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Council reduces Lake Church building-permit deposit amid concerns over fee schedule
Summary
Facing a $183,445.11 permit fee under the current schedule, the City Council agreed to an interim approach: accept a $35,000 deposit/retainer for Lake Church’s commercial building permit and direct staff to track consultant costs and return to council if actual costs exceed that amount.
The City Council voted to set a substantially reduced initial permit deposit for Lake Church’s new building after staff told council the current fee schedule would charge $183,445.11 for the project under a 1%-of-construction-cost formula.
John Byum (staff) presented comparative permit data from eight central Texas jurisdictions and said the city’s recently adopted fee structure produced an unintended consequence for non-revenue-producing projects such as a church. Pastor Jean Glazer of Lake Church said the congregation was surprised by the invoice and requested relief so construction could proceed.
Council members discussed precedent and fairness. Council member Mr. Costaska proposed starting with a $35,000 retainer for the project and allowing staff to track actual consultant and review costs; if city costs exceed that retainer, staff must return to council for approval of additional charges or reimbursement. Staff said they maintain a ledger for commercial projects and can implement the retainer-with-reconciliation approach.
The motion to accept a $35,000 deposit and to require staff to submit a financial report to council if consultant costs exceed that amount passed unanimously. Council directed staff to add this fee-structure issue to the list of fee-schedule revisions for future council review.
