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Council directs ordinance draft to raise business license fees, keep plan‑review floor plan requirement and extend approval timeframe for complex cases
Summary
The council directed the city attorney to draft an ordinance raising business license fees (roughly a 50% catch‑up), retain a building department floor‑plan review requirement, adopt a $4,000 out‑of‑city threshold per Association of Washington Cities guidance and allow up to 120 days to approve applications with code compliance issues.
Scott Passi briefed the council Aug. 19 on proposed changes to Edmonds’s business license code and fee schedule. Passi said council previously asked staff to return with an ordinance that updates fees to reflect inflation since 2009 and provides administrative flexibility in approval timelines.
Key proposals: Passi recommended a fee increase that reflects roughly a 50% cumulative inflationary adjustment since 2009 and asked council to direct the city attorney to draft an ordinance for the September consent agenda so the licensing vendor can implement changes for 2026 renewals. He also proposed adopting a $4,000 threshold for out‑of‑city business licensing to align with the Association of Washington Cities model and recommended increasing the approval window for licenses that require other permits or code compliance from 15 days to up to 120 days.
Floor plans and debate: Councilmember Nand proposed removing the requirement that applicants submit a scaled floor plan with a business license application. Building department staff and city counsel advised that floor plans are necessary for life‑safety and code compliance screening — for example, to spot reconfigurations that would increase occupant load or require permits — and told council the department does not require floor plans for home‑occupation licenses. An amendment to remove the floor‑plan requirement failed 1–6.
Votes and next steps: After debate and failed amendments, council voted to direct the city attorney to prepare the ordinance for adoption in September. The motion passed unanimously.
Ending: Staff will return in September with a draft ordinance; council also asked staff to bring a separate proposal later this year for a multi‑tiered or variable fee model to more closely align fees with business size and revenue.
