cost of new public water, wastewater, drainage, and roadway infrastructure installed by a developer. It is different from other fees in that it is an inspection fee and not a review fee, and it is paid at the end of construction rather than up front with the application. Although this fee is proposed to be doubled, the impact to the overall cost of development is nominal when considered on per lot cost basis. For example, a recently paid fee for a phase of a new single-family subdivision with 91 lots, nearly 3,000 linear feet of new public streets, and associated public utilities was $20,948.72. Under the new rate of 3% the fee would be $41,897.44, which breaks down to an additional cost of $230.20 per lot.
Attached to this summary sheet is a more thorough breakdown of the proposed fees as well as how they compare to peer cities.