The City Council unanimously adopted a planning and building department cost recovery policy and an updated fee schedule on Sept. 15 that staff and consultants say will move the department toward full cost recovery while retaining council authority to authorize exemptions.

The council set Jan. 1, 2026 as the proposed implementation date and directed staff to return with a more detailed proposal for a residential rooftop solar rebate program rather than immediately reducing solar permit fees.

City Planning and Building Director Kevin Jackson and Courtney Ramos of Matrix Consulting Group presented the results of a year‑plus cost‑of‑service study. Ramos said the study examined time assumptions, fully burdened hourly rates and legal compliance and that the goal was to align fees with the full cost of services. "The intent is to give confidence to property owners, contractors, architects, and city staff and decision makers that the fees are right sized and fair," she said.

The study found that the planning and building fee schedules collectively recover about 73% of the department's estimated costs, leaving a shortfall of roughly $427,000 annually: building permits were recovering about 71% of their costs (a shortfall near $392,000) and planning fees about 85% (a shortfall near $35,000). The draft policy sets a default objective of 100% cost recovery, requires comprehensive fee studies every five years and establishes an annual automatic adjustment tied to the Bay Area Consumer Price Index to reduce lag.

Staff recommended an implementation date of Jan. 1, 2026 to allow a 60‑day noticing period and public messaging. The report also proposed options to support the city's climate goals: reduce residential solar permit fees by a council‑authorized percentage (staff estimated a 50% permit‑fee reduction would cost roughly $30,000 annually based on an average of about 104 residential solar permits per year) or include residential solar installations in the city's home‑electrification rebate program (a $1,000 rebate was estimated to cost about $100,000 annually without a cap, per staff estimate). Chief Building Official comments during the meeting noted that residential solar permit volumes have trended lower in the current year.

Council member Mark Ramsey (mover) and Vice Mayor McCarthy (seconder) put forward a motion to adopt the policy and fee schedule with a Jan. 1, 2026 effective date and to direct staff to return with a more detailed rebate program for residential rooftop solar; the motion passed unanimously on roll call.

Councilmembers emphasized that the goal is to align fees with cost rather than generate revenue for other city uses and asked staff to return with program details, caps and budget implications before any additional general‑fund subsidies are committed.

Ending: The council adopted the policy and fee schedule and asked staff to draft a residential solar rebate proposal, including potential caps and costs, for future council consideration before the end of the calendar year.