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Council hears staff proposal to reduce SB9 ministerial lot-split fee
Summary
Staff proposed a new ministerial lot-split fee for SB9/SB450 permits based on lower staff time estimates, recommending $10,885 per application versus the parcel-map fee previously used (about $30,000). Council discussion focused on cost recovery and tracking actual staff hours.
City staff told the Cupertino City Council that recent changes in state law (SB9 and SB450) have produced a ministerial lot-split pathway that consumes substantially less staff time than traditional parcel maps, and staff recommended a new fee aligned to that workload.
Luke Connelly and Ben Fu, from the Community Development Department, said the city has processed 13 SB9-related applications (six approved, seven under review) and estimated the ministerial lot-split review averages about 33.25 staff-hours divided nearly equally between planning and public-works staff. Based on that estimate, staff recommended a new fee of $10,885 per ministerial lot-split application; the current parcel-map fee for FY25–26 would have been a little over $30,000.
Fu said the fee-setting principle is cost recovery—fees should cover the staff time and not exceed costs. Councilmembers asked whether staff would continue to track actual hours and adjust fees if needed; staff said they will monitor the workload and return with adjustments if the sample of applications shows a different time burden.
The item was under discussion when the meeting experienced an AV/Zoom outage and was adjourned; staff indicated the public hearing and any remaining action would be continued at a noticed special meeting.
