FAQs

Permit and application fees are not increasing overall. Some fees will be added to reflect additional services. For example:

• If you are making an application that involves notice (advertisement in the Daily Progress and/or mailings to adjacent owners), the new notice fee will recover costs. 
• For those submitting applications and related information (plans, etc.) on paper, we are proposing a new fee to scan your documents into digital format.

Currently, Community Development Department (CDD) fees are found within five different ordinances within the County Code. Each ordinance (Zoning, Subdivision, Water Protection, Building, and Health and Safety) uses different language and formats to state the required fees. There are many different categories of fees, sometimes several different fees which apply to the same transaction and are confusing the customer as to which applies. 

The new, unified fee schedule will be in one location, listing all fees that are applicable to permits and applications with cross-references from the regulations to which they apply. Clear and consistent language will be used to describe the fees. Where possible, fees will be combined which will result in fewer fee categories.

This unified fee structure is being done in advance of implementing a new Community Development System (CDS) that will replace County View, our system to track and review development applications. A simplified and consolidated fee schedule with fewer fee categories aligned across all the development codes will be easier to implement.

Staff is recommending that changes be effective at a date commensurate with the implementation of the new CDS or July 1, 2024, whichever is first.

We have not done a recent assessment of the costs for providing each service (reviewing each type of application or permit). Based on the current assessment, we are generally recovering about 40% of the costs of providing services (not including the costs of utilities, vehicle expenses, and the building).