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Board adopts updated planning and building fees to move HCD toward cost recovery
Summary
Following a Matrix Consulting fee study, the board approved revisions to Monterey County planning and building fee schedules intended to align permit fees with staff time and costs while preserving reduced fees for selected public‑benefit items; staff estimated the changes would bring HCD to about 88% cost recovery.
The Monterey County Board of Supervisors unanimously adopted a comprehensive update to land‑use and building fees on Feb. 3 after a presentation from Housing & Community Development (HCD) staff and a contracted fee study.
HCD reported that current fees under‑recover department costs by roughly $2.5 million — about $1.7 million in building services and $0.83 million in planning — under the FY25 baseline. The study recommended reorganizing Article 9 (land use) and Article 19 (building services), adding fees for services previously uncompensated, simplifying categories, and using a cost‑based multiplier for plan review and inspection fees.
Karen Riley Holms, HCD, summarized the changes and the tradeoffs HCD proposed: several public‑benefit services (e.g., some address assignments, certain ADU plan reviews, specific floodplain or hazardous‑tree services) will be priced below cost or provided at no fee to encourage priority policy outcomes; the overall package, after those subsidized items, is estimated to increase revenue by roughly $1.3 million annually — moving cost recovery to about 88%.
Local builders, realtors and homeowners commented during the hearing; proponents urged fully funding HCD to reduce processing delays while others urged attention to affordability implications. On a motion from Supervisor (mover) and a second from Supervisor (second), the board adopted the revised fee schedules and associated resolution unanimously.
What this means: HCD will implement a revised fee matrix and a larger technology/plan‑management fee; staff said many fees for modest residential work will remain competitive and that fee waivers or discounts are available for qualifying affordable housing projects.
Follow up: staff will begin implementing article changes and continue monitoring whether fee revenue and staffing changes reduce permit processing times and backlog.
