HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 5e - Clarification and Approval of Administrative Appeal Fees for Inclusion in the Comprehensive Fee Schedule Item 5e
Department: Attorney
Cost Center: 1501
For Agenda of: 6/1/2021
Placement: Consent
Estimated Time: N/A
FROM: Christine Dietrick, City Attorney
Prepared By: Kelly White, TAO Legal Analyst
SUBJECT: CLARIFICATION AND APPROVAL OF ADMINISTRATIVE APPEAL FEES
FOR INCLUSION IN THE COMPREHENSIVE FEE SCHEDULE
RECOMMENDATION
1. Adopt a Resolution entitled, “A Resolution of the City Council of the City of San Luis
Obispo, California, adopting and confirming various fees for Administrative Appeals;” and
2. Approve a fee to appeal to the Tree Committee consistent with current language
of San Luis Obispo Municipal Code Section 12.24; and
3. Confirm the applicability of an existing fee to appeal an administrative citation to
the Administrative Review Board; and
4. Confirm the applicability of an existing fee to appeal an administrative citation to
the Construction Board of Appeals; and
5. Approve modifications to the language of the Comprehensive Fee Schedule to
clarify the applicability of the fees referenced above; and
6. Request that the Administrative Review Board consider staff recommended
modifications to the administrative citation appeal process, as currently codified,
and recommend to the City Council any changes or fee modifications deemed
necessary.
DISCUSSION
Background
Tree Committee
In 2019, the City Council adopted Ordinance 1664 which, in part, repealed and replaced
sections 12.24.090 and 12.24.180 of the City’s Tree Regula tions. After adoption of
Ordinance 1664, no decision of the Tree Committee (“Committee”) was appealable to the
City Council, making the role of the Committee advisory to either the Community
Development Director (SLOMC 12.24.090(F)(2)) or the applicable “approving authority”
(SLOMC 12.24.090(F)(4)). Consistently, applications under Municipal Code section
12.24.090(E)(3) for tree removals “based on property owner convenience” also call on
the Committee to advise the Community Development Director so a decision can be
made.
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Item 5e
Currently, though no decisions of the Tree Committee are appealable to the City Council,
the following remains in the Comprehensive Fee Schedule:
Figure 1. Screen capture, FY 2021-22 Comprehensive Fee Schedule,
‘Finance’ tab, lines 24-26
Staff recommends that the “Tree Committee” fee listed in Figure 1 be applied to those
appeals of City Arborist decisions to the Tree Committee under Municipal Code section
12.24.090(E)(2), tree removals for “tree health or hazard mitigation”, which come before
the Committee, but currently have no adopted fee.
Administrative Review Board
In 2015, the City Council adopted Ordinance 1625 which, in part, repealed and replaced
Municipal Code section 1.24 (the City’s Administrative Code Enforcement Procedures)
and established the Administrative Review Board (ARB) advisory body. Appeals of
administrative citations reviewed by the ARB require extensive staff time to schedule,
notice, and coordinate each hearing, and to draft a staff report for each agenda item.
The “All Other Appeals” fee, shown in Figure 1, is currently being applied to appeals heard
by the ARB. Staff recommends Council expressly confirm the applicability of this fee to
ARB appeals prior to finalization of the 2021-22 Comprehensive Fee Schedule.
Construction Board of Appeals
The same Ordinance 1625 referenced above also established the current purview and
procedures of the Construction Board of Appeals (CBOA). Since 2015, when the
ordinance was adopted, the fee staff has applied to appeals reviewed by the CBOA has
been the “All Other Appeals” fee, shown in Figure 1. However, the Comprehensive Fee
Schedule currently contains the following fees, which staff believe should more accurately
be applied to appeals to the CBOA:
Figure 2. Screen capture, FY 2021-22 Comprehensive Fee Schedule,
‘Additional Building Fees’ tab, line 8
Figure 3. Screen capture, FY 2021-22 Comprehensive Fee Schedule,
‘Additional Building Fees’ tab, line 55
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Item 5e
Staff recommends that the Council confirm as applicable to appeal to the Construction
Board of Appeals the fees shown in Figures 2 and 3. Staff requests this confirmation in
the interest of public transparency and to confirm that the recommended fee is consistent
with current Council intent and should be applied going forward, rather than the general
appeal fee that seems to have been applied in error.
Comprehensive Fee Schedule – Language Edits
In order to clarify and capture the fee changes being recommended, the section of the
2021-22 Comprehensive Fee Schedule shown in Figure 1 will be modified as follows:
Appeals to Advisory Bodies Following Administrative
(non-Planning) Decisions
Tree Committee
$125.71
Construction Board of Appeals
$1,196.04
Administrative Review Board
$312.61
All Other Appeals
$312.61
Policy Context
Throughout the City there exists a consistent practice of charging an application fee
for staff review and decision-making, and then an additional fee to appeal the decision
on an application if the appeal process requires extensive staff time. Adoption of a fee
to appeal to the Tree Committee would be consistent with that practice.
Fee Studies are a regular part of the provision of City services to ensure fees are
reflective of the City’s costs of providing the associated services . In the coming year,
the Code Enforcement Division intends to evaluate the fees within its scope of work.
It is recommended that City Council provide direction to staff and the Administrative
Review Board to review and analyze not only fees related to the administrative appeal
process, but the entire process, as currently codified, and recommend to the City
Council any changes or modifications deemed necessary.
Public Engagement
The fees being recommended here for adoption and/or confirmation are essentially a final
clean-up and implementation step of public hearing processes that occurred years ago.
The fee and process analysis that will occur as a ‘Next Step’, for both Code Enforcement
and the administrative citation appeals processes, will include multiple opportunities for
public engagement at both advisory body and City Council meetings.
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Item 5e
CONCURRENCE
The Public Works Director, Community Development Director and Chief Building Official
concur with these recommendations.
The Finance Department’s Revenue division has reviewed the recommendations and will
integrate the approved changes in the City’s Comprehensive Fee Schedule.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The California Environmental Quality Act does not apply to the recommended action in
this report, because the action does not constitute a “Project ” under CEQA Guidelines
Sec. 15378.
FISCAL IMPACT
Budgeted: Not Applicable Budget Year: Not Applicable
Funding Identified: No
Fiscal Analysis:
Funding
Sources
Total Budget
Available
Current
Funding
Request
Remaining
Balance
Annual
Ongoing
Cost
General Fund $0 $0 $0 $0
State
Federal
Fees
Other:
Total $0 $0 $0 $0
Because an insignificant amount of additional staff work is anticipated as a result of
adopting and/or confirming the fees being recommended, no new fiscal impact will be
incurred. All related work is included in appropriations requested for the 2021-23 Financial
Plan.
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Item 5e
ALTERNATIVES
1. Deny the recommended actions. This alternative would leave ambiguities within the
Comprehensive Fee Schedule indefinitely which is not a viable option.
2. Modify one or more of the fees to an amount other than that recommended by
staff. If this alternative is chosen, specific reasoning f or the modification should be
included in Council direction.
3. Authorize Recommendation 5, but deny the other recommended actions
pending the results of the analysis. The ambiguities that would remain within the
Comprehensive Fee Schedule would not be ideal, but there would be a plan in place
to resolve them.
ATTACHMENTS
A – Draft Resolution – Various Administrative Appeal Fees
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R ______
RESOLUTION NO. _____ (2021 SERIES)
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN LUIS
OBISPO, CALIFORNIA, ADOPTING AND CONFIRMING VARIOUS FEES
FOR ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS
WHEREAS, the City Council adopted Ordinance 1625 (2015 Series) which, among
other things, established the Administrative Review Board to hear certain administrative
citation appeals that required the creation of a substantial record; and
WHEREAS, no fee amount was explicitly set for an appeal to the Administrative
Review Board, but has been interpreted as falling under the ‘All Other Appeals’ category
of the City’s Comprehensive Fee Schedule; and
WHEREAS, Ordinance 1625 (2015) also redefined the purview and procedures of
the previously established Construction Board of Appeals, including specifying staff’s
creation of a substantial record for those administrative citation appeals it reviewed; and
WHEREAS, no fee amount is explicitly listed in the City’s Comprehensive Fee
schedule for an appeal to the Construction Board of Appeals, but there does exist two
otherwise applicable fees: “Appeal of Building Official Decision – BLDG” and “Handicap
Board of Appeals – BLDG”; and
WHEREAS, the City Council adopted Ordinance 1664 (2019 Series) which
modified the process for tree removal applications and as a result there are no longer any
decisions of the City’s Tree Committee appealable to the City Council though a fee for
such an appeal remains listed in the City’s Comprehensive Fee Schedule; and
WHEREAS, certain decisions of the City Arborists are appealable to the Tree
Committee, but no fee amount for such an appeal is listed in the Comprehensive Fee
Schedule; and
WHEREAS, the Comprehensive Fee Schedule will be updated to reflect all new
and updated fees becoming effective July 1, 2021.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the City of San Luis
Obispo that:
SECTION 1. The City will begin collecting fees for administrative appeals to its
various advisory bodies as show below. Accordingly, the City’s Comprehensive Fee
Schedule shall be amended to reflect the following fees:
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Resolution No. _____ (2021 Series) Page 2
R ______
Appeals to Advisory Bodies Following Administrative (non-Planning) Decisions
Tree Committee $125.71
Construction Board of Appeals $1,196.04
Administrative Review Board $312.61
All Other Appeals $312.61
Upon motion of _______________________, seconded by
_______________________, and on the following roll call vote:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
The foregoing resolution was adopted this _____ day of _____________________ 2021.
________________________________
Mayor Heidi Harmon
ATTEST:
____________________________________
Teresa Purrington
City Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
_____________________________________
J. Christine Dietrick
City Attorney
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the official seal of the
City of San Luis Obispo, California, on ______________________.
________________________________
Teresa Purrington
City Clerk
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