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Selma council waives $4,500 conditional-use permit fee so downtown retailer can proceed to planning commission
Summary
The City Council voted unanimously to waive a $4,500 conditional-use permit (CUP) application fee for a downtown clothing retailer and directed staff to forward the application to the June Planning Commission public hearing.
Isabelle Vargas, a downtown Selma business owner, addressed the City Council on June 3 seeking a waiver of a $4,500 conditional-use permit application fee so she could open a thrift and vintage clothing store at 1971 High Street. The council approved an emergency motion to add the matter to the agenda and unanimously voted to waive the fee and route the CUP to the Planning Commission for its required public hearing.
The request came during oral communications. Isabelle Vargas told the council she had already paid the $300 business license fee but could not afford the $4,500 CUP fee, which she described as a “little stretch” given startup costs. Vargas said she had been working with planning staff, including Lupi Macias, and asked the council to “find it in your hearts to be able to waive that fee.”
City Attorney advised the council that the council could add the matter as an emergency item but that a CUP requires a public hearing before the Planning Commission. Council members discussed whether the council could both waive the fee and approve the permit themselves; staff clarified the legal requirement that the CUP must go to Planning Commission for a public hearing. Councilmember motions to add the item as an emergency and to waive the fee were made and seconded; a roll-call vote followed.
On the roll call, Councilmember Avalos, Councilmember Trujillo, Councilmember Oseguera, Mayor Pro Tem Guerra and Mayor Robertson voted yes. The motion passed and the matter will go on the Planning Commission agenda for the June public hearing; if the council’s waiver stands, the Planning Commission will hold the required hearing without the fee applied.
The council and staff noted the components that make up the CUP fee: staff review by multiple departments, preparation of a staff report, publication costs, and the 300-foot mailing notices for affected properties. Planning staff told the council that the city had previously waived the CUP fee for another applicant in a case that required a special Planning Commission meeting to meet noticing requirements.
The council emphasized that waiving the fee reduces revenues for the current fiscal year but acknowledged the potential economic benefit of small-business openings downtown. Vargas thanked the council after the vote and said she would proceed with the Planning Commission process.
The council’s action was limited to waiving the application fee and referring the CUP to the Planning Commission; no permit was approved or denied by the council on June 3.
