HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-0819-24 STATE OF WASHINGTON
County of Jefferson
An Ordinance Relating to County Fee Policy
and Requirements. and Department of
Community Development Fee Schedules; Title ORDINANCE NO.06—0 R 1 9—2 4
15 JCC,Title 18 JCC. and Appendix Fee
Schedules; Repealing and Replacing Ordinance
No. 01-0211-1 9
WHEREAS, Jefferson County is a political subdivision of the state of Washington as
provided by Title 36 RCW and the Washington State Constitution Article II,and may impose fees
to recoup the costs of processing permit applications and providing services to the public, as
permitted by RCW 82.02.020 and other statutes;and,
WHEREAS, RCW 82.02.020(3) states that counties may collect reasonable fees from an
applicant for a permit or other governmental approval to cover the cost Community Development's
processing applications, inspecting and reviewing plans, or preparing detailed statements required
by chapter 43.21 C RCW; and,
WHEREAS, Community Development collects reasonable fees for the purposes stated in
RCW 82.02.020(3)to cover the cost of providing those services; and,
WHEREAS. Community Development uses an enterprise fund for fee collection and
payment for costs of provision of the services listed above; and,
WHEREAS,on an annual basis Community Development reviews its hourly rate for staff
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review activities by analyzing its costs, including administration and overhead for fee-related
activities,and the billable hours of staff assigned to fee work; and,
WHEREAS, Community Development annually reviews its base hours for staff-review
activities by analyzing level of effort for reviews and services; and,
WHEREAS, the Community Development currently charges fees pursuant to the
Appendix Fee Schedules in the Jefferson Count Code, Section II, Department of Community
Development Building and Planning Division fee schedules, which includes 11-010 Building; II-
020 Right-of-way; utility and address applications; 11-030 Land use approval applications(Unified
Development Code); 11-040 Type I permits; 11-050 Type II permits: 11-060 Type III permits; II-
070 Type IV permits; 11-080 Type V permits; 11-090 Current use tax assessment application; and,
11-100 Other;
WHEREAS,JCC 3.80.020 authorizes Community Development to request adoption of its
annual fee schedule by ordinance instead of through the Appendix Fee Schedules in the Jefferson
Count Code; and,
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WHEREAS,the present Community Development Appendix Fee Schedules is difficult to
locate; and,and titles l5 and 18 JCC.do not mention fee schedules; and.
WHEREAS, many Jefferson County departments already have switched from the
Appendix Fee Schedules process to the JCC 3.80.020 process;and.
WHEREAS, DCD conducted a professional analysis of its fee schedule and a comparison
to costs with other governmental entities, which concluded in May 2024;and,
WHEREAS, Community Development prefers to use the JCC 3.80.020 process for the
reasons discussed above; and,
WHEREAS, on August 19, 2024, the Jefferson County Hoard of Commissioners
("BoCC") held a public hearing soliciting input and feedback on the proposed charging of fees by
Community Development's proposal to charge fees under the JCC 3.80.020 process instead of the
current Appendix Fee Schedules process.
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF
JEFFERSON COUNTY,STATE OF WASHINGTON as follows:
Section 1. Whereas Clauses are Findings of Fact. The BoCC adopts the above recitals (the
"WHEREAS"statements)as its findings of fact supporting this ordinance.
Section 2. Amendments adopted in the Appendix. The BoCC adopts the attached
Appendix,which amends Appendix Fee Schedules to repeal Section II,Department of Community
Development Building and Planning Division fee schedules, including II-010 Building; 11-020
Right-of-way; utility and address applications; [1-030 Land use approval applications (Unified
Development Code); 11-040 Type I permits; II-050 Type It permits; I1-060 Type III permits; II-
070 Type IV permits; 11-080 Type V permits; I1-090 Current use tax assessment application; and,
11-100 Other.
Section 3. New Section for Chapter 15.05 JCC. A new section is added to chapter 15.05 JCC, to
read as follows:
15.05.025 Fees collection authorized. The county building official shall collect fees
authorized under this chapter and chapter 3.80 in the Jefferson county code.
(1) Residential and commercial building permit fees, unless the project qualifies as a Large
Project,are determined by the building value or value of the improvement as calculated by
either using the square footage of the project multiplied by the square foot construction
cost, as compiled by the International Code Council (ICC) and published by the Building
Safety Journal magazine bi-annually,or the value of the improvement,whichever is higher.
For improvements not covered in the ICC table, applicants may be asked to provide the
valuation for those projects (i.e., remodels, decks, or other components of a construction
project). For single family residences, the Permit Fee may include all improvements of the
structure. i.e.. mechanical and/or plumbing permits, fixture fees, and plan review. For
commercial projects, the Permit Fee includes the main structure only; supporting elements
such as mechanical and plumbing,etc. will have a separate fee based on the improvement.
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(2)Where the values are unclear the Department will use RS Means or Saylor Publications
Inc. or other regionally accepted valuation determination publication, or contract
documents.
(3) Mechanical and Plumbing Fees are included in the building permit fee for new single-
family residences. For all other permit types, mechanical and plumbing fees are based on
a base minimum fee.
Section 4. Amendment of JC:C 15.05.060. 1CC 15.05.060 is amended as follows:
15.05.060 Building permits—Department of community development.
(I) Development Review Division. No building permit shall be issued unless and until the
application for the permit has been approved by the department—development review
division when such approval is required by ordinance.
(2) Building Division. Pursuant to RCW 19.27.097. each applicant for a building permit of
a building necessitating potable water shall provide evidence of an adequate water supply
for the intended use of the building. Evidence may he in the form of a water right permit
from the Department of Ecology. a letter from an approved water purveyor stating the
ability to provide water. or another form sufficient to verify the existence of an adequate
supply. The county may impose conditions on building permits requiring connection to an
existing public water system where the existing system is willing and able to provide safe
and reliable potable water to the applicant with reasonable economy and efficiency. An
application for a water right shall not be sufficient proof of an adequate water supply.
(3)Time Limitation for Applications. Pursuant to IBC 105.3.2.an application for a permit
for any proposed work shall be deemed to have been abandoned 180 days after the date of
tiling, unless such application has been pursued in good faith or a permit has been issued;
except that the building official is authorized to grant one or more extensions of time for
additional periods not exceeding 90 days each. The total time period of such extensions
shall not exceed 180 days;provided,that additional time extensions may be granted by the
building official based on justifiable cause and written request of the applicant.
(4) Expiration. Every permit issued is valid for a period of one year from the date of
issuance.The building official is authorized to grant, in writing, one or more extensions of
time, for periods of up to one year each. The total time period for such extensions shall not
exceed four calendar years in addition to the original one-year term ofthe permit.No permit
shall be issued without payment of all tees due. Each extension shall be requested in writing
and the applicant shall demonstrate justifiable cause for the extension(s). Any building
permit that is otherwise valid upon the effective date of the ordinance codified in this
section which has less than one year remaining on its last lawful extension of validity (as
established by this section) will be eligible for one additional extension not to exceed one
year. Any building permit that is otherwise valid upon the effective date of the ordinance
codified in this section which has more than one year remaining on the extension(s) that
can be lawfully requested with respect to that permit shall be entitled to not more than four
more extensions of one year, but in no event shall any of the four extensions that may be
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granted with respect to such a permit in accordance with this provision make said permit
valid past December 31, 2016. Additional time extensions of one year each beyond those
authorized by this section may be granted by the building official based on written request
of the applicant indicating justifiable cause or hardship.
(5) Fees Paid for All Land Use Applications. A building application shall be deemed
incomplete if any associated land use application is not approved or associated land use
fees have not been paid in full. Receipt of payment for land use fees due and owing shall
be requested at time of submittal of any building application.
(6) Code Compliance. Any building application shall be deemed incomplete if any code
compliance case related to the property for which the application is made remains
unresolved (see title 19 JCC-Code Compliance). This requirement does not apply to any
building application required to be submitted to resolve a code compliance case. or to any
building permit that the director determines, in their discretion that this requirement should
be waived.
Section 5. New Section for Chapter 18.05 JCC. A new section is added to chapter 18.05 JCC, to
read as follows:
18.05.045 Department fee collection authorized.
(1) The director shall collect tees as authorized under this chapter and chapter 3.80 in the
Jefferson county code. All tees imposed shall be adopted by ordinance as required by JCC
3.80.020.
(2)Application fees arc due in full at time of application submittal. Any additional fees are
required to be paid in full prior to permit issuance, unless the director requires otherwise.
(3)A base fee may be charged as a minimum amount per application.Additional time may
be charged on an hourly basis.
(4)A non-refundable base application fee of one hour is collected for each building permit
application unless otherwise noted.
(5)A non-refundable technology surcharge of 5% is collected for each permit application,
which will be maintained in a restricted account for technology initiatives only.
(6) A non-refundable comprehensive plan update and shoreline master plan surcharge of
5%shall be collected for each permit application, which will be maintained in a restricted
account only for comprehensive plan updates per RCW 36.70A.130 or for shoreline master
plan updates per RCW 90.58.080.
(7)Other agency fees are included for those agencies that have authorized the department
to collect specific fees on behalf of their agency. These fees include other county
departments.the office of the hearing examiner,and the Washington State Building Code
Council surcharge.
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(8) A permit shall not be valid until all the fees prescribed by law have been paid. Any
application or permit for which fees are due shall be considered incomplete until such time
that the all outstanding bills are paid in full.
(9) Other county departments who utilize the department will pay the appropriate fees per
the fee schedule, unless prohibited by statute.
(10)Fee refunds,exemptions,and credits shall compl< \kith department's tee rotund policy.
as approved by the board of commissioners.
(11) Fees are due and payable at the time services are requested unless otherwise specified
in the established fee schedule and policies. Failure to pay established fees may result in
one or more of the following:
(a)No inspections, including final inspections,will be scheduled or performed until
all outstanding fees are paid.
(b) No temporary or final certificate of occupancy will be approved or issued for a
project with any outstanding fees due on any permit associated with the project.
Exceptions may be authorized by the director only.
(c)An approved or issued permit may be revoked for non-payment of fees.
(d) Any outstanding fees will be collected by the department using available
collection methods consistent with applicable local, state, and federal laws or
regulations.
(12) The director has the authority to waive fees when they determine that it is more
economical to waive the fee than to collect it. For example, if an applicant submits a plan
amendment that would take less than one hour to review, the director may decide to waive
the plan review charge because the administrative cost of billing might exceed the cost to
conduct the review.
Section 6. New Section for chapter 18.05 JCC. A new section is added to chapter 18.05 JCC, to
read as follows:
18.05.046 Fee Requirements for land use approval applications under Title 18 JCC .
(1)Guiding principles for developing fees for land use applications.
(a) Fees should he reasonable.
(b) Fee-based services are defined as operations related to permit/application processing,
inspections, plan reviews, environmental reviews, mitigation, monitoring, and code
compliance.
(c) Applicants shall pay for services received.
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(d) Fees shall include direct and indirect costs associated with service delivery.
(c) The funding structure should support the department's operations through economic
cycles and fluctuations in workload.
(I) Fees should be predictable and understandable to the customer.
(g)The fee system should be efficient and cost-effective to manage.
(h) Fees shall be consistent with RCW 82.02.020, which allows counties to collect
reasonable fees to cover the cost of processing applications, inspecting and reviewing
plans, or conducting review under the State Environmental Policy Act,chapter 43.21 C
RC W.
(2) Department fee policies.
(a) Base fees. Land use and development fees are charged a base fee based on the
average processing time to review/process the application. The base fee includes
two iterations of plan review (first submittal review and comments and second
submittal review and comments),as well as intake and closeout of the application.
Any additional review beyond two iterations of plan review will be charged
monthly at the approved hourly rate and must be paid in full prior to issuance of
any permits or approvals, and may be subject to JCC 3.80.060 or JCC 18.05.048.
(b) Inspection fees. Inspections may or may not be included in the base fee.
Inspections that are charged an hourly rate as identified in the community
development fee schedule, will be charged monthly when possible, and must be
paid in full prior to final inspections.
(c) Indirect costs to be recovered. Indirect costs associated with the permit process
will he recovered, as determined by the director. Indirect costs are defined as the
following: administrative costs: personnel support costs; training and public
education costs; hearing examiner, county administration, and attorney time spent
directly on a permit or appeal,technology costs,and facilities costs. Other indirect
costs may be identified in the future and may be charged in the fee structure;
provided they are reasonable for the purposes stated in RCW 82.02.02(1(3),
associated with the permit process, and linkage can be clearly identified.
(d)Consultant reviews. In addition to the fees imposed pursuant to the fee schedule
adopted pursuant to JCC 3.80.020,the applicant shall reimburse the county for any
costs incurred by the county in hiring professional consultants to process and/or
review and inspect the applicant's proposal, as required by JCC 18.05.048. The
county may require the applicant to deposit an amount with the county to cover
anticipated costs of retaining professional consultants when the director has
approved retaining the professional consultants pursuant to JCC 3.80.060 and JCC
18.05.048.
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(e) Consultant administration fee. When the director requires independent third
party review pursuant to JCC 18.05.048 or other consultant review,the county shall
charge an administrative fee equal to the amount of the consultant review fee and
costs to cover county staff oversight, review. and administration of the consultant's
work.
(f) Deposits or retainers. The department may require a deposit for fees for
requested or required services pursuant to JCC 3.80.060 at any time during the
application process when it becomes apparent that a deposit or retainer is necessary
as determined by the director.The deposit or retainer shall not exceed the estimated
cost of the services for which the deposit or retainer is collected. Interest shall not
be paid on moneys held on deposit or retainer. Moneys remaining on deposit or
retainer upon completion or cancellation of the service shall be refunded to the
applicant.
Section 7. New Section for Chapter 18.05 JCC. A new section is added to chapter 18.05 JCC, to
read as follows:
18.05.047 Designation of financially responsible party.
(I) A financially responsible party must be named for any permit, certificate, license.
registration. or request for service for which a fee is collected under this chapter by the
department. If not explicitly named. the financially responsible party is the applicant.
(2) The financially responsible party must be the property owner. lessee. contract
purchaser. the county or other agency proposing the project. or other service requestor.
(3) The financially responsible party is liable for all charges incurred pursuant to this
chapter whether or not:
(a) A favorable decision. recommendation. or determination is given by the
director of community development.
(b) A permit. license. registration. or determination is issued or the project.
application. or
(c) A request for service is canceled or denied before issuance.
(4) A signed statement of financial responsibility is required for any application or
request for services that are charged at an hourly rate. The director of community
development is authorized to develop a form statement of financial responsibility for
individuals and entities.
Section 8. New Section for Chapter 18.05 JCC. A new section is added to chapter 18.05 JCC, to
read as follows:
18.05.048 Independent third party review.
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(1) The director may require any applicant to pay for independent third party review
pursuant to this section for any discipline for which the department does not have
available in-house expertise. including but not limited to: critical areas, mitigation
monitoring,geotechnical analysis and engineering. stormwater analysis and engineering.
traffic or tloodplain engineering. fluvial geomorphology. water duality and quantity
analysis. soils analysis, parking, landscaping, shoreline essential functions analysis. legal
review, financial review, fiscal review, and accounting.
(2) The purpose of independent third-party review is to protect sensitive natural areas,
habitat areas, shoreline environments, critical areas, and all associated buffers and
management areas: maintain public safety and quality of life: and protect public health
and property.
(3) The director may. at the applicant's expense, require third party review for any
application or permit if the director determines:
(a) Third party is merited due to the complexity of the project and the technical
expertise required for adequate review.
(b) Any study submitted is insufficient, as set out in JCC I8.05.048(4):
(c) Existing resources within the department or other supporting county offices or
departments are unavailable: or
(d) It is otherwise required by title 18 JCC.
(4) Third party review required when studies are deemed insufficient.
(a)The director may. at the applicant's expense. require third party review of any
submission if there is reason to determine that:
(i) The submission contains factual errors, omissions. or incomplete
analysis:
(ii) Inconsistencies exist between the submitted materials and observable
data, and/or accepted scientific or technical criteria:
(iii) The submission contains faulty analysis. faulty analytical procedures.
substantive differences of interpretation of submitted data or analysis. or
other findings made through the review of the proposal that support
commissioning third party review: or
(iv) Specialized expertise is required for adequate review ot'a proposal.
(h) If the applicant has provided a study that the director deems insufficient, the director
shall attempt to resolve any issues with the original author(s) of any submitted study or
with the applicant before requiring third party review. If the parties fail to resolve the
issues identified. the director may require third party review.
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(5)The director shall select the third-part> reviewer.
(6) For Type III applications requiring a pre-decision public hearing, the hearing
examiner may determine third party review is required if facts presented during the
hearing lead him or her to conclude that third party review is warranted pursuant to this
section. In that case, the hearing examiner may remand the application to the department
to select a third-party reviewer pursuant to this section.
Section 9. Ordinance No. 01-0211-19 is hereby repealed,and replaced by this Ordinance.
Section 10. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared separate and
severable. If any provision of this ordinance or its application to any person or circumstances is
held invalid, then the remainder of this ordinance or application of its provisions to other persons
or circumstances shall remain valid and unaffected.
Section I I. SEPA Compliance. This ordinance is categorically exempt from the State
Environmental Policy Act under WAC 197-I 1-800(19).
Section 12. Effective Date. This ordinance shall take effect and be in full force and effect
on September 1, 2024.
(SIGNATURES FOLLOW ON THE NEXT PAGE)
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APPROVED and ADOPTED this /'P 'day of C s , 2024.
J
JEFFERSON COUNTY BOARD OF
CO MIS ONERS
Ka an,C it
cidi Ei n our, Me r
reg Brotherton, Member
NAN,,««,n„ryN
SEAL: FEaSON co••.,
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ATTEST: WN
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CI &Jiapt sA /zy
Carolyi 'G llaway, CMC Date
C rk of the Board
Approved as to formonly
67' C. tia--a' 2.1 z
Philip C. I lunsucker Date
Chief Civil Deputy Prosecuting Attorney
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JEFFERSON COUNTY
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
AGENDA REQUEST
TO: Board of County Commissioners
FROM: Josh D. Peters, AICP,Community Development Director
Phil Cecere,Building Official/ Fire Marshal
Greg Ballard, Development Code Administrator
Chelsea Pronovost,DCD Administrative Services Manager
DATE: August 19,2024
SUBJECT: PUBLIC HEARING re: DCD fee schedule update ordinance and resolution
STATEMENT OF ISSUE:
In a workshop with the Board of County Commissioners (Board) on August 5, 2024, Department of
Community Development(DCD) managers requested Board approval of a hearing notice to be published
August 7 and 14 in the newspaper of record for a public hearing before the Board on August 19, 2024, at
2:00 PM. That notice was approved and published, and the subject of the August 19 hearing is a proposed
ordinance and corresponding proposed resolution affecting fees charged for DCD permits and services.
Those documents, which upon adoption would effectively supplant current fees with the September 1, 2024
fee schedules attached as exhibits to the proposed resolution. These materials have been available for review
in the Laserfiche folder referenced in the hearing notice approved on August 5.
ANALYSIS:
In leading up to the proposed update to the DCD fee schedule, staff has briefed the Board on the results of a
study completed by FCS Group to review DCD's permit review and processing fees. DCD's proposed fee
schedule update would align DCD's building, fire, and land use fees to incorporate FCS Group's
recommended service rate of$123.20 per hour. Adopting the recommended hourly rate would move the
department to a model of 100%cost recovery for building permits, land use approvals, code compliance
actions, and other related cost-recoverable services.
DCD's proposed update to the fee schedule is consistent with state law. RCW 82.02.020 authorizes local
governments to collect"reasonable fees" from permit applicants to "cover the cost to the...county...of
processing applications, inspecting and reviewing plans, or preparing detailed statements required by chapter
43.21C RCW ISEPA]..." DCI) maintains that the fees proposed in the attached ordinance and resolution
constitute reasonable fees, in that the fee levels arc based on an hourly rate that has been recommended
through a fee study by a consultant group that specializes in analysis of local government permit fees, and
that the per-permit fees are based on average effort to process specific types of permits from years of
experience in processing permits.
Following the pattern of other county departments to move from codified fees in the Appendix of the
Jefferson County Code (JCC) to fees adopted by Board resolution, the proposed update to the DCD fee
schedules would be made effective by the Board's adoption of both an ordinance that amends the JCC to
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v awayeffective September 1, 2024.
move from codified fees and a resolution to adopt updated fees, �ti e1 ee, p
Note that the level of effort—and thus the cost—of some permits on the land use fee schedule has been
adjusted downward from the 2024 fee schedules currently in effect. This is based on reconsideration of the
level of effort needed to process those permit types, based on experience over the last 1-2 years as a result of
improvements in efficiency in the context of regulatory reform(Board Resolution No. 17-19).
FISCAL. IMPACT:
In order to achieve 100%cost recovery for cost-recoverable work, DCD proposes that an updated fee
schedule be adopted by the Board in August 2024, effective September 1, 2024. The updated fee schedule
represents 100%cost recovery for cost-recoverable services, based on the conclusions of the DCD fee study
completed by consultant FCS Group in 2024 and accounting for the 2024 wage tables in effect for
represented and non-represented DCD employees. A fee schedule that does not achieve 100%cost recovery
implies subsidy from the county's General Fund to operate DCD's building and land use permit program.
RECOMMENDATION:
Consider DCD's proposed updated to fees and public comments submitted and presented on this subject.
When ready, approve the proposed ordinance and the proposed resolution (or amended versions of those) in
order to update DCD's fees, effective September 1, 2024.
REVIEWED BY:
/'& 4V/.</0/,‘
Mark McCau , County Administrator Date
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