A.
The fees stated in this chapter are for costs incurred by the planning, building, and public works divisions for processing and/or review of project permit applications. References to the director refer to the director of the community development department or his/her designee. The stated or estimated fee must be paid prior to the city issuing a notice of decision on a project permit application.
B.
In addition to other applicable permit fees, all applicants will be required to pay for all actual costs of engineering, legal and other professional services performed by city staff or an independent contractor for the city for the processing and/or review of a project permit application, and for project inspection and compliance review after permit issuance. The hourly fee shall be the base salary or contract fee of the engineer or other professional plus benefits and administrative costs and overhead. An estimate of the cost will be made by the city at the time of application. If the actual cost of processing the application exceeds the estimate, the balance shall be paid prior to issuance of a notice of decision or the project permit. If the actual cost of processing the permit is less than the estimate, a refund shall be provided. Fees for project inspection and compliance review shall be paid prior to issuance of a certificate of occupancy if applicable, or 30 days from date of invoice if the project is not one for which a certificate of occupancy is issued.
C.
All project permit applications that require charging the applicant for the actual costs of processing the application shall include:
1.
The hourly wage of the reviewer plus benefits and administrative overhead;
2.
The cost of publishing legal notices in a newspaper as required by Chapter 14.06 FMC, Public Notice;
3.
The cost of notifying any person the city is legally required to notice of the application;
4.
The cost of notifying any person or organization that has expressed an interest in the application;
5.
Staff costs for preparing reports and attending meetings on the application;
6.
Other costs directly related to the project permit application as determined by the director.
D.
In the event that a project permit application with a stated fee requires processing that is considered to be extraordinary by the director, the applicant shall be responsible for those costs. The applicant shall be notified in writing of the necessity for extraordinary review and provided the estimated cost of that review prior to further action being taken on the project permit application.
E.
The director shall require staff to maintain records of all time and charges on project permit processing for applications that require the payment of estimated fees. In the event that the fee paid was greater than the cost of the review, the applicant shall receive a refund of the overestimated fee. If the estimated fee was not sufficient to cover the costs of the application, the applicant must pay the balance owing on the application prior to a permit being issued or maps approved.
F.
Project permit applications that require publication of a legal notice include the cost of one such publication in the stated fee, if a fee is stated. In the event that the city must republish the legal notice, the applicant is responsible for the additional fee. All applications requiring publication will be published in the News Tribune newspaper.
G.
If an applicant requests a review of a study, plans, or other documents prior to project permit application, the applicant must pay a fee that covers the review of the document or plans. The director has the option of estimating a review fee and requiring that fee to be paid prior to the review or charging the fee upon completion of the review prior to information on the review provided to the applicant.
(Ord. 1228 § 2, 1996; Ord. 1366 § 1, 1999; Ord. 1416 § 2, 2000; Ord. 1777 § 1 (Exh. A), 2012; Ord. 1929 § 1, 2016)