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Council weighs FY27 master fee changes, interim street-fee option and special‑event permit charges
Summary
Staff proposed an interim single-rate street fee (roughly $236.74 per single-family parcel), reclassification options for high-cubed facilities, use of an index for annual fee updates, and adjustments to special-event cost recovery; councilors voiced support for a defensible interim approach and flagged concerns about large commercial outliers and gift-of-public-funds rules.
City staff presented multiple proposals tied to the FY27 master fee schedule, focusing on street fees, permit consolidation, and special-event cost recovery. Greg, assisting the city manager, summarized options including a flat-rate single-family fee (roughly $236.74 after adjustments), a separate classification for high‑cubed facilities (to address large fulfillment and distribution centers), and an interim single-rate approach intended as defensible short-term policy while the city pursues fuller traffic studies.
Greg said the proposals rely on Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) trip-generation codes and a producer‑price‑index adjustment to account for cost growth; staff also noted 67 exempt properties (largely government and education) whose trip generation had been folded into the residential allocation in calculations. He presented examples showing how different structures (a 75,000‑sq‑ft grocery, multifamily buildings, and large distribution centers) would be affected under the various options.
Council members asked whether a cap on individual bills would be defensible; staff and consultants warned that an arbitrary cap can be hard to defend without data. Several council members signaled support for an interim flat fee as a middle-ground recommendation while staff budget and scope a multi-season traffic study. One member recommended waiting two years before completing a full study to save budget for the work; another emphasized the need for a year of seasonal traffic data to avoid skewed results.
Staff also proposed using the Municipal Cost Index (MCI) to adjust many fees annually (the index averaged a 2.46% increase over the prior year), and itemized changes in community development, zoning and building inspection fees (adding a chicken permit, marijuana business permit and home-based business permit). Utility rate proposals included a 4% water-rate increase and a 10% wastewater-rate increase through 2029 (dropping to 3% in 2029 under the current plan).
On event permitting, staff said the current special-event license fee is $50 (up from $35) and that traffic-control-plan reviews cost about $118; by contrast, on-site staffing costs can run at least $250 per hour for small events and up to $1,600 per hour for large events. Council members discussed tiered triggers by attendance size, hourly fees, packaged options used by peer cities, and the possibility of waivers for city-sponsored events; staff warned about gift-of-public-funds constraints if the city subsidizes private events.
No ordinance votes were taken at the workshop; staff will return with refined proposals, options for fee structures and recommendations for whether to proceed with traffic studies or pursue interim pricing.
