HomeMy WebLinkAbout07/27/2021 06. Preliminary Findings on Building Permit Fee Study1
ITEM TITLE:
SUBMITTED BY:
BUSINESS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
YAKIMA, WASHINGTON
AGENDA STATEM ENT
Item No. 6.
For Meeting of: July 27, 2021
Preliminary Findings on Building Permit Fee Study
Tony Doan, Supervising Code Inspector
Glenn Denman, Code Administration Manager
SUMMARY EXPLANATION:
This is a presentation on permit fees and where the Codes Division believes improvements can
be made to cover the costs associated with issuing of permits, as well as increase customer
service by streamlining processes.
ITEM BUDGETED: NA
STRATEGIC PRIORITY: Public Trust and Accountability
APPROVED FOR SUBMITTAL BY THE CITY MANAGER
RECOMMENDATION:
Review reports and provide direction as appropriate
ATTACHMENTS:
Description Upload Date Type
D Memo BuildingPermitFeeStudy 7/19/2021 Comer Memo
C:i Exhibits_BuildingPermitFeeStudy 7/19/2021 Comer Memo
2
MEMORANDUM
To: Joan Davenport, Director of Community Development
From: Glenn Denman, Code Administration Manager
Tony Doan, Supervising Code Inspector
Date: July 19, 2021
RE: Permit Fee Increase Proposal
The City of Yakima Codes Division has been researching current permit fees to see if the division
is operating at a cost neutral level, and to see if the permitting process can be streamlined. RCW
82.02.020 gives municipal corporations the authority to cover the cost to process applications,
review plans, and conduct inspections. Our research has determined that:
• Building valuations determined by our current fee structure do not reflect actual valuations
• Building, plumbing and mechanical permit fees have remained frozen since 2014
• Staff is conducting plan review on plumbing and mechanical plans without compensation
(there is no current plan review fee for those, as there is for building plans)
• Plumbing and mechanical permit fees do not come anywhere near covering staff time
• Fire code permit fees have remained the same since their inception in 2002.
Until January of 2014, building, plumbing and mechanical permit fees automatically adjusted in
accordance with the Seattle Consumer Price Index (CPI). However, the table below shows that
staff costs have risen 18`)/0 since that time.
AFSCME CBA Wage Increase
Year
2012
Wage Increase Percentage
0
Hourly Increase at Avg Staff Wage
S 23.79
2013
0
$ 24.27
2014
2.50%
S 24.77
2015
2.50%
$ 25.27
2016
2.50%
S 25.79
2017
2.50%
$ 26.32
2018
2.00%
S 26.85
2019
2.00%
$ 27.40
2020
2.00%
S 27.96
2021
2.00%
$ 28.53
Total
18.00%
$ 4.74
Building Valuation
Building permit fees are based on assumed valuations assigned to buildings found in Building
Valuation Data (BVD) tables. The International Code Council (ICC) provides an updated table
every 6 months based on average construction costs (nationally) per square foot. Per ICC: "This
degree of precision is sufficient for the intended purpose, which is to help establish permit fees
so as to fund code compliance activities (providing) jurisdictions with a simplified way to determine
the estimated value of a building that does not rely on the permit applicant to determine the cost
of construction. Therefore, the bidding process for a particular job and other associated factors
do not affect the value of a building for determining the permit fee. Whether a specific project is
bid at a cost above or below the computed value of construction does not affect the permit fee
because the cost of related code enforcement activities is not directly affected by the bid process
and results." In 2002, the City of Yakima adopted the April 2001 BVD table from the International
Conference of Building Officials (ICBO, now ICC). The 2002 table automatically adjusted at the
beginning of each year based on the Seattle CPI. However, adjustments discontinued while
Single Family Plumbing and Mechanical Permits
Currently, all plumbing and mechanical permit fees are based on a per -fixture basis. It is found
that this method does not come close to covering staff costs for processing those permits, and
plan review is not covered at all. Some jurisdictions base those permit fees on a percentage of
0
the building permit (such as 8% of the SFR building permit) to cover staff time, include plan review
and streamline permit issuance. The chart below shows a comparison of what those fees would
look like:
Commercial Plumbing and Mechanical Permits
Commercial plumbing and mechanical permit fees are based on similar, per fixture fees that do
0 0
not cover plan review time let alone the time it takes to perform necessary inspections. In this
proposal, a project valuation table would be established based on typical costs associated with