AGENDA #6d

MEMORANDUM

 

TO:                  Mayor and Town Council

 

FROM:            W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager

 

SUBJECT:       User Fee Schedules and Policies

 

DATE:             June 9, 2003

 

 

The attached resolution would approve user fee policies, fee schedules, and facility use policies for various Town services and facilities.  Attached are copies of the proposed policies and fee schedules for each department for 2003-2004.  Proposed changes for 2003-2004 are summarized below.

 

GENERAL FUND

 

For most departments including the Town Clerk, Finance, Inspections, Engineering, Police and Fire Departments, the Library and the Transportation and Parking Departments, we propose no changes in fees or policies for 2003-2004.  Recommended changes for other departments are as discussed below.

 

Recommended Changes for the Planning Department Development Review Fees

 

We recommend two adjustments to the schedule of Development Review Fees:  fees for Minor Subdivisions, and the fee waiver policy for affordable housing.

 

Minor Subdivisions

 

With the new Land Use Management Ordinance, Minor Subdivisions now must be acted upon by the Planning Board (rather than administrative action).  This type of process requires additional staff work.

 

The existing fee schedule lists a fee of $270 + $40/lot for Minor Subdivisions and Final Plats.  Final Plats are pursuant to Council approval of a Preliminary Plat, which typically carries conditions of approval which must be met.  So, after Council approval, an applicant pays this fee for review and approval of a Final Plat.  Minor Subdivisions were once a one-step, administrative function, involving about the same amount of work as review/approval of a Final Plat.

 

Minor Subdivisions now require additional review.  We receive and evaluate an application, take it to the Planning Board for action, which typically is approved with conditions.  Following Planning Board approval, an applicant then submits another version of the plat which satisfies the conditions of approval.  After a staff review and approval, the plat can be recorded.  We believe that the application fee for Minor Subdivisions should be adjusted to match the typical level of staff work now involved in that process.  We estimate the costs involved in taking a Minor Subdivision to the Planning Board as follows:

 

Talk to applicant, design professional:                2 hours

Send out notices, respond to questions              3 hours

Write evaluation for Planning Board                              4 hours

Prepare and distribute packet for Planning Board          1 hour

Present at Planning Board meeting                                 1 hour

Prepare minutes, notification to applicant                       1 hour

                                                                                    _______

 

Total estimate of additional staff time required due to new process:                   12 hours

Estimate of cost of additional staff time (@ $30/hour):                           $360

 

Based on the staff time involved, we recommend that the Council separate Minor Subdivision and Final Plat on the fee schedule, under the category “Subdivisions” as follows, adding $360 to the application fee for Minor Subdivisions:

 

            Minor Subdivision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 630 + $40/lot

            Final Plat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  $ 270 + $40/lot

 

Waiver for Affordable Housing

 

The current fee schedule contains the following footnote: 

 

“For applications involving residential development in which documentation is provided that at least 15% of the dwelling units will be affordable to low-moderate income families (80% of area median income for a family of four), the development application fee shall be waived.”

 

We believe that this fee waiver was put into the fee structure as an incentive to encourage applicants to propose affordable housing as a component of new development.  It has now become the Council’s expectation, and common practice, for all residential developments to contain provisions that would achieve affordability for 15% of the units.  We believe it is reasonable to waive fees for applications that are proposing 100% affordable housing.  We believe that the threshold of “15% affordable” for a fee waiver as an incentive is no longer consistent with the Council’s expectations.

 

We recommend that the Council consider adjusting the language on the fee schedule to make the fee waiver apply to those applications that propose 100% affordable housing, rather than 15% affordable housing.

 

Recommended Changes to Public Works Department User Fees

 

For the Public Works Department, only one change is proposed.  In the Solid Waste Services Division, fees for Commercial Collection would be increased by 10%.

 

Recommended Changes to Parks and Recreation Department User Fees

 

There are four (4) areas of substantive change recommended in the 2003-04 Parks and Recreation User Fee Policy.

 

The first is the elimination of rental fees for local non-profit and private use of the meeting rooms at the Community Center and the Northside Gym.  Rentals fees for gymnasiums, the Community Center pool, the Hargraves Center, and outdoor facilities such as fields and picnic shelters would remain the same.  This change would be consistent with community group use of other meeting rooms in other Town facilities, including the Library and Town Hall.  The loss of revenue would be minimal; annual revenue from meeting room rentals has been less than $2000 each of the last 2 years.

 

Another substantive change is the addition of user fees for the skateboard park and batting cage facilities.  These rates have not been previously included in the Parks and Recreation User Fee Policy.  The rates shown in the attached document are identical to those set in the current contract with the concessionaire operating the facilities.

 

The third major change in the proposed Parks and Recreation User Fee Policy is the addition of school Family Specialists to the list of outside parties with authority to confirm eligibility of fee reduction applicants.  The previous policy has permitted approval by only the Orange County Department of Social Services and the Chapel Hill Housing Department.

 

Finally, the proposed User Fee Policy includes Parks and Recreation Department program registration procedures.  This information has historically been included in the 3-times yearly Department brochure but has not been part of the User Fee Policy.  Procedures explained in the attached are identical to those currently in place.

 

The attached proposed User Fee Policy also includes several recommended minor changes in fees for various activities, including the cost of an annual gym pass (current fee: $10; recommended fee: $20), the inclusion of annual climbing wall passes, and the addition of climbing wall rental fees when staff is required.  Finally, the attached policy would reduce from 5 years to 2 years the length of time a record of credit with the Parks and Recreation Department would be maintained by the Department.

 

The Parks and Recreation Commission’s recommendation regarding the 2003-04 Parks and Recreation Department’s User Fee Policy is also attached. 

 

For all other Departments, we propose no changes in current fees and policies.

 

RECOMMENDATION

 

We recommend adoption of the attached Resolution establish user fee schedules and policies.

 

ATTACHMENTS

 

1.  User Fee Policies, 2002-2003

 

Engineering Department Inspection Fee Policy (p. 6).

Engineering Department Municipal Cemetery Fees (p. 7).

Town Clerk’s Office User Fee Schedule (p. 8).

Fire Department Proposed Fees (p. 9).

Inspections Schedule of Permit Fees (p. 15).

Public Library Proposed Schedule of Fines and Fees (p. 21).

Parks and Recreation Department User Fee Policy (p. 22).

Planning Department Development Review Fees (p. 36).

Police Department Use Fee Schedule (p. 37).

Public Works User Fee Policy - Solid Waste (p. 38).

Public Works User Fee Policy - Field Operations (p. 41).

Transportation Department User Fee Policy (p. 43).

A RESOLUTION ADOPTING USER FEE POLICIES AND SCHEDULES FOR VARIOUS TOWN DEPARTMENTS (2003-06-09/R-11)

 

BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill that the Council hereby adopts, effective July 1, 200 3 the attached user fee policies and schedules as submitted by the Town Manager on June 9, 2003:

 

Town Clerk – Schedule of User Fees

 

Engineering -

Inspections Fee Policy

Municipal Cemetery Fees

 

Fire Department Permit Fee Policy

 

Inspections Department -

Building Permit Fees

Electrical Permit Fees

Mechanical and Plumbing Fee Schedules

 

Library -Schedule of Fines and Fees

 

Parks and Recreation - User Fee Policy

 

Planning - Development Review Fees

 

Police - Fee Policy

 

Public Works -

Field Operations Street Cut Policy

Sanitation Services Policy and Disposal Fees

 

Transportation - General User Fee Policy

 

 

This the 9^th day of June, 2003.