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CPHD warns inspection capacity strained as development fund stabilizes; fee increases and staff hold proposals aim to restore fiscal health
Summary
CPHD leaders reported that inspection workloads have risen while vacancies and an aging workforce reduce capacity; the department proposed further fee increases to reach cost recovery, held vacancies and a handful of position eliminations (including a principal planner and an associate historic preservation planner), and warned that compressed inspection time (from 60 to 30 minutes) risks inspection quality.
Sumaya Byrd, CPHD director, told the County Board that staff have pursued a multi‑year strategy to restore the development fund’s fiscal health through fee adjustments, a technology surcharge and targeted position changes. The department reports that the development fund moved from a negative fund balance in prior years toward near‑stability but that FY27 still requires careful management and monitoring.
Byrd and CPHD staff explained proposed fee changes to move toward 100% cost recovery for planning fees and to add a $250 local historic district application fee ($250 per property up to $1,000 per applicant). The department said fee adjustments were based on recent analyses of staff time and overhead tied to each application type.
CPHD presented a set of proposed reductions: elimination of a currently vacant principal planner in the comprehensive planning section (reducing comprehensive planning capacity by about 25% in that program area), elimination of an associate planner position in historic preservation (which staff said would preserve regulatory minimums but curtail discretionary services such as cultural documentation and outreach), and a $20,000 reduction to neighborhood college programming.
Inspection services leaders described operational strain: construction field inspectors averaged up to 14 inspections per day in FY25 (up from a historical average of 10), and six inspector positions were held vacant, representing a 25% reduction in inspection capacity. CPHD and ISD staff said vacancies and an aging inspection workforce (a wave of potential retirements) have reduced available experience in specialty trades, making some inspectors hard to replace. Shahriar Amiri, Chief Building Official, explained the practical impact: to meet inspection demand the time allotted per inspection has been reduced from roughly 60 minutes to 30 minutes, which he warned decreases inspection depth and can increase the chance of missed issues.
CPHD staff described tactical recruitment steps (outreach, conference recruitment, career center partnerships) and retention tools the county has used in prior cycles (hiring and retention bonuses), but said competition for experienced trade inspectors is strong and training a new inspector can take several years. Cynthia Hernan, CPHD’s chief administrative officer, summarized vacancy counts and retirement exposure in plan review and inspection teams.
Why it matters: Development fees and inspection capacity directly affect the pace of construction, the permitting pipeline, building safety oversight and downtown project timelines. Proposed fee increases and program reductions would help stabilize the development fund but carry tradeoffs in staffing, customer service and discretionary planning programs such as historic preservation outreach.
What’s next: CPHD said it will continue to monitor fund receipts, return with NOFA/AIF recommendations and provide follow‑up briefs on recruitment strategies, detailed cost recovery calculations and the public engagement plan for any fee or code changes.
