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Charles Town staff proposes streamlined planning fees; council to review
Summary
City planning staff presented a consolidated fee schedule to replace a 2012 table, proposing lower item counts and clarified filing fees (e.g., $200 for single‑structure applications; $500 plus $50 per building and $2,000 escrow for three‑plus residential buildings). Commissioners asked for clearer escrow and third‑party cost estimates before forwarding to council.
City planning staff presented a proposed overhaul of Charles Town’s planning and zoning fee schedule at the Oct. 28 work session, saying the schedule has not been updated since 2012 and needs to be brought into line with current review costs. "It was last updated in 2012, and we need to increase our fees," staff member (S3) told the commission as she walked through a condensed fee table and examples of how charges would apply.
Under the proposal staff showed, a filing fee of $200 would apply for a single principal structure or for projects with fewer than three residential buildings. For projects with three or more residential buildings staff proposed a $500 base filing fee plus $50 per building and a $2,000 minimum escrow. Commissioners generally supported simplifying dozens of smaller line items into a handful of categories but requested clearer language about escrows, refunds and how third‑party review costs are handled. Staff said the fee changes are limited to planning/zoning fees and will be forwarded to city council for ordinance action; the commission did not take a vote at the work session.
