DATE: January 15, 2019
TO: Board of Mayor and Aldermen
Franklin Municipal Planning Commission
FROM: Emily Hunter, Director of Planning & Sustainability
Lynn Osland, Development Services Operations Analyst
Tom Marsh, Interim Director of Building & Neighborhood Services
Vernon Gerth, Assistant City Administrator for Community and Economic Development
Subject
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Consideration of Ordinance 2018-46 As Amended, "An Ordinance To Amend The Franklin Municipal Code, Appendix A-Comprehensive Fees And Penalties, Chapter 14, Relating To Zoning And Land Use Application Fees For The Planning Review Process." (1/24/19 FMPC 7-0; 02/12/19 BOMA 1st Reading 8-0; 3/12/19 2ND BOMA Reading 7-0) THIRD AND FINAL READING
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Purpose
The purpose of this memorandum is to provide additional information to the Franklin Board of Mayor and Aldermen (BOMA) and Franklin Municipal Planning Commission (FMPC) regarding a proposed revision to the fee schedule for planning submittals that require review by the Departmental Review Team (DRT).
Background
This Ordinance was last considered at the September 2018 FMPC meeting and was discussed at a subsequent Joint Conceptual Workshop. Since the initial consideration, a few changes have been made. Fees for annexation requests have been broken down by type, and the fee for a Zoning Certification Letter has been changed to reflect a smaller increase than originally proposed.
The last time planning review fees were comprehensively updated was in 2010. Number, frequency, and complexity of planning submittals has drastically increased since that time. Staff has found that large amounts of time are spent on smaller, but highly complex projects, and these projects pay a minimal review fee. The proposed fee schedule recommends increasing the base fee component rather than the per unit or per square foot fee to address this discrepancy.
A few exhibits have been provided for further information. Exhibit 1 shows a survey of review fees from nearby or comparable cities. Franklin’s planning review fees are lower than the average amounts from a selection of peer cities. Additionally, Page 2 of Exhibit 1 shows the current fee and proposed fee amounts applied to the actual projects that have been submitted over a year in Franklin.
One other significant factor that is related to this topic is the amount of staff time that is utilized by plan review. This analysis is provided on Exhibit 2. Currently, there are 21 members of the DRT. The average plan requires 10.5 hours of review per staff member. Therefore, the average plan currently costs the City $7,380 to review. In 2010, this same analysis was conducted, and the average plan cost the City $4,180 to review. This large increase in the City’s costs of plan review presents a good case to raise plan review fees.
The proposed fee structure also includes the addition of an annexation and plan of services fee. Much staff time is spent preparing plans of services, coordinating amongst departments, and coordinating with the County. Staff recommends that a fee be added to cover this additional workload, particularly since annexation requests are becoming more frequent and more complex.
The proposed fee revisions will bring the City more in line with other jurisdictions and provide more financial coverage of staff time during plan review, while not overly imposing restrictive fees on the development community.
Financial Impact
While the proposed fees will not fully cover the costs of staff review, increasing the planning review fees will make progress in covering more of these costs, leaving less for the City to subsidize.
Recommendation
Staff recommends approval of Ordinance 2018-46.