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Home My WebLink AboutItem 1a: Resolution No. 6740 Establishing Plan Check and Permit Fees for the Implementation of Water Efficiency LandscapingDATE: September 7, 2010 TO: Mayor and City Council SUMMARY BACKGROUND STAFF REPORT Development Services Department FROM: Jason Kruckeberg, Assistant City Manager /Development Services DirectorJL4 By: Jim Kasama, Community Development Administrato Prepared by: Amber Abeyta, Administrative Assistant SUBJECT: RESOLUTION NO. 6740 ESTABLISHING PLAN CHECK AND PERMIT FEES FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF WATER EFFICIENCY LANDSCAPING. Recommendation: Adopt A Water Efficient Landscaping Ordinance (No. 2267) was adopted by the City in December of 2009 to implement the State of California's requirements for water conservation enacted by Assembly Bill 1881. Ordinance No. 2267 requires all projects that meet certain thresholds to comply with specific water conserving landscaping practices. In order to assure compliance with Ordinance No. 2267, the City has retained the services of the landscape architecture firm, Armstrong & Walker to assist with the plan checking and inspections of those landscaping projects that are required to comply with Ordinance No. 2267. The proposed fees are to recover the costs of the water efficient landscaping plan checks and inspections. Ordinance No. 2267 is being administered by the Development Services Department. To facilitate compliance, a Water Efficient Landscaping Documentation Package and Guidelines was created, and is being distributed to design review applicants whose proposals appear to meet the thresholds of Ordinance No. 2267. Those thresholds are 5,000 square feet of new or rehabilitated landscaping for an owner - builder residential project, and 2,500 square feet of new or rehabilitated landscaping for non - commercial or developer - installed residential projects. These projects that are subject to Ordinance No. 2267 will need to have the landscaping and irrigation plans reviewed and the installations inspected either by City staff, or by a landscaping professional to assure compliance with the Ordinance. To secure the services of a landscaping professional to provide the requisite expertise to perform the plan checking and inspection services, a Request for Proposals (RFP) was sent to nine firms with experience in landscaping and irrigation design services. Based on the proposals that were submitted, staff determined and recommended that the firm that best meets the City's needs is Armstrong & Walker. The City Council authorized the approval and execution of a Professional Services Agreement (PSA) with Armstrong & Walker at the August 3, 2010 meeting. Based on the costs of administering plan checks and conducting inspections, and the PSA, staff is proposing the following fees: • Issuance Fee of $42.25 • Plan Check Fee of $1,700.00 • Permit/Inspections Fee of $620.00 • Additional Services at the rates of $120.00 per hour for plan checking and $310.00 per inspection. DISCUSSION Ordinance No. 2267 requires all projects that meet certain thresholds to comply with specific water conserving landscaping practices to ensure efficient and responsible use of water resources within the City of Arcadia. In order that the plan checking, permitting and inspection of the water efficient landscaping and irrigation will be revenue/ expenditure neutral, staff is proposing the aforementioned fees to cover the costs of the following services: • Issuance — When plans are initially submitted to Building Services for plan check or permits, the applicant is charged an issuance fee of $42.25 to cover the administrative costs of the intake, distribution and handling of the plans, and the correspondence with the applicant. This fee has already been established for building plan checks and permits, and would only be applied to a landscaping project if the landscaping and irrigation are being done independently from a building development proposal. • Plan Checking — Landscaping projects that are subject to Ordinance No. 2267 will be plan checked by City staff or the independent landscape architectural firm of Armstrong & Walker. The proposed plan check fee of $1,700.00 is equal to the cost of the consultant's service. Having established the Water Efficient Landscaping Documentation Package and Guidelines, staff should be able to plan check basic landscaping and irrigation designs without significantly increasing the processing time of a plan check. However, those designs that are rather intricate or extravagant will be sent to the consultant, whose expertise will ensure that the plan checking is done efficiently. Plan checking typically includes three reviews with "redlining" of the plans and written reports that enumerate the corrections and comments. Each review is usually done within a two week time period. September 7, 2010 Resolution No. 6740 Landscape Plan Check & Permit Fees Page 2 of 3 • Inspections — The installation of landscaping and irrigation for a project that is subject to Ordinance No. 2267 needs to be inspected to verify that the installation is consistent with the approved plans. These inspections can be done by City staff or the consultant, and typically two inspections are necessary. The first inspection identifies aspects that are not consistent with the approved plans, and the second inspection verifies that these inconsistencies have been corrected. It is anticipated that City staff will inspect most installations with the consultant to be used for those that are particularly complicated or extravagant. The proposed permit/inspections fee of $620.00 is equal to the cost of two inspections by the consultant. • Additional Services — Should more than three plan check submittals be needed in order for the plans to be approved, and should more than two inspections be needed to verify and achieve an installation that complies with Ordinance No. 2267, the additional plan check reviews and inspections will be charged at the aforementioned rates, which are consistent with the consultant's proposal of $120.00 per hour for a Principal Landscape Architect, $60.00 per hour for a Landscape and Irrigation Designer, $40.00 per hour for the associated clerical support, and $310.00 per inspection. FISCAL IMPACT There will be no fiscal impact on the General Fund. The proposed fees are to recover the City's costs for staff or the consultant to perform the plan checks and inspections of the water efficient landscaping projects. RECOMMENDATION That the City Council adopt the attached Resolution No. 6740 to establish fees for water efficient landscaping plan checks, permits and inspections. Approved: -cam Donald Penman, City Manager Attachment — Resolution No. 6740 September 7, 2010 Resolution No. 6740 Landscape Plan Check & Permit Fees Page 3 of 3 RESOLUTION NO. 6740 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ARCADIA, CALIFORNIA, ESTABLISHING FEES FOR WATER EFFICIENT LANDSCAPING PLAN CHECKS, PERMITS AND INSPECTIONS THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ARCADIA, CALIFORNIA DOES HEREBY FIND, DETERMINE AND RESOLVE AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. The City Council finds that based on a certain cost allocation study and requests- for - proposals by the Development Services Department of the City of Arcadia, the fees set forth in this Resolution are necessary for the purposes set forth in this Resolution. Said fees do not exceed the estimated costs for providing the applicable services, and the fees bear a reasonable relationship to the costs of the applicable services. Furthermore, the fees bear a fair and reasonable relationship to the services the payer obtains from paying the fees, and the fees are not imposed for general revenue purposes, but instead for recovery of the costs of providing the applicable services. The proposed fees are intended to cover all or at least part of the costs of the services described in Exhibit "A ". SECTION 2. The City Council hereby approves and adopts the proposed fees for water efficiency landscaping plan checks, permits and inspections as set forth in Exhibit "A" attached hereto and incorporated herein by reference. Such fees shall become effective upon adoption of this Resolution. SECTION 3. Any provisions in resolutions adopted by the City Council prior to this Resolution that are inconsistent with this Resolution are hereby repealed. SECTION 4. The City Clerk shall certify the adoption of this Resolution. [SIGNATURES ON NEXT PAGE] 1 6740 ATTEST: City Clerk Passed, approved and adopted this day of , 2010. APPROVED AS TO FORM: Stephen P. Deitsch City Attorney Mayor of the City of Arcadia 2 6740 FEES FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF WATER EFFICIENCY LANDSCAPING • Permit Issuance Fee — $42.25 • Plan Check Fee — $1,700.00 • Permit/Inspections Fee — $620.00 • Additional Services at the rates of $120.00 per hour for plan checking and $310.00 per inspection. Attachment A 3 6740