Fees may be increasing in San Carlos.

May 26, 2009

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Update:  City Council Approves Fee Increases

At  Tuesday's meeting, the City Council approved the proposed 7% average fee increase, which will  become effective July 27.   Click here for the report from the Daily Journal.

Fee Increases to be Considered

It may cost more to do many things in San Carlos if the City Council votes tonight to approve a sweeping increase in its fee schedule.  In an attempt to raise desperately needed cash, the City hired a consultant to review their fee schedule and propose changes that will bring in an additional $150,000.  If the Council approves of these changes (and I can't believe they won't) the fee increases will take effect on July 27.

For more background information, read the Daily Journal's article:  San Carlos Considers Fee Hike

What does this mean to you?

According to the Daily Journal article, the proposed changes will increase fees by an average of 7%.   If you dig into the fee schedule a bit deeper, you'll see that this is achieved by boosting some fees quite significantly, reducing some others, and implementing brand new fees that didn't exist before. One thing is for sure — it's going to get more expensive to remodel your home.  Here are  some notable changes:

  • Deck Fee:  Increase from $49 to $226, or 361%
  • Residential Design Review (New Home) — Increase from $2,399 to $2,709, or 13%.
  • Residential Design Review, First Floor — Increase from $931 to $1,354, or 44%.
  • Residential Design Review, Second Floor — Decrease from $1,822 to $1,806, or -1%.

One concern I have with seeing fees jump this dramatically is that some people will opt to not get permits, which ultimately defeats the purpose of the permit program in the first place.  As we have discussed in prior posts, selling a home with significant un-permitted work can be a challenge in this market.

Fee Schedule in Detail

If you're interested in the entire proposed fee schedule, click here:  Proposed Master Fee Schedule.    If you have a strong opinion on this topic, be sure to attend tonight's San Carlos City Council Meeting.

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4 Comments

  1. Jonquil on May 26, 2009 at 7:52 pm

    What do they have against covered patios? They’re even more expensive than decks at $451! And charging people $78 to have a birthday party in the park is just silly.

    What do you make of the “semi-annual parking permit”?



  2. Chuck on May 27, 2009 at 12:14 pm

    Yeah, reading that fee schedule is definitely a head-scratching exercise. Even the DUI fee increased to $162/hr…frankly, they should make that fee about 10x greater.

    The parking permit is interesting, mostly because I have no idea where in San Carlos (outside of those few spaces in the Wells Fargo parking lot) that even require a permit. Perhaps there are a few reserved spaces in the downtown parking garage?

    The biggest concern I have is that many will just forgo the permit process because it is getting too expensive, and you’ll have lots of projects going on that aren’t permitted. Most buyers get really nervous when they encounter homes with lots of unwarranted work.

    Thanks for your comments,

    Chuck



  3. Kimberley S on May 27, 2009 at 7:30 pm

    The City paid a “consultant” to come up with all of these fees. And then at the council meeting last night, a council member found errors in her math. Good money after bad.



  4. Michael on May 28, 2009 at 5:02 pm

    We have a 2-story house on a hillside; we are thinking of developing the third floor (furthest down the hill); It’s not really an addition, so would it fall under the first floor permit or did I find a loophole?



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