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The San Ramon City Council is set to hold a discussion on the fee structure for zoning appeals in response to concerns raised in a public hearing on the new fee schedule that was adopted for the current fiscal year.
Although the new master fee schedule adopted on April 22 did not include any increases to appeal fees, the numerous concerns shared by the public at that meeting led the council to direct staff to bring a discussion on the appeal fee structure at a later date.
That later date is Tuesday, during which the council will receive a staff report on the topic and provide further direction to staff on the appeal fee structure.
The upcoming discussion comes in the wake of an earlier conversation by the council’s Policy Committee on July 16.
“Comments and questions from the Committee included a desire that the process be fair; that there be a structure based on an understanding of the costs associated with staff time to process an appeal; how those additional staff costs are addressed in a flat fee structure; considerations for a lower point of entry for a deposit-based appeal; the value of refunding fees for an appeal with merit; and how the appeal process can address hardship situations,” Community Development Director Lauren Barr wrote in the staff report for the meeting.
As part of their review of the city’s appeal structure, city staff analyzed the appeal fees in a number of neighboring communities. Of the Tri-Valley communities, San Ramon is the only one that does not charge a flat fee for appeals, instead requiring a $4,000 to $4,500 deposit up front.
Flat fees for zoning appeals in the other Tri-Valley communities range from a low of $251 in Dublin to a high of $4,381 in Livermore.
Those numbers alone don’t paint the whole picture, however, according to Barr’s staff report.
“Among the cities that have flat fees, there are nuances associated with how additional costs for service are addressed,” Barr wrote. “In several cases, any additional costs are billed to the project applicants, while in other cities, additional costs of an appeal are supplemented by the General Fund.”
He added that of the neighboring cities reviewed by staff, Pleasanton is the only one with a refund provision in place for successful appeals.
Barr also noted that the lower fees in some areas could reflect a higher cost for the applicants behind projects being appealed, or for the cities themselves, whereas all costs are taken on by the appellant under current policies in San Ramon.
“The current deposit fee structure for appeal is fair in that the cost of the services provided by the City are borne by the Appellant,” Barr wrote. “If the Council believes that the current deposit fee structure is not supportive of the objectives of the appeal process, they can look to examples from other cities for a flat fee or hybrid structure with the understanding that those additional city costs must be recovered in different ways.”
If the city were to shift from a deposit to a flat fee model, the question would then be how much to set that fee at. With the exception of Livermore, all of the Tri-Valley communities have zoning appeal fees lower than $350.
“While a lower flat fee is more financially accessible to the general public, it will generally result in the City subsidizing the costs of processing those appeals or passing the cost on to the project applicant,” Barr wrote. “A higher flat fee will help offset a city’s costs and provide certainty in the total cost to the Appellant when compared to an open-ended deposit.”
City staff are recommending that the council maintain the city’s existing deposit structure for zoning appeals, but are seeking direction on next steps. The council’s direction will be incorporated into the preparation of the fee schedule for the next fiscal year in the coming months.
The San Ramon City Council is set to meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday (Nov. 25). The agenda is available here.
In other business
*The council is set to issue a proclamation to outgoing SRPD Chief Denton Carlson ahead of his retirement on Dec. 15.
*San Ramon Chamber of Commerce President Danielle Cook is set to present an annual report.
*The council is set to elect a new vice mayor for the next one-year term in the position currently held by Sridhar Verose.
*The council is set to discuss a performance evaluation for City Manager Steven Spedowski in closed session following the public meeting.
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