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Plain City staff proposes council‑controlled fee schedule to modernize zoning charges
Summary
Planning staff proposed removing many fees from the zoning code and adopting an annually reviewed council‑approved fee schedule; staff said many fees have not been updated since 2008–2016 and that some residential fees would be lowered while some development fees would increase.
Staff presented a proposal to decouple many zoning fees from the municipal code and instead adopt a council‑approved fee schedule that could be updated annually without a code amendment. The change is intended to eliminate the need for periodic code amendments just to adjust routine fees and to allow the village to keep rates aligned with other jurisdictions.
“Most of them have not been updated since 2008, 2012, or 2016,” the staff member said, and explained planning and zoning has reviewed the restructure and recommended it proceed to public hearing. Staff said routine residential permit fees (for fences, sheds, etc.) are proposed to be reduced, while some development fees would increase to reflect current processing costs.
Planning & Zoning has already approved forwarding the fee structure and staff expects a public‑hearing first reading in May. Under the proposed approach, the council would adopt a fee schedule that staff could adjust administratively on an annual basis, and the code would be left to govern substantive standards rather than specific dollar amounts.
Council members asked clarifying questions about how the schedule would be reviewed and whether annual administrative adjustments would still allow appropriate public notice; staff said the council would maintain oversight through the annual adoption process.
