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Citrus Heights drops fee hike that would have tripled water heater permit cost

Sentinel staff report–
The Citrus Heights City Council voted 4-0 Thursday night to approve a wide-ranging list of fee increases, but dropped the most controversial aspect of the proposal that would have tripled the cost of acquiring a water heater permit and other permits.

Councilwoman Jeannie Bruins said a proposed tripling of a flat-rate building permit issuance fee had drawn the most feedback from the public and had caused her “a lot of anxiety.”

“I’m very pleased to see that we backed completely away from the permit issuance fee so that the homeowner isn’t unduly burdened when they have to do a necessary replacement like a hot water heater or something of that magnitude,” said Bruins just prior to casting her vote on Thursday.

The building permit issuance fee would have increased to $235, up from the existing cost of $68, making a water heater replacement permit rise from a total cost of about $87 up to $264. The permit issuance fee increase would have also affected electrical, plumbing and other building-related permits.

The council still approved a wide range of fee increases that will amount to around $600,000 of increased revenue beginning next year, with fees set to also rise annually to compensate for inflation. Council members voting in support of the proposal were Porsche Middleton, Jeff Slowey, Steve Miller and Jeannie Bruins.

Councilman Bret Daniels was absent from the meeting, but told The Sentinel he would have voted against the fee increases, calling most increases over 10% “outrageous” and saying that higher fees will “have a negative impact on housing affordability.”

Significant increases include a $5,000 increase in the cost to re-zone properties under two acres, and tentative subdivision maps will increase by 50%, rising to $14,685.

City staff said increases were necessary to seek cost recovery for services and permits issued that are deemed to benefit an individual or group, rather than the community as a whole. Costs that are not recovered are paid out of the city’s General Fund.

The last time the city had conducted a comprehensive assessment of its fees was 2005, although various fees had been increased more recently.

Public hearing
The vote came after a public hearing, where only one person opted to speak. Ben Shell, a Citrus Heights resident, told council members that the city should be focused on ways to cut costs and keep fees low to encourage development, rather than only looking at how to recover existing costs by charging higher fees.

He also expressed his surprise that he was the only person to speak at the hearing, noting that “an awful lot of people on Facebook were quite upset about these fee increases.”

Related: Only one man spoke at the public hearing about fee increases in Citrus Heights. Here’s what he said.

Councilman Steve Miller, in his newly appointed role as vice mayor, addressed Shell’s comment about social media during the meeting.

“I do see social media, but I don’t sit there and read it all the time,” said Miller. “What really makes an impact is coming forward, talking to us, giving us your thoughts.”

Holding up a stack of printed out emails, the vice mayor also said he thanked those who sent in emails about the proposed fee changes, “because we see those.”

“So please, you know, it’s easy to make a comment on Facebook, but when you’re passionate about an issue, please contact us and we can have a dialogue,” said Miller. “And it helps us. Sometimes folks think of things we haven’t thought of, so I really appreciate you coming forward tonight.”

The city’s new Master Fee Schedule, with the approved changes to fees, will go into effect Jan. 1, 2020.

See prior story for a more detailed list of fees set to increase: Citrus Heights to consider doubling, tripling certain fees

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