HomeMy WebLinkAboutResolutions - No. 2005-81RESOLUTION NO. 2005-81
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF LODI ESTABLISHING
A MASTER FEE SCHEDULE FOR ANNUAL PERMITS
TO OPERATE NEW DEVELOPMENT AND TENANT
IMPROVEMENT PLANS REVIEW, FIRE AND LIFE SAFETY
INSPECTIONS, AND OTHER MISCELLANEOUS SERVICES
PROVIDED BY THE CITY OF LODI FIRE DEPARTMENT
WHEREAS, the City of Lodi Fire Department is charged with the responsibility of
enforcing applicable codes pertaining to fire and life safety and other regulations promulgated
by the State Fire Marshal pursuant to California Health and Safety Code Section 13146 and
California Fire Code Section 101.2.2.2; and
WHEREAS, the City of Lodi incurs costs and expends resources when fire prevention
services are of a recurrent nature and the result of discretionary development; and
WHEREAS, the City desires to establish a policy to recover the cost of providing special
services of a voluntary or limited nature, such that general fund monies are not diverted from
general services of a broad nature, and thereby utilized to subsidize unfairly and inequitably
such special services; and
WHEREAS, the City, pursuant to California Health and Safety Code Sections
13146,2(b), 13217(b), and 17951 and California Government Code Sections 6062(a), 6103.7,
66016, 66017, and 66018, is authorized to adopt fees sufficient to pay the cost of providing
these services to the general public following proper notice and a public hearing; and
WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Lodi has adopted Ordinance No. 1759,
repealing and re-enacting Chapter 15.20 (Fire Code) of the Lodi Municipal Code, which
authorizes in Section 15.20.040 the City to establish fees sufficient to recover its costs in
administering the Fire Code, subject to adoption of an implementing resolution of the City
Council; and
WHEREAS, the City of Lodi Fire Department has conducted an analysis of its services,
the costs reasonably borne, the beneficiaries of those services, and the cost -recovery revenues
produced by those paying fees and charges for special services (Business Plan for Recovery of
Costs, i.e, the "Fee Study," and Master Fee Schedule, dated March 2005, collectively attached
hereto as Exhibits`A through E and incorporated herein); and
WHEREAS, the analysis of fees and service charges set forth in the Fee Study and
Master Fee Schedule provide a mechanism for ensuring fees adopted by the City for services
rendered do not exceed the reasonable estimated cost of providing the services for which the
fees are charged; and
WHEREAS, the fees and service charges set forth in the Master Fee Schedule bear a
fair and reasonable relationship to the City's costs in administering the Fire Code; and
WHEREAS, adoption of this Resolution is exempt from the California Environmental Act
(Public Resources Code Sections 21080, et seq.) because it approves and sets forth a
procedure for determining fees for the purpose of meeting certain operating expenses of the
City; and
WHEREAS, the Fee Study was available for public inspection and review in the office of
the City Clerk for more than 14 days prior to the date of the Public Hearing on this Resolution.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council of the City of Lodi does
find and resolve as follows:
1. The recitals set forth above are true and correct.
2. The fees and service charges set forth in the Master Fee Schedule (Exhibits
B — E) are hereby implemented.
3. The tees and service charges set forth in the Master Fee Schedule are to be
uniformly applied and collected for services provided by the Lodi Fire Department
or its designated contractor(s). Fees and service charges for special services of
a voluntary or limited nature shall not exceed the actual cost incurred by the City
in providing the special service.
4. Fees and service charges set forth in the Master Fee Schedule are for each
identified service; additional fees and service charges shall be required for each
additional service requested or required. Where fees are indicated on a per-unit
basis, the fee is for each identified unit or portion thereof within the indicated
range of such units.
5. The Fire Chief of the City of Lodi is hereby delegated the authority to create
administrative, fee -collection, and financial procedures as necessary to
implement the Master Fee Schedule consistent with the policies set forth in this
Resolution.
6, The appropriate fee(s) under the Master Fee Agreement shall be paid at the time
of application submittal for: a) permits to operate, b) new development and tenant
improvement plan checks/inspections, c) annual fire and life safety inspections,
and d) miscellaneous services and products. In the event fees are not paid at
the time of application submittal or upon request for additional fees, the City shall
not be obligated to process, approve, or take further action on permits, plan
checks/inspections, fire and life safety inspections, or other services and
products listed in the Master Fee Schedule until such time as the appropriate
fees are paid to the City,
7. No permit or approval shall be issued by the City unless applicant's project is in
compliance with applicable City and state laws and fees required under the
Master Fee Schedule are paid in full. Payment of fees by applicant shall not be
construed as any waiver of the City's right to enforce compliance with fire and life
safety standards, statutes, ordinances, or regulations through any means
authorized by applicable law.
8. At regular intervals the Fire Chief shall review the Master Fee Schedule to
ensure that fees and service charges continue to bear a fair and reasonable
relationship to the City's costs in administering the Fire Code,
9. The Fire Chief shall propose modifications to the Master Fee Schedule to the
City Council in the form of a resolution. In proposing modifications to the Master
Fee Schedule, the Fire Chief shall consider only the standards, criteria, and
procedures established by this Resolution and applicable state law. The Fire
Chief may also adjust the type of services offered in the Master Fee Schedule if,
in the judgment of the Fire Chief, equity requires such adjustment.
10. Fee adjustments to the Master Fee Schedule proposed by the Fire Chief may be
increased by resolution of the City Council in amounts determined reasonable
and necessary when budget and workload analysis supports such increases.
11. The Master Fee Schedule established in this Resolution shall be effective on July
1, 2005, which date is at least sixty (60) days after adoption of this Resolution.
12. This resolution shall be published one time in the "Lodi News -Sentinel," a daily
newspaper of general circulation printed and published in the City of Lodi.
Dated: April 20, 2005
I hereby certify that Resolution No. 2005-81 was passed and adopted by the City
Council of the City of Lodi in a regular meeting held on April 20, 2005, by the following votes:
1) In reference to the Annual Fire and Life Safety Inspection fees (Exhibit B):
AYES: COUNCIL MEMBERS — Hansen, Hitchcock, Johnson, Mounce,
and Mayor Beckman
NOES: COUNCIL MEMBERS — None
ABSENT: COUNCIL MEMBERS — None
ABSTAIN: COUNCIL MEMBERS — None
2) In reference to the Business Fire and Life Safety Inspection fees (Exhibit C):
AYES: COUNCIL MEMBERS — Hitchcock, Mounce, and Mayor Beckman
NOES: COUNCIL MEMBERS — Hansen and Johnson
ABSENT: COUNCIL MEMBERS — None
ABSTAIN: COUNCIL MEMBERS — None
3) In reference to the New Development and Tenant Improvements Plans
Review fees (Exhibit D):
AYES: COUNCIL MEMBERS — Hansen, Hitchcock, Johnson, Mounce,
and Mayor Beckman
NOES: COUNCIL MEMBERS — None
ABSENT: COUNCIL MEMBERS — None
ABSTAIN: COUNCIL MEMBERS — None
4) In reference to the Miscellaneous fees (Exhibit E):
AYES: COUNCIL MEMBERS — Hansen, Hitchcock, Johnson, Mounce,
and Mayor Beckman
NOES: COUNCIL MEMBERS — None
ABSENT: COUNCIL MEMBERS — None
ABSTAIN: COUNCIL MEMBERS — None
2005-81
3
•
SUSAN J. BLA ST N
City Clerk
EXHIBIT A
City of Lodi Fire Department
Business Plan for
Recovery of Costs Associated with
Annual Permits to Operate
New Development and Tenant Improvement Plans Review
Annual Fire and Life Safety Inspections
and
Miscellaneous Fire Department Products and Services
March 2005
Regulation and Policy
The fee schedules will apply within the legal boundaries of the City of Lodi. Operational oversight will
be provided by the Lodi Fire Department as developed by the Fire Chief. Coordination of activities
associated with the fee schedules will be performed by the Fire Marshal and Fire Prevention Bureau of
the Lodi Fire Department.
As a cost -recovery program, the fee schedules will be evaluated periodically to ensure revenue
represents actual cost -recovery without surpluses or deficits. Fees will be established after quantifying
time -on -task and frequency of occurrence for each item in the schedules. A significant factor in
determining the fee amounts will be ensuring all prevention activities are included in cost -recovery
calculations.
Roles and responsibilities of staff utilizing the fee schedules will be articulated by the Fire Chief and
Fire Marshal. Prevention activities subject to cost -recovery (plan review, fire and life safety inspections,
permits -to -operate, and miscellaneous) will be performed by authorized fire department personnel. This
staff will be part of the chain -of -command flowing through the Fire Marshal to the Fire Chief.
Inspectors and clerical staff will have clearly defined roles, responsibilities, and lines of communication.
Day-to-day oversight will be provided by the Fire Marshal, with overall management and policy
development determined by the Fire Chief.
Planning will be an ongoing activity focusing on two outcomes: I) the City of Lodi has direct control
over activities and situations affecting fire and life safety, and 2) entities and individuals receiving direct
benefit from city resources bear the cost of consuming those resources. Formal changes to the program
will be proposed during, and as part of, the budget process when practical. Changes arising from
environmental conditions will be identified and presented when the interests of the city or consumers
will be affected significantly. To ensure the city's interests are represented fully, the fire department
will consult with Community Development, Public Works, and Finance departments as well as the City
Attorney and City Manager before implementing any significant change, expansion, or reduction in the
fee schedules; however, the final decision to request authorization from the City Council will rest with
the City Manager.
Analysis and Planning
For the City of Lodi, the components and level of service associated with creating, implementing, and
operating a cost -recovery fee schedule will be tailored to its perspectives, preferences, and priorities.
Detailed quantitative analysis shows the relationship between the time needed to perform the various
tasks for the items listed in the fee schedules and the cost of operating the Fire Prevention Bureau of
LFD. This analysis also identifies the financial, equipment, facilities, and staffing needs necessary to
serve the public quickly and effectively. This analysis will establish baseline values for activities and
costs as well as creating a standardized method for assessing needs and meeting those needs with
specific service elements.
In addition to specific analysis to determine levels of service and cost -recovery values, community and
demographic data will be factored into the calculations to ensure proper weighting of local
characteristics is included. Since this will be a new program for the city, the fee schedules will be
compared to prices charged by other jurisdictions in the region as well as specific analysis of LFD cost -
recovery requirements. Another source to assure the reasonableness of the fee schedules is the results of
a survey conducted by the International Conference of Building Officials. The ICBO surveyed 63
California cities and counties, grouped by population, and developed descriptive statistics of the fees
charged to review plans and conduct inspections for the most common construction types.
The LFD Strategic Plan identifies numerous performance measures as a means of validating the
expected outcomes of department activities. As the fee schedules are implemented, additional
performance measures related to work processes and outcomes may be developed to ensure
accountability to the city and general public is maintained. These performance measures as well as
ongoing program evaluation will be part of a "system assessment cycle" that includes: data collection,
evaluation, analysis, planning, implementation, training, feedback, and more data collection. This will
allow the department to monitor short- and long-tenti changes in the environment, current local and
regional conditions and trends, as well as changes in demographic, economic, and political
circumstances that may affect the business interests of the city.
Finance
Economists have advocated more extensive utilization of user charges by local governments to finance
public services. "User charges put public prices on public products. They apply to those who
voluntarily consume services or use public facilities... They are favored not only because they
[generate savings to the general fiinci, but also because they can lead to more efficient allocation of
resources and a more equitable distribution of public services" (San Marcos Water District v. San
Marcos Unified School District, 1985).
To be certain our cost calculations consider the full range of applicable indirect as well as direct charges,
LFD will review all aspects of the fire prevention portion of the department's overall budget. "The real
costs of municipal services involve substantially more than the direct salary and benefit costs associated
with delivering a service. Cost calculations also include such indirect costs as departmental overhead
and administration, municipal overhead and administration, fixed asset replacement, capital
depreciation, debt service, and retirement."In an opinion letter dated July 21, 1997, titled Building
Inspection and Permit Fees—#12478, the Legislative Council of California stated, in the opinion of that
office, California statutes authorize local building departments to include those costs within the fees it
charges for permits and inspections.
To identify the total cost -recovery amount, both internal and external costs will be included. Internal
costs are those fire department direct expenses identified in the annual budget documents. External
costs are those services and support provided by other city departments as a component of the overall
city organization.
Incorporating the cost of support services provided by the city (which allows the fire department to
function) acknowledges the "administrative infrastructure" which is as necessary as the city's physical
infrastructure for meeting service demands. Administrative infrastructure includes city services such as
data processing, finance, human resources, vehicle and building maintenance, legal counsel, and time
spent by the City Council enacting laws and ordinances regulating fire and life safety. In other words,
plan checks, inspections, and related permit services could not occur without an organization capable of
meeting the various resource needs of citizens, businesses, and developers.
The basic methodology for cost -recovery is to identify all costs of services provided by LFD (plans
review, fire and life safety inspections, permits, and miscellaneous) and create fees based on the time
House, Michael W.; Establishing Building Permit Fees; p 13; International Conference of Building Officials, 1998.
2
required by fire department personnel to complete those tasks. The fee for reviewing a particular type of
plan document will be based on the time needed to complete the review.
Based on the available capacity of the Fire Prevention Bureau of LFD, the hourly rate for providing
services will be $75 per hour. This includes all direct and indirect costs of prevention as well as an
administrative overhead charge representing the cost of support services provided by the City of Lodi.
The best way to calculate time -on -task for the items included in the fee schedules is to examine
historical records and combine values from several years or accounting periods into a representative
value supported by statistical analysis. Until recently, LFD record keeping has been limited to
compliance with mandated external reporting requirements. This means documentation of activity
relevant to establishing fee schedules is incomplete and not suitable for use as the sole basis for
determining prices, Rather than establishing prices in an arbitrary manner, LFD has chosen to utilize
information from Community Development, Public Works, ICBO, and nearby jurisdictions in addition
to available department data. To ensure the fee schedules can withstand critical scrutiny, the
assumptions, methods, and values have been reviewed by the Finance, Community Development, and
Public Works directors; the city Building Official; City Attorney; and City Manager's office.
Legal
Licensing laws and regulations achieve a number of related police power objectives by controlling
performance of designated activity and prohibiting unlawful and unsafe practices. User fees in
California are required to conform to the requirements of the California Constitution as well as the
statutory requirements contained in the California Code of Regulations and Government Code. State
courts have been very flexible regarding methodologies used by local jurisdictions to establish service
fees. The courts have held that some form of study or analysis must be conducted, and that the rationale
used in the study must be reasonable. The reasonable cost standard is met when fees are based on
supporting data for the jurisdiction.2
Quality Management
The main focus for quality management activities is ensuring fee schedule prices reflect appropriate
cost -recovery guidelines. These guidelines, in turn, are based on community needs and expectations,
desired organizational outcomes, and available resources. Another function of quality management is
ongoing evaluation of performance targets to measure compliance to policies and procedures as well as
ensuring targets are realistic and attainable. A third use of quality management is to build, verify, and
monitor standards and procedures for successful completion of the permit/inspection process.
Analysis of quality management tasks and data will identify areas of improvement, evaluate system
performance, prioritize areas of development, monitor performance indicators, discover training
opportunities, and include customer satisfaction feedback loops. The performance measures identified
in the Strategic Plan will be the basis for capturing appropriate data points as well as allowing analysis
from different perspectives using different data groupings and levels of aggregation.
2 Bouse, Michael, W.; Establishing Building Permit Fees; p 7; International Conference of Building Officials, 1998,
3
Education and Information
Education and information activities will be divided into three basic groupings: 1) meetings with civic
groups, developers, and interested stakeholders; 2) casual or informal information exchange at the
permit center counter; and 3) publishing and distributing a "developer's guide" for the purpose of
allowing interested parties to know, up front, the expectations of the City of Lodi in regards to code
compliance and the review/inspection processes.
The first phase of education and information activities will focus on introducing the fee schedules,
answering questions, and building understanding of the need to implement cost -recovery efforts. The
second part of education and information activities is daily, ongoing contact with applicants. A
knowledgeable counter -person will be able to answer questions and distribute literature. The third phase
will promulgate consistent interpretation of the codes through development and distribution of standards
and guidelines. This will allow developers to create plans in compliance with local expectations and
reduce disputes over city requirements. In addition to the developer's guide, various pamphlets,
brochures, and flyers will be created as demand requires.
Equipment and Facilities
Since the fee schedules are a new endeavor for LFD, there is no way to quantify their impact on
available capacity. The fire department is comfortable with using available resources to operate the
program until a baseline history of the actual workload can be established. Developing and designing
appropriate forms and checklists will be the only initial change to LFD resource needs.
Operations
The fee schedules will be based on this plan and supporting data analysis. Work flow will remain
basically the same, only the volume will increase. This program is an extension of the fire department's
strategy to utilize resources efficiently and effectively, uses the existing chain of command, and as
workload increases will provide for further delineation of responsibility and authority. Service delivery
will be consistent with city and LFD policy; industry standards; and applicable statutes, ordinances, and
regulations. Although formal disputes are rare, the Lodi Municipal Code articulates the means by which
an applicant can appeal.
There will be a need for additional technical training in hazardous materials management and in some
aspects ofpermit requirements. LFD will work cooperatively with other departments and organizations
in planning, identifying needs, training, integration, and coordination of tasks, documents, and
approvals. This will be a cooperative effort on the part of city departments to ensure changes to work
processes, lead time, and documentation will be implemented in a manner that provides the city control
and oversight while recovering the costs of enforcement.
In general, for each requested service, an applicant will complete an application form or submit the
appropriate materials, pay the required fee (or minimum increment) and the work will be processed in
the order in which it is received. For example, a hood -and -duct system will take four hours for
document review and inspection. At $75 per hour, one system will recover $300, if ten systems are
installed, the City of Lodi will recover $3,000.
4
The fee schedule can accommodate special circumstances, but the customer will pay a premium for LFD
to perform services outside its customary operating structure. Likewise, should a customer fail to meet
his or her obligations, there is a penalty for consuming city resources unnecessarily.
Implementation
The likely (based on surveys and available city data) time -on -task associated with each fee schedule
item is the basis for establishing the actual fee amount. In cases where it is not possible to quantify the
exact amount of time for completing a particular task, minimum incremental fees are listed—subject to
adjustment as the actual time -on -task is determined for each project or activity. This assures fees are
matched as closely as possible to the resources consumed for providing the specified service or product.
The fees are based on the annual available hours of fire department staff in comparison with the costs to
be recovered. The target for cost recovery is the Fire Prevention Bureau portion of the fire department
budget plus the city administrative overhead costs proportionally allocated to prevention activities.
Because this is a new endeavor for the fire department, it is difficult to anticipate exactly the increase in
workload and its effect on available capacity. This is why many items in the fee schedules list minimum
increments of the final fee as the base price and why the program will be implemented in phases. The
fee schedules will be implemented starting with tasks already performed by LFD and advance to
activities requiring different skills and additional capacity. However, as the program matures and
detailed historical data is collected, cost -recovery estimates will be refined and adjusted as necessary to
more closely align with the cost -recovery target.
The Master Fee Schedule contains the complete listing of the items for which fees will be collected
when the program is fully implemented. Plans review and certain fire and life safety inspections will be
the first phase of implementation. Annual permits to operate will be introduced after the operational
methods are shown to be effective and efficient. Miscellaneous items will be added as needed while the
program develops and solidifies.
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EXHIBIT B
Annual Fire and Life Safety inspections Fee
State Mandated Inspections
E-3 Occupancies — Day Care
7 - 49 clients 150.00
50 - 149 clients 187.50 +
150 clients 225.00
Pre -inspection <= 25 clients 50.00
Pre -inspection > 25 clients 100.00
Occupancies — Institution
1-1 or 1-2 Occupancies <6 patients 150.00 +
1-1 or 1-2 Occupancies >= 6 patients 225.00 +
1-3 Occupancies — Detention Facilities No Charge
R-1 Occupancies — Apartments
3 - 16 Units
17 - 32 Units
>= 33 Units
R-1 Occupancies — Hotels/Motels
3 - 16 Units
17 - 32 Units
>= 33 Units
R-2 Occupancies — Residential Care Facilities
>= 7 residents
Pre -inspection < 25 residents
Pre -inspection >= 26 residents
R-3 Occupancies — Large Family Day Care
7 to 14 clients
Pre -inspection
R-6 Occupancies — Halfway Houses, etc.
>= 7 residents
Pre -inspection < 25 residents
Pro -inspection >= 26 residents
112.50 +
150.00 +
187.50 +
112.50 +
150,00 +
187.50 +
225.00 +
50.00
100.00
75.00 +
50.00
225.00 +
50.00
100.00
Business Fire & Life Safety Inspections
Fire Company Business Inspection
Initial plus 1 Reinspect
Additional Reinspections (each)
+ Minimum Fee, actual cost may vary
EXHIBIT C
No Charge
75.00 +
EXHIBIT D
New Development and Tenant Improvements Plans Review Fee
Site Planning Fee
Annexation 150.00 +
Land Use 15a00 +
Lot Line Adjustments 150.00 +
Parcel Map 150.00 +
SPARC 150.00 +
Zoning Variance 150.00 +
Subdivision/Lot Splits
1 - 4 Lots 150.00
5 - 24 Lots 300,00
25 or more Lots 450.00
Fire & Life Safety Plans Review and Inspections Fee
Fire Review of Building Construction Add 25% to building plan check
& building permit fee
Certificate of Occupancy (Fire) 75.00 +
Fire Protection Equipment Plans Review and Inspections Fee
Civil Improvement Site Plan (no underground inspection) 150.00 +
Compressed Gas System (each)
Hazardous Materials
Medical Gas
Fire Alarm System
Fire Alarm System tor Fire Sprinkler Monitor
Fire Flow/Hydrant Test
Fre Pump
Fire Sprinkler System (per riser)
1 -61-leads
7 - 19 Heads
20 - 99 Heads
100 - 199 Heads
>=200 Heads (plus $0.50 per head)
Haion/Clean Agent System
Hood & DuOt Fire Suppression System (each)*
*hood requires separate building permit
Plan Maintenance Fee*
*fire alarm systern, alarm system for sprinkler monitor,
fire puny, fire sprinkler syStern, halon/clean agent
system, hood :& duct suppression system, spray booth,
standpipe/hose stations
Smoke Management Systems
Spray Booth (each)
Standpipe/Hose. Stations
375.00 +
450.00 +
450.00+
300.00 +
150.00 +
900.00 +
225.00
375.00
750.00
1,050.00
1,350.00
450.00 +
300.00 +
Add 50/0 to plan check fee
750.00 +
450.Q0 +
150.00 +
Miscellaneous Development Fee
Administrative Charge
Design Review Consultation/Conference 75.00 +
Minimum intake Fee (not otherwise specified) 75.00
Second & Subsequent Plan Revision Submittals (each) 150.00
Temporary Certificate of Occupancy 150.00
Special Plan Review Request
After Hours 225.00 +
Not Otherwise Specified 150.00 +
Cancellation - <24 Hrs. notice, Not Ready, No Show 75.00
Technical Report/Alternate Materials or Methods* 150.00 +
*per code item plus consultant fee plus 20% admin. fee
+ Minimum Fee, actual cost may vary
EXHIBIT E
Miscellaneous Fee
Administrative Charge
Appeals When Fire Chief Denies Application 250.00
Environmental Impact Report Document Search 75.00 +
Other Activities Not Listed 75.00 +
Refund Processing 37.50
Weed Abatement (per parcel) 150.00 +
Emergency Response (per company)
Hazardous Materials
False Alarms — 2 or fewer per calendar year
Third False Alarm
Fourth False Alarm
Fifth and Subsequent (each)
Contact not at scene in 60 min
Failure to notify LFD of test
Fire investigations (per person)
Fire Reports and Other Documents (per page)
Investigation - No Construction Permit
Occupancy Load Calculation
Photograph Reproduction (per print)
Actual cost plus 20% admin fee
131.00 +
No Charge
75.00
150.00
393.00
131.00
131.00
75.00 +
0.25 +
75.00 +
75.00 +
Standby (per person) 75.00 +
Standard Hourly Rate
LFD Personnel
Engine or Truck Company
+ Minimum Fee, actual cost may vary
75.00
13L00