TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
Bruce Moe, City Manager
FROM:
Jeff Gibson, Interim Community Development Director
Steve Charelian, Finance Director
SUBJECT:Title
Consider Request by Mayor Pro Tem Montgomery and Councilmember Stern to Discuss Waiving Solar Permit Fees (Interim Community Development Director Gibson).
DISCUSS AND PROVIDE DIRECTION
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Recommended Action
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council discuss and provide direction regarding the request by Mayor Pro Tem Montgomery and Councilmember Stern to discuss waiving solar permit fees. Body
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
There are no fiscal implications associated with the recommended action. However, should the City Council direct staff to analyze the request, staff time and resources may be expended to accommodate the request.
BACKGROUND:
During the period between 2005 and 2015, no fees were charged for solar permits. The 2015 User Fee Study recommended the fee be set at $396 to reflect the true cost. At that time the City Council opted to reduce the fee to $50 to subsidize the permit. Based on Community Development Department review, the number of permit requests did not significantly fall due to the fee increase to $50 and the overall average number of solar permits from 2005 to date remains approximately 95 permit applications per year.
Pursuant to the Brown Act, the City Council cannot discuss items not on an agenda unless under limited circumstances. The City Council has developed a process to allow individual Councilmembers to request, with the support of another Councilmember, that items be placed on a future agenda for City Council discussion. At that future meeting, the item is identified on the agenda in full compliance with the Brown Act. Discussion allows an opportunity to the public to provide input and the City Council, as a body, to decide whether City resources (staff time, etc.) should be incurred to present a more comprehensive report at a third City Council meeting.
Accordingly, individual Councilmembers can initiate future agenda items by following the following three-step process:
STEP ONE:
During “Future Agenda Items,” a Councilmember may request that an item be placed on the agenda. If another Councilmember concurs with placing the item on the agenda, the item is placed on a future agenda. This occurred on August 6, 2019.
STEP TWO:
In accordance with Step Two of the process, this item has been placed on the agenda at the section titled, “City Council Requests and Reports Including AB 1234 Reports” at the end of the agenda with this report. After discussion, the City Council has the following options:
a) Receive and File the report.
b) Provide direction to staff.
c) Continue the item to a future date.
STEP THREE:
If City Council chooses option b) in Step Two above, staff recommends that the issue be discussed at the time that the Council considers the comprehensive fee resolution this fall.