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Woodland Hills council adopts fee schedule changes including higher development and permit fees
Summary
Council approved several fee schedule updates: late-payment interest raised to 5%, option for developers to pay $5,200 per acre-foot in lieu of water shares, higher land-use and conditional-use fees, a new $750 ADU application fee and clarified sewer-impact pass-through language; council asked that the sewer impact be listed as the 'actual cost charged by PAC' to avoid repeated ordinance edits.
The Woodland Hills City Council on June 23 approved an amended consolidated fee schedule that raises several city permitting and service fees and clarifies pass-through charges.
Jody, city staff handling the fee schedule packet, told the council that the late-payment interest would increase from 3% to 5% and that an in-lieu water option would allow developers to pay $5,200 per acre-foot for 1.0 and 0.90 acre-foot reserve water rather than transferring water shares. Jody also presented a proposed home-based-business annual license increase from $25 to $50 and a conditional-use application fee increase so publication costs are recouped.
On land-use review, staff said subdivision-review workload increased after state law changes removed preliminary reviews; engineering and review costs were higher and fees were adjusted to better recoup city costs. Jody recommended an ADU (accessory dwelling unit) application fee of $750 to cover up to four inspections; she said inspections often require 1.5–2 hours, and a higher single fee prevents under-recovery.
Council members asked whether stop-work penalties or late-fee caps are constrained by state law; staff said fees generally reflect cost recovery and legal guidelines. The council also sought an administrative change so sewer-impact charges would be recorded as the actual amount charged by the agency (referred to in packet as PAC/PAS) so the city would not need to update the ordinance every time the outside agency adjusts its fee.
The council approved the consolidated fee-schedule resolution with the suggested change to the sewer-impact wording. Staff said pass-through items (publication, sewer agency charges) are not city revenue but are billed through the city's process to reflect actual outside costs.
Staff noted they will add a key or exhibit explaining colored symbols in the fee packet and will implement the permit-renewal cadence change (January 1 renewals) and set inspection counts covered by each permit more explicitly in the schedule.
