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Council adopts updated master fees and charges to recover roughly 80% of development‑service costs
Summary
After a multi‑year study, the council adopted changes to the master fees and charges schedule that increase many permitting and plan‑check fees (targeting about 80% cost recovery), add roughly 20 new fees and raise common parking citations by $5; Ward 2 recused on the vote.
The Riverside City Council on April 22 adopted an updated master fees and charges schedule that raises many user fees and adjusts other administrative charges after a multi‑year fee study, staff said.
Sergio Aguilar, deputy finance director, said the city’s last comprehensive fee study that included developer‑associated fees dated to 2015. A study begun in 2021 and refreshed in 2023–24 examined staff time, overhead and comparisons with neighboring jurisdictions. The study found city cost‑recovery for many services had fallen below the previously adopted 80% target; staff recommended many fees be adjusted so they recover approximately 80% of the full cost of service (the report estimated an 85% overall recovery under the new schedule based on 2023 activity levels).
Key points presented to council included:
• The study estimated current service costs of about $11.1 million and current revenues of roughly $7.8 million (about 70% recovery). Staff said an additional ~$1.6 million could be recovered if the recommended fee schedule is adopted and activity levels remain similar to 2023.
• Development‑associated fees (building, plan check, development services) were the focus of this phase; a separate analysis of impact fees is pending and will be brought later this year.
• The parking citation schedule will see a $5 flat increase citywide. The most common citation — marked/posted parking violations including street‑sweeping restrictions — would increase from $41 to $46; staff estimated that change could yield about $448,000 annually under the 2023 citation mix.
• Staff recommended creating about 20 new fees for services that previously lacked a dedicated charge and adjusting several police towing and licensing fees (for example, aligning some towing charges and reducing the renewal fee for a retail weapons license from the higher rate approved last year to about half of that amount for renewals).
The Greater Riverside Chambers of Commerce provided written and on‑the‑record support for limiting adjustments to an 80% cost recovery target where feasible; chamber president Nicholas Adcock addressed the council in support of staff’s recommendation and urged competitiveness with neighboring jurisdictions. Several callers asked for clarification about whether the fees reflect only staff and administrative time (they do) and whether developers would still pay full costs of infrastructure improvements (those are distinct; development impact fees and capital costs are handled separately).
Councilmember Cervantes recused herself from the item because of a campaign contribution disclosure; the record shows the ordinance and implementing resolution were adopted by the remaining councilmembers. The council also asked staff to continue outreach with stakeholders and to return with impact‑fee analysis later this year.
What changed and next steps: The new master fees and charges ordinance was adopted; staff will publish the updated schedule and begin applying the revised fees on the timetable in the adopted ordinance. A separate, forthcoming study of development impact fees will address capital‑cost recovery for infrastructure.
