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Benicia council amends master fee schedule: preapproved ADU plans to be free, affordable-housing monitoring fee deferred
Summary
After debate, the council directed staff to make preapproved ADU plans available at no cost and to remove the proposed annual affordable-housing monitoring fee from the current adoption to return later with a comprehensive proposal; staff will clarify that monitoring fees apply to rental properties and management entities.
The Benicia City Council amended and adopted changes to the city’s master fee schedule after a lengthy discussion focused on preapproved accessory dwelling unit (ADU) plans and an affordable-housing monitoring fee.
Suzanne Thorson, assistant city manager and development services director, presented the proposed updates, which included fees for preapproved ADU plans, affordable-housing monitoring, minor zoning permits and administrative markups. "In considering how to so the city cannot determine whether or not the plans will be offered at no cost… the city council has the authority to determine if there's a cost for the use of the plans," Thorson said, presenting three cost-recovery options (0%, 15% and 100%).
Several council members urged removing any fee for the preapproved ADU plans to encourage production. Councilmember Birdseye argued most jurisdictions do not charge for such plans and said the city should make the resource as accessible as possible. "If we really are trying to encourage ADUs… we should make it as easy to do as possible," Birdseye said.
On the affordable-housing monitoring fee, council members and staff agreed the ordinance requires annual monitoring only for rental units; the council directed staff to clarify that the fee would apply to rental properties (charged to management companies) and to remove the monitoring fee from the package to return with a more comprehensive program addressing ownership versus rental units. The council moved to adopt the resolution with amendments: preapproved ADU plans at no cost and the affordable-housing monitoring fee removed for later study.
Why it matters: Making preapproved ADU plans free aims to reduce barriers to smaller-scale housing production. Deferring and clarifying the affordable-housing monitoring fee recognizes differences in monitoring needs between rental and owner-occupied deed-restricted units and directs staff to return with a fuller proposal.
The council also discussed expedited plan review, administrative markups for consultant-managed work and the city’s current capacity constraints for guaranteed expedited permitting.
