TITLE
Recommendation to receive supporting documentation into the record, conclude the public hearing, and adopt resolution amending the Master Fee and Charges Schedule by reducing selected entitlement fees and adopting new fees relating to mailed public hearing notices. (Citywide)
DISCUSSION
On September 18, 2018, the City Council adopted Ordinance ORD-18-0025, which in addition to amending various sections of Title 21 (Zoning Regulations) of the Long Beach Municipal Code (LBMC) related to Conditional Use Permits, updated public notification requirements to utilize modern communication tools and reduce costs. Since that adoption, staff has evaluated specific entitlement application fees, which currently include the costs for mailed public hearing notices. Based upon the current LBMC requirements for noticing, approximately $950 of each application fee is allocated to the cost of processing and mailing public hearing notices. The $950 portion of the current application fee is being extracted, and a new tiered fee is proposed for the mailing of public hearing notices. Table 1 below lists the affected entitlement applications, their respective fees, and the proposed reductions for mailing public hearing notices.
Table 1 - Current and Proposed Entitlement Application Fees
|
Application Type |
Current Fee |
Proposed Fee Reduction ($950) |
|
Administrative Use Permit |
$4,000 |
$3,050 |
|
Conditional Use Permit (CUP) - Major |
$8,000 |
$7,050 |
|
Conditional Use Permit (CUP) - Minor |
$5,000 |
$4,050 |
|
Standards Variance (SV) |
$5,000 |
$4,050 |
|
Coastal Development Permit (CDP) Submitted to Coastal Commission |
$3,500 |
$2,550 |
|
Local Coastal Program Amendment |
$11,000 |
$10,050 |
|
Local Coastal Development Permit (LDCP) with No Other Planning Permit Required |
$3,500 |
$2,550 |
|
Site Plan Review [Planning Commission (PC) Approval] |
$10,000 |
$9,050 |
|
Modification to Approved Permit with Zoning Administrator Hearing |
$4,000 |
$3,050 |
|
Modification to Approved Permit with PC Hearing |
$5,000 |
$4,050 |
|
Appeals to PC or City Council by Applicant |
$3,500 |
$2,550 |
State Law requires that under certain circumstances public hearing items be announced by mailed notices. The City Council adopted a three-tiered noticing system that is aligned with State Law, but also provides for additional mailed noticing in accordance with various sections of the LBMC including, but not limited to, projects requesting reduced or shared parking, and distance separation requirements between residential land uses and certain non-residential uses (alcoholic beverage sales uses). The fees proposed for the tiered noticing are presented below in Table 2.
Table 2 - Proposed Public Noticing Fee Schedule
|
TIER |
PUBLIC NOTICE BUFFER |
Current Cost |
Proposed Cost |
|
Tier 1 |
300 feet |
Included with Application Fee |
$410 (minimum cost) |
|
Tier 2 |
500 feet |
Included with Application Fee |
$645 |
|
Tier 3 |
750 feet or greater |
Included with Application Fee |
$950 |
Each reduced entitlement application fee noted in Table 1 will require a public hearing noticing fee dependent upon which tier corresponds to the specific circumstance. Most applications will fall into the 300-foot tier and will have a mailing notice cost of $410 added to their reduced application fee (Table 1).
This City Council action relates to a reduction in fees for mailed hearing notices. No change to other noticing provisions are contemplated or proposed. All applications will continue to result in a notice of received application to the relevant City Council Office, notice to area neighborhood associations, notice to the Department’s permanent notification list, web, email and other online noticing as well as physically posting hearing notices at the proposed development site. The Department will continue to enhance its outreach and noticing protocols to the benefit of interested stakeholders and the public at large.
This matter was reviewed by Assistant City Attorney Michael J. Mais on October 26, 2018 and by Budget Analysis Officer Julissa José-Murray on October 25, 2018.
SUSTAINABILITY
Although noticing for public hearings is being revised, staff is committed to utilizing alternative and newer forms of communication including posting notices on the Development Services Department website, plus two other forms of electronic communication (email lists, social media sites, etc.), which in turn reduces the amount of paper and postage.
TIMING CONSIDERATIONS
City Council action is requested on November 20, 2018, to implement the LBMC amendments relating to public notification, as adopted by the City Council on September 18, 2018.
FISCAL IMPACT
The suggested recommendation would amend the Master Fee and Charges Schedule reducing selected entitlement application fees by removing the amount for mailed public hearing notices and replacing that amount with a new reduced fee for mailed public hearing notices in accordance with the respective tier. The net change in revenue is estimated to be a reduction within the Development Services Fund (EF 337) in the Development Services Department (DV) in the amount of $16,790. However, the reduction in fees to the Development Services Department is equal to the reduction in costs; therefore, these fee changes will not have a material fiscal impact. There is no local job impact associated with this recommendation.
SUGGESTED ACTION
Approve recommendation.
BODY
[Enter Body Here]
Respectfully Submitted,
LINDA F. TATUM, FAICP
DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT SERVICES
APPROVED:
PATRICK H. WEST
CITY MANAGER