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Committee approves only phase‑one of Building & Safety fee changes, urges efficiency measures before further increases
Summary
Facing an estimated $83 million enterprise gap, the Department of Building and Safety won committee approval to implement a first phase of fee adjustments (express permits) but was directed to pursue operational efficiencies, benchmarking and self‑certification pilots before moving to additional fee phases.
The Budget & Finance Committee approved a phased approach to permit fee adjustments proposed by the Department of Building and Safety (DBS), authorizing phase‑one increases for express permits while declining to approve later phases until DBS demonstrates efficiency gains.
Tony (DBS chief management analyst) and other department staff described three phases: phase 1 (express permits, about 68% of permits, typically same‑day issuance), phase 2 (plan‑review permits for large/complex projects) and phase 3 (appeals and residential property reports). The department reported an estimated $83 million gap for the enterprise fund and said the proposed fee package would increase annual revenues by roughly $42 million once fully implemented.
Council members pressed DBS on alternatives and reforms that could reduce the need for fee increases, including expanded self‑certification for tenant improvement work, greater use of virtual inspections and technology, simultaneous rather than sequential departmental reviews, and targeted elimination of low‑value checks. DBS replied it is piloting self‑certification for certain projects, exploring AI in plan review and has been moving toward virtual inspections but that many fees had not been updated since 2018 (and some since 2009), creating pressure on the enterprise fund.
The committee asked DBS and the CAO to produce permit‑timeline metrics for phase 1–3 permit types, pursue a benchmarking study comparing fees and timelines with neighboring jurisdictions (staff estimated an RFP would take roughly a year to award and three months to complete), and return with options to increase revenue neutrality without blanket fee increases. For today, members authorized only phase‑one fee changes and instructed the department to provide further reporting and efficiency demonstrations before approving phase two or three.
