CC SR 20170404 01 - Minor Modification FeeCITE' OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES
PUBLIC HEARING
Date: April 4, 2017
Subject: Consideration and Possible Action to Amend the Master Schedule of Fees
and Charges to Add a Fee for a Minor Modification Request and to
Designate a Reduced Minor Modification Appeal Fee
Subject Property: Citywide
1. Report of Notice Given: City Clerk
2. Request for Staff Report: Mayor Campbell
3. Staff Report & Recommendation: Associate Planner Silva
4. Council Questions of Staff (factual only, no opinions):
5. Declare the Hearing Open: Mayor Campbell
6. Public Testimony: Mayor Campbell invites brief comments from the public.
Appellant: N/A
Applicant: N/A
7. Council Questions of speakers — (factual only):
8. Rebuttal: N/A
9. Declare Hearing Closed: Mayor Campbell
10. Council Deliberation: Questions of staff in response to testimony and deliberation.
11. Council Action:
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RANCHO PALOS VERDES CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE: 04/04/2017
AGENDA REPORT AGENDA HEADING: Public Hearing
AGENDA DESCRIPTION:
Consideration and possible action to amend the Master Schedule of Fees and Charges
to add a fee for a Minor Modification Request and to designate a reduced Minor
Modification Appeal fee.
RECOMMENDED COUNCIL ACTION:
(1) Adopt Resolution No. 2017- , A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF
THE CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES AMENDING THE MASTER
SCHEDULE OF FEES AND CHARGES FOR CITY SERVICES TO ADD A NEW
MINOR MODIFICATION REQUEST FEE AND DESIGNATING A REDUCED
MINOR MODIFICATION APPEAL FEE
FISCAL IMPACT: None
Amount Budgeted: N/A
Additional Appropriation: N/A
Account Number(s): N/A
ORIGINATED BY: Octavio Silva, Associate Planner
-
REVIEWED BY: Ara Mihranian, AICP, Director of Community Development;
APPROVED BY: Doug Willmore, City Manager'; -
ATTACHED SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS:
A. Resolution No. 2017- (page A-1)
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION:
At the February 21, 2017, City Council meeting, the City Council, as part of its
discussion enacting Ordinance No. 594 to revise the City's minor modification process,
directed Staff to establish an application fee for Minor Modification requests. The
Planning Division currently processes, at no cost to the applicant, a number of Minor
Modification requests every year to modify various aspects of approved projects. Staff
estimates that, based upon the recently -adopted process, it will take an average of six
(6) hours to process each Minor Modification Request, which includes assessing the
request with conformance to the City's Development Code and previous Conditions of
Approval; preparing a written report memorialize the required Findings and the
Community Development Director's decision; and providing a 15 -day Notice of Decision
to any interested party. Lastly, Staff's estimate also includes the time needed to update
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the project Conditions of Approval and approve the revised project plans for submittal to
the Building and Safety Division. The proposed $322 application fee is based on an
average fully -burdened hourly rate of $53.
The new Minor Modification process also includes a new appeal process. The City's
current appeal fee is $2,275 and a concern has been expressed that the current fee
may discourage interested parties from filing appeals because of the perceived high
cost. Thus, the City Council directed Staff to establish a reduced appeal fee for Minor
Modifications. The Planning Division proposes a reduced Appeal fee of $1,275. This is
not a new fee, since the City recently adopted the same reduced appeal fee for the
processing of appeals related to Wireless Telecommunications Permits issued by the
Public Works Department. The scope of work in processing an appeal of a Minor
Modification would be relatively the same as for an appeal of a Wireless
Telecommunications Permit in that Staff will analyze the appeal request, prepare a
report and compile relevant documents. In addition, the appeal request requires public
notice and a presentation to either the Planning Commission or the City Council.
Based on the forgoing discussion, Staff proposes the following fees for the City
Council's consideration:
Permit
ProposFee ed
Notes
Minor
New Fee
Modification
$322
Request
• Based on 6 hours of Staff time
• Existing Fee is $2,275
Minor
• A reduced fee was previously established
Modification
$1,275
by the City Council for Wireless
Appeal
Telecommunications Facilities in the public
right-of-way
• If appeal is upheld, the fee is refunded
ALTERNATIVES:
In addition to the Staff recommendation, the following alternative actions are available
for the City Council's consideration:
1. Revise the Minor Modification Request fee and/or the Minor Modification
Appeal fees to a different amounts, and update the draft Resolution
accordingly.
2. Take no action, thereby not adopting a Minor Modification Request fee
and retaining the current $2,275 appeal fee to process a Minor
Modification Appeals.
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RESOLUTION NO. 2017-
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
RANCHO PALOS VERDES AMENDING THE MASTER
SCHEDULE OF FEES AND CHARGES FOR CITY SERVICES
TO ADD A NEW MINOR MODIFICATION REQUEST FEE
AND DESIGNATING A REDUCED MINOR MODIFICATION
APPEAL FEE
WHEREAS, the City of Rancho Palos Verdes conducted an extensive analysis of its
services, the costs reasonably borne by the City in providing those services, the
beneficiaries of those services, and the revenues produced by those paying fees and
charges for services for fiscal year 2008-2009; and,
WHEREAS, after conducting a public hearing, the City adopted Resolution
No. 2010-77 thereby adopting a Master Schedule of Fees and Charges for City services;
and,
WHEREAS, on March 7, 2017, the City adopted Ordinance No. 594, amending
Chapter 17.78.040 (Amendments to Approved applications) and Chapter 17.78.040
(Interpretation procedure for approved applications) of Title 17 of the City's Municipal Code
to codify a "Minor Modification" process and clarifying the process for interpreting previous
decisions and/or conditions of approval; and,
WHEREAS, City Staff has analyzed the estimated costs of processing a Minor
Modification Request which is based on approximately an average of 6 hours of Staff time
and has determined that a Minor Modification Request fee of $322 does not exceed the
cost to the City of processing such a request; and,
WHEREAS, the City Council seeks to establish a reduced appeal fee of $1,275 for
Minor Modification Requests to ensure that residents, interested parties, and the
community actively participate in the City's consideration of a minor modification process
for a project; and,
WHEREAS, on March 16, 2017 and March 24, 2017, a notice of public hearing to be
held on April 4, 2017 was published in the Palos Verdes Peninsula News; and,
WHEREAS, all interested parties that have requested notice of the proposed fee
increases were notified in writing on March 23, 2017; and,
WHEREAS, the proposed amendment to the Master Fee Schedule was made
available to the public ten days prior to the April 4, 2017 public hearing; and,
WHEREAS, on April 4, 2017, the City Council conducted a duly noticed public
hearing concerning the proposed new Minor Modification Request fee and the designation
of a reduced Minor Modification Appeal fee; and,
A-1
WHEREAS, the City Council desires to amend the Master Fee Schedule to add a
new Minor Modification Request fee and to designate a reduced fee for Minor Modification
Appeals.
NOW, THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of Rancho Palos Verdes does
hereby resolve as follows:
Section 1: The facts set forth in the recitals of this Resolution are true and correct
and are incorporated herein by references as though set forth in full.
Section 2: The City Council hereby finds that the adoption of this Resolution
amending Resolution No. 2010-77 to establish a new fee for Minor Modification Request
applications and to designate a reduced fee for Minor Modification Appeal applications is
exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (Public Resources Code Sections
21080 et. seq.) pursuant to Public Resources Code Section 21080(b)(8)(A).
Section 3: The City Council hereby finds that the new Minor Modification Request
fee based on an average estimate of 6 hours of Staff time does not exceed the cost to the
City of processing a Minor Modification Request application.
Section 4: The City Council hereby finds that the designation of the reduced
Minor Modification Appeal fee ensures that residents, interested parties, and the
community actively participate in the City's minor modification process of a project.
Section 5: The City Council hereby approves and adopts the revisions to the
Master Fee Schedule and hereby amends the relevant provisions of Resolution No. 2010-
77 to incorporate the new Minor Modification Request fee and to designate a Minor
Modification Appeal fee into the Master Fee Schedule attached hereto as Exhibit "A".
Section 6: Any person paying a given fee who feels that any fee, charge or rate
determined and set is in excess of the percentage of costs reasonably borne by the City
may appeal in writing to the City Council.
Section 7: The amended Master Fee Schedule specified in this Resolution Shall
become effective on June 4, 2017.
Section 8: The City Clerk shall certify to the passage, approval, and adoption of
this Resolution, and shall cause this Resolution and her certification to be entered in the
Book of Resolutions of the City Council.
Resolution No. 2017 -
Page 2 of 3
A-2
PASSED, APPROVED and ADOPTED this 4t" day of April 2017.
Brian Campbell, Mayor
ATTEST:
Emily Colborn, City Clerk
STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES ) ss
CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES )
I, EMILY COLBORN, City Clerk of the City of Rancho Palos Verdes, do hereby certify
that the above Resolution No. 2017-_, was duly and regularly passed and adopted by
the said City Council at a regular meeting thereof held on April 4, 2017.
CITY CLERK
Resolution No. 2017 -
Page 3 of 3
A-3
Exhibit A
Resolution No. 2017 -
Proposed Minor Modification Fees
Permit
Proposed Fee
Minor Modification Request
$322
Minor Modification Appeal
$1,275
i