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Redondo Beach receives cost‑of‑service user‑fee study; council directs nexus study and asks for fee refinements
Summary
A consultant presented a cost‑of‑service review showing a roughly $1M annual gap recoverable by fee updates; council directed staff to pursue a Nexus (impact‑fee) study and asked for more modest adjustments for certain planning fees and appeal fees to protect resident access to appeals.
The Redondo Beach City Council received a detailed cost‑of‑service study on March 31 that recomputed planning and building fees using fully allocated hourly rates and clear step‑by‑step time estimates for standard application types.
Consultant findings: Eric Johnson of Revenue & Cost Specialists explained the methodology: identify services, allocate staff time to service steps, compute fully loaded hourly rates (salary + benefits + overhead) and match cost to existing fee revenue. The firm found a recurring subsidy of roughly $1 million across the planning and building functions and proposed fee updates that would, if approved, narrow that gap.
Council concerns and direction: Council members welcomed the rigor but flagged equity and access issues for lower‑dollar routine permits and for appeal fees. Several council members asked staff to keep appeal fees low so residents can still file administrative appeals without prohibitive cost. Staff recommended partially subsidizing some planning entitlements (for example, setting some fees at 50% of the consultant's recommended rate) and to pursue a broader Nexus study to test legal defensibility and to explore potential development‑impact fees (Quimby, public art) that could address infrastructure impacts from new housing.
Next steps: Council directed staff to proceed with a Nexus/impact‑fee study (scope and amendment to the consultant contract to be returned for approval) and to bring a master‑fee schedule and any recommended refinements as part of the 2026–27 budget adoption process. Staff noted the proposed switch from valuation‑based building fees to square‑footage‑based categories aligns the city with many neighboring jurisdictions and reduces valuation sensitivity.
Attributions: Consultant presentation by Eric Johnson; staff remarks from City Manager Mark Winer and Finance/Planning staff recorded in the March 31 transcript.
