COUNTY OF SAN MATEO

Inter-Departmental Correspondence

Department of Public Works

DATE:

May 8, 2008

BOARD MEETING DATE:

June 17, 2008

SPECIAL NOTICE/HEARING:

None

VOTE REQUIRED:

Majority

TO:

Honorable Board of Supervisors

FROM:

James Porter, Director of Public Works

SUBJECT:

Department of Public Works Encroachment Permit, Inspection and Traffic Program Fees for 2008 through 2013

RECOMMENDATION:

1.

Adopt an Ordinance adding chapter 2.54 “Permitting and Inspection Fees”, for 2008 through 2013, to San Mateo County Ordinance Code, Title 2, “Administration”; and

2.

Adopt an Ordinance adding section 7.28.060 “Parking Zone Development Fees”, for 2008 through 2013, to San Mateo County Ordinance Code, Title 7, “Vehicles and Traffic”.

VISION ALIGNMENT:

Commitment: Ensure basic health and safety for all.

Goal 7: Maintain and enhance the public safety of all residents and visitors.

Implementing fees for permitting and inspecting various encroachments or improvements in maintained and non-maintained public rights of way, for issuing other types of permits, and for processing requests for specialized parking restrictions provides a means to offset a portion of the costs associated with ensuring that both the safety and the capacity of the road network and other County infrastructure are properly preserved for use by the public.

BACKGROUND:

Program

The Department of Public Works manages public road rights of way in the unincorporated areas through a variety of permits and associated inspections. The California Streets and Highways Code (Section 1460, et seq.) authorizes the Director of Public Works to issue permits to allow various improvements to be constructed or placed in the public rights of ways of both maintained and non-maintained roads, or for the temporary closure of public roads for events or activities (e.g. construction). The Department currently issues approximately 500 permits each year. Two Associate Engineers perform the application reviews and issue permits, and two Construction Inspectors perform the field inspection work associated with the permits. The Department’s average annual costs associated with providing these services is $210,000, which is paid out of the Road Fund.

Permits

The majority of all permits are currently issued at no cost to the applicant. Most permits involve relatively straightforward construction and minimal inspection such as work done by utility companies or new driveway construction. A $250 deposit is collected at the time the permit is issued, but is returned, in full, to the applicant after final inspection.

For permits that involve significant construction activities or disturbance to the public right-of-way, as determined by the Director of Public Works, a larger deposit is collected from the applicant and an escrow account is established. Inspection costs are then charged against the escrow account and any remaining funds are refunded to the applicant at the conclusion of the project.

Street Names

The Department currently provides and installs street name signs when new streets are created, at no cost to the developer. Developers have the option of purchasing street name signs from outside vendors and performing their own installation under an encroachment permit.

Parking Restrictions

The Department also processes approximately 20 requests each year for parking restrictions customized to suit individual businesses or residents. (Disabled parking zones are not included in that number as we do not propose any fees for implementing disabled parking zones requested by the public under your Board’s procedures.) Processing includes investigating the requests, determining whether parking restrictions would negatively impact the community, notifying property owners of proposed new restrictions, developing a staff report and resolution for consideration by your Board, and installing and maintaining signs and/or curb markings to implement new restrictions. This work is currently performed at no cost to the business or resident.

Other Fees

Your Board has previously adopted ordinances establishing fees for other reviews such as checking records of survey, sewer inspections and subdivision plan reviews, as well as resolutions establishing permit and inspection fees for fences, hedges and walls in the public right-of-way.

DISCUSSION:

The current practice of issuing permits, performing inspections, fabricating and installing street signs and establishing parking restrictions at no cost financially impacts the Department in three ways:

1)

There is no offset to staff costs associated with reviews, inspections, fabrication, installation and administration; and

2)

There are additional costs to the Department associated with accounting for the funds on deposit and in issuing refunds.

3)

Revenues currently used to support these services are no longer available to operate and maintain the County’s roadway network.

We conducted a survey of other Bay Area counties and all the cities within San Mateo County regarding fees for Public Works permits and services. Each city and county surveyed has established different criteria for their respective permitting programs and associated fee categories. There are few areas within the permitting programs where straight comparisons could be conducted. However, all 20 cities within San Mateo County currently collect fees for encroachment permits and other types of permits. Several cities collect fees for various parking programs.

Fees collected by the cities are, in many cases, based on the cities’ actual costs for performing reviews and inspections. The table below provides a summary of recommended fees along with a comparison of fees charged by other Bay Area Counties for the various permits. Descriptions of the “Types of Approvals” are provided in
Exhibit ‘A’. The proposed fees for San Mateo County are estimated to reimburse the County approximately $200,000 per year based on the number of permits we issue each year, thereby providing nearly full cost recovery for services rendered.

Comparison with Other Counties

Type of Approval

San Mateo

(Proposed)

Santa Clara

Santa Cruz

Alameda

Contra Costa

San Francisco

Temporary Encroachment

$175

$1,266

N/A

$99

$135

$100 - 200

Minor Encroachment

$475

$ 314-1,046

$500 - 650

$324

$135

$750 – 865

Fence, Wall, Hedge in Right-of-Way

$250

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Major Encroachment

$1,500 + deposit

$ 837 – 1,464

$1,600 (deposit)

$324

$1,300 deposit + bond

$3,004

Utility Maintenance

$250/permit or $2,500/year

N/A

$1,700-5,200

$224

$135

N/A

Additional Inspections

$100/each

Actual cost

Actual cost

Actual cost

Actual cost

$75/hour

Special Event Road Closure

$100

$ 105 -1,217

$250

N/A

$35 – 300

$100 – 375

Type of Approval

San Mateo

(Proposed)

Santa Clara

Santa Cruz

Alameda

Contra Costa

San Francisco

Monitoring Wells

$500 + security

$ 628 + bond

N/A

N/A

$135

$230 - 275

+ inspection

Street Sign(s)

$500

$ 253 –941

$247 + installation

N/A

N/A

N/A

Optional Parking Restrictions

$50 + $10/foot for paint and/or signs

N/A

$60 + $4.50/foot painting

N/A

N/A

$365 – 1,460

+ annual renewal

Transportation Permit*

$16/each $90/year

$16/each $90/year

$16/each $90/year

$16/each $90/year

$16/each

$16/each

* Rate is established by State of California.

We are recommending the following non-reimbursable fees be established and adjusted each year for various types of permits or reviews. A 3% adjustment factor has been selected to be consistent with typical negotiated salary increases, as our proposed fees have been calculated to offset the associated staff costs.

Proposed Fees and Adjustments

Type of Approval

Proposed Fee as of 7/01/08

Proposed Fee as of 7/01/09

(3% increase)

Proposed Fee as of 7/01/10

(3% increase)

Proposed Fee as of 7/01/11

(3% increase)

Temporary Encroachment

$175

$180

$186

$191

Minor Encroachment

$475

$489

$504

$519

Fence, Wall, Hedge in Right-of-Way

$250

$258

$265

$273

Major Encroachment

$1,500 + deposit

$1,545 + deposit

$1,591 + deposit

$1,639 + deposit

Utility Maintenance

$250/permit or $2,500/year

$258/permit or $2,575/year

$265/permit or $2,652/year

$273/permit or $2,732/year

Additional Inspections

$100/each

$103

$106

$109

Special Event Road Closure

$100

$103

$106

$109

Monitoring Wells

$500 + security

$515 + security

$530 + security

$546 + security

Street Sign(s)

$500

$515

$530

$546

Type of Approval

Proposed Fee as of 7/01/08

Proposed Fee as of 7/01/09

(3% increase)

Proposed Fee as of 7/01/10

(3% increase)

Proposed Fee as of 7/01/11

(3% increase)

Optional Parking Restrictions

$50 + $10/foot for paint and/or signs

$52+ $10/foot for paint and/or signs

$53 + $10/foot for paint and/or signs

$55 + $10/foot for paint and/or signs

Transportation Permit*

$16/each $90/year

$16/each $90/year

$16/each $90/year

$16/each $90/year

Hourly Rates:

Engineer

Inspector

$46 $48 with vehicle

$47 $49 with vehicle

$49 $51 with vehicle

$50 $52 with vehicle

* Current rate and any adjustments are established by State of California.

We believe the proposed fee schedule is reasonable, given that the majority of projects involve work that is of a discretionary nature, or involve short-term use of the public right-of-way for commercial activities. The fees collected will offset the costs associated with processing applications, performing plan reviews, and ensuring that permit conditions are met in the field. Included in the permit fees are up to two inspections per project. The fee for “Additional Inspections” would only be applied in instances where additional inspections are needed to ensure that deficiencies in the work are corrected.

The proposed fee of $250 for fences, hedges and small walls in the public right-of-way would supercede the $100 fee approved by your Board in 1999 by Resolution No. 63037.

Finally, the proposed fees could be waived by the Director of Public Works on a case-by-case basis if doing so would be in the public interest, an example of this would be if the proposed repair of a driveway ditch also benefits adjoining properties by relieving localized flooding in the area.

Public Notification

We have advised representatives of the Pescadero Municipal Advisory Council, the Fair Oaks Community Council, the MidCoast Community Council, and public utility companies and districts of the proposed fees.

In addition, all public notification requirements have been met.

FISCAL IMPACT:

The proposed fee ordinance takes effect thirty (30) days after adoption. Revenues resulting from the fees are anticipated to offset program costs in the amount of $202,000 see Exhibit ‘B.’ Those costs are currently paid out of the Road Fund.

There is no impact to the General Fund.

Attachments:

Exhibit ‘A’ and Exhibit ‘B’