Fees shall be collected to compensate the department for the investigation, permit administration, plan review and inspection of building permit applications pursuant to the provisions of KMC Titles 15 and 18. Building permit fees shall be composed of five main elements: preapplication fees, base fees, plan review fees, inspection fees, and site development plan fees.
A.
Preapplication Fees. Preapplication fees shall compensate the department for preliminary review and evaluation of large commercial and multifamily projects and for advising the permit applicant prior to the submittal of a formal application for a building permit. Preapplication fees shall be collected at the time preapplication review services are rendered.
B.
Base Fees. Base fees shall compensate the department for preliminary application screening, and the establishment and administration of the permit application file. Base fees shall be distinguished by group occupancy to reflect file administration complexity. Base fees shall be collected at the time of permit application or, in the case of plan revisions submitted prior to permit issuance, at the time of each revision submittal.
C.
Plan Review Fees. Plan review fees shall compensate the department for the plan review necessary to determine compliance with the adopted uniform codes and other City regulations. Plan review fees shall be based on either the gross area of the proposed structure or, when determined applicable by the director, on the value of the structure, together with any “per item” or “per occurrence” fees for mechanical or fire protection plan review. Prior to issuance of the permit, the permit applicant shall pay any residual charges assessed for special reviews
D.
Inspection Fees. Inspection fees shall compensate the department for inspections necessary to determine compliance with the adopted uniform codes, other City regulations, and the approved plan. Inspection fees shall be based on the same method and components used to calculate plan review fees, and consist of the remaining portion of said fees after subtracting the plan review fees.
E.
Site Development Plan Fees. Site development plan fees shall include commercial site development review and shall compensate the department for field investigation, plan review and post-approval inspection of the nonstructure portions of the building permit application, including review related to traffic, circulation, parking, drainage, landscaping and site plans. Site development plan fees for preliminary field investigation and plan review shall be collected at the time of permit application. Fees to cover post-approval inspections shall be collected at the time of the permit issuance and, if applicable, at 12-month intervals thereafter. The first year inspection fees shall be based on the City’s estimate of construction cost (as presented in bond quantities worksheet). Initial fees shall be based upon the construction bond amount (i.e., bond quantities worksheet amount), or if no bond is required, upon the City’s estimate of construction cost. Annual construction inspection fees shall be charged an hourly rate for the inspection of facilities after the first 12 months’ plan approval until final construction approval. Site development plan fees shall not be assessed against applications for group R-3 or M occupancies, where site related review is covered by the base, plan review and inspection fees. In no case shall site development fees related to residential drainage requirement review exceed the fee for the underlying permit. There shall be no inspection of a site without a valid building permit.
F.
General Building Permit Fee Provisions. General building permit fees shall compensate the department for reviews and inspections associated with changes in use or occupancy, mobile homes, oversized buildings, condominium conversions, special plan reviews, preinspections, demolitions, billboard alterations or relocations, supplemental inspections, reinspections, certification of permit completion, Section 309s, priority reviews, and radon measurement testing. General fee provisions also address allowances for residential and commercial discounts, and fee permit extensions. The following general provisions shall apply to permit/review fees authorized by this chapter:
1.
Work without a Permit. Whenever any work for which a building permit is required by this code has been commenced without first obtaining said permit, or has proceeded without obtaining necessary inspections; an investigation fee, in addition to the building permit fee, shall be collected whether or not a permit is then or subsequently issued. The investigation fee shall be equal to the amount of the building permit required by this section. For the purposes of this section the building permit fee shall include base, plan review, and inspection fees.
2.
Revisions. Revisions submitted either prior or subsequent to permit issuance shall be charged an additional base fee to cover file updating plus any special plan review hourly fees deemed necessary to determine compliance with regulations and standards.
3.
Extensions. Expiring building permits may be extended as set forth in Chapter 15.20 KMC upon payment of a permit extension fee at the rate in effect at the time of extension. Extension fees may be distinguished by both the group occupancy involved and the amount of review and inspection yet to be completed on the permit.
4.
Residential and Commercial Permit Discounts. Residential permit fee discounts will be allowed for all group R-1, R-3 and M occupancies involving basic or repetitive residential plans, factory built housing, relocated residences with minimum repairs, and relocated residences with extensive repairs. Commercial permit fee discounts will be allowed for commercial coaches, portable schools, and relocated commercial buildings, and occupancies involving repetitive commercial plans.
5.
General Research. An hourly general research fee shall be charged for all special research performed outside the context of pending application review. Such fees will be paid by the party requesting the special research or investigation.
6.
Fees for typical inspection services, including but not limited to fire/flood damage, minimum housing, code compliance, billboard alteration or relocation site inspection, relocation of structures, demolition, reinspection and supplemental inspections shall be collected in addition to any typical structural or site development inspection fees and shall be paid at the time of occurrence. Separate permit review fees for mobile homes, condominium conversions and change of use or occupancy shall be added to the base fees set forth in this section and shall be collected at the time of application submittal.
7.
Special Review Fees. In addition to the building permit fees set forth in this section, fees contained in Chapters 20.15 through 20.45 KMC may be applicable to individual building permit applications. Such fees include, but are not limited to, shoreline management, SEPA, right-of-way use, grading, or critical areas review fees.
8.
Radon Measurement Devices and Testing Fee. An additional “per device” fee shall be charged for radon measurement devices and testing. Fees to cover the provision of radon measurement devices and testing shall be collected at the time of permit issuance and shall be charged at the rate in effect at the time of permit application; provided, that for permits issued prior to July 13, 1992, the fees shall be collected at the time of final inspection and shall be charged at the rate set forth in this chapter; and provided further, that for permit applications received prior to July 13, 1992, for which no permit is issued prior to July 13, 1992, the fees shall be collected at the time of permit issuance and shall be charged at the rate set forth in this chapter.
(Ord. 98-0020 § 1 (KCC 27.08.010); Ord. 99-0058 § 1)