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County to move development permitting fees toward full cost recovery; some customers face significant increases
Summary
DES and CPHD told the County Board they will implement the final year of fee adjustments from a recent study, moving many permit fees to full cost recovery; impact examples show increases in total permit costs ranging from roughly 1% to 1.4% of project value for large projects, and higher percentage swings for specific plan types.
Department of Environmental Services staff told the County Board the FY26 package implements the final year of permit-fee adjustments that follow last year's fee study and a full-cost-recovery goal. DES said those changes were intended to align fees with the time and effort departments spend reviewing and permitting projects.
Nut graf: The department showed example calculations to illustrate how combined fee changes across DES and the Department of Community Planning, Housing and Development (CPHD) affect different project types. For a very large single-family home example, staff showed a roughly $11,000 total increase in fees; for a large commercial project they showed about a $687,000 increase in total fees, representing roughly 1.3% to 1.4% of estimated project cost in the examples provided.
DES also proposed administrative changes intended to improve cost recovery for driveway aprons (a new two-option pricing model depending on mobilization) and a new annual outdoor-cafe renewal fee of $1.50 per square foot. Staff said the fee increases are being implemented in a deliberate, stepwise fashion and noted last year included some fee reductions and eliminations.
Board members asked for benchmarking and comparability with neighboring jurisdictions and for clarity on how timing and resubmission practices affect applicants' total costs. DES staff said CPHD will return with more detailed benchmarking and examples in its upcoming work session.
Ending: The board flagged the percent increases (20% to 41% on some DES fees as presented) as material and requested more outreach and clear communication to applicants before adoption.
