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Council presses staff for cost analysis after contested changes to construction and stormwater fees
Summary
Councilors questioned a draft fee schedule that appears to lower some addition fees while increasing new-home fees; they requested a cost analysis tying permit and stormwater fees to administrative and consultant costs before adopting the schedule and discussed raising tree-removal fees and clarifying emergency removal rules.
Council members spent substantial time examining the draft construction fee schedule after one councilor highlighted that fee arithmetic appeared to reduce fees for some building additions while increasing new-home charges.
A member said the revised schedule showed a 1,000-square-foot addition being charged less than before and argued larger projects impose greater review burdens that justify higher fees. Staff explained the changes were drafted to encourage renovations over new-home construction and to cap addition fees. Members disagreed on the scale and requested clearer cost data to justify any reductions.
The council discussed fee-scaling options — including a dollars-per-square-foot benchmark or stepped/exponential scales for larger projects — and examined the stormwater charge, which staff presented as $1,200 for new construction. Members also questioned reliance on outside consultants for stormwater reviews and asked the town manager to price alternative options and provide a cost basis for recovery.
Tree-removal fees drew separate attention. The draft listed a $50 per canopy-tree fee; council members argued $50 underestimates actual removal costs and proposed higher fees for deliberate removal of healthy canopy trees while exempting emergency removals. The Town Attorney read code guidance on emergency removals (code section cited in discussion) and confirmed that an emergency exemption exists where immediate danger to life or property is present; councilors asked staff to draft clearer rules distinguishing hazardous (no fee) from nonemergency removals.
The council agreed not to finalize construction or tree fees at the work session, and directed staff to deliver a cost analysis (consultants, nonstaff costs, town administrative time and stormwater cost recovery scenarios) before the next decision point.
