Staff Report for 2-7-17 Fee Hearing

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COMMUNITY PLANNING  BUILDING INSPECTION  PLAN REVIEW  ADMINISTRATION  PERMIT SERVICES  CODE ENFORCEMENT KITTITAS COUNTY COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT SERVICES 411 N. Ruby St., Suite 2, Ellensburg, WA 98926 CDS@CO.KITTITAS.WA.US Office (509) 962-7506 Fax (509) 962-7682 “Building Partnerships – Building Communities” February 2, 2017 To: Board of County Commissioners From: Dan Carlson, AICP Director, Community Development Services RE: Proposed 2017 Community Development Services Fee Schedule Staff Report Introduction In 2015, Kittitas County contracted with FCS Group, a consulting firm out of Seattle, to complete a study of Community Development Services (CDS) activities and determine the cost of service to process building permits and land use applications. Throughout 2015, the consultants met with CDS staff regarding time spent reviewing each type of application. The consultant developed a fee model that calculated the amount of direct costs associated with each review activity, as well as the indirect costs of department operations. The model includes department structure and staff wages, because the specific employees and their wages affect the cost of providing review of each application. Based on this model, the Board of County Commissioners adopted the 2016 fee schedule on November 17, 2015, and ordered that fees charged by CDS for land use and building permit services be re-evaluated annually for consideration by the Board of County Commissioners for each fiscal year. Staff has updated the fee model with current department staff and expenditures – including wage increases adopted in accordance with the county’s 2016 Wage Survey Report – to determine the proposed CDS fees for 2017. These fees are divided into three categories – Building Permit Fees for New Construction (Exhibit A & B), Fees for Building Fixtures (Exhibit C), and Fees for Planning Services (Exhibit D). Building Permit Fees for New Construction Building permit fees for new construction would continue to be determined based upon a multiplier (Exhibit A), a model enabling the user to determine how much service will cost for plans examination and building inspection given total construction valuation for the project. This multiplier is based upon the International Code Council (ICC) suggested model, and upon the most current published Building Valuation Data table of the International Code Council Building Safety Journal (Exhibit B). This is a national “average” construction cost per square foot for new construction. This fee model simplifies the permit cost process and includes foundation work, structural and non-structural components, plumbing, mechanical and interior finish. The ICC model allows CDS to adjust permit fees based on annual construction activity and the desired level of service determined by the Board of County Commissioners. The multiplier works as follows:  Projected gross construction valuation for the coming year is divided into the projected budget for the coming year to create a multiplier.  The multiplier is then used against the square foot cost of the construction project estimated by using the most current August issue of the Building Safety Journal Building Valuation Data sheet published by the International Code Council (Exhibit B).