The cost of building is going up in Marin. The Board of Supervisors last week approved an average 44 percent increase for building permit fees, effective July 1.
The fee increase, as much as 100 percent for some projects, is intended to enable the county to fully recover the cost of its permitting services. It will also allow Marin to purchase software that accepts permit applications online, so that multiple agencies can review them simultaneously, eliminating internal waiting periods that contribute to delays in approval.
“The nexus is that taxpayers aren’t paying for special services for individuals,” Supervisor Dennis Rodoni told the Light. “The hope on our part is that the whole operation and the services will improve, and permitting will happen more quickly.”
The ordinance was opposed by the Coalition of Sensible Taxpayers, the Marin Builders Association and the Marin Association of Realtors, which said the fee increase would raise the cost of housing and lead to more unpermitted construction.
In some of the larger jumps, the fee for installing an above-ground water tank will rise from $614 to $1,087; the fee for replacing a window or a door will go from $291 to $494; and the fee for a remodel will rise from $4,108 to $9,397. Electrical work will cost $84 more and installing a deck will cost an extra $230.
The county included a waiver for projects that improve accessibility. Waivers for affordable housing projects and a 35 percent fee reduction for projects with a public benefit continue to be offered.
Building fees have been raised only once in the past decade, when supervisors approved an across-the-board 6 percent increase in 2018 to keep pace with inflation. Moving forward, the county administrator recommended increasing the fees slightly each year to keep pace with the cost of living.
The building division’s permit program has maintained a balanced budget in that time, but, with long-vacant technician and inspector positions now being filled and outside costs rising, an average year of permit applications would not raise enough to fund the associated work, said William Kelley, the deputy director of building inspection and safety. Although permit applications are up 78 percent this year, permit services are lagging amid the volume of work.
By filling open staff positions, the building division can improve customer service and expedite permit approval, Mr. Kelley said. Already, the permit counter has reopened for a half day on Fridays for the first time since the recession, and it newly accepts credit cards. Maintenance permits that don’t require a plan review, such as simple electrical, plumbing or window improvements, can now be approved online.
In the near future, the counter aims to issue 85 percent of its permits the same day the application is received. To achieve this rate, projects limited to installing a deck, a skylight or a retaining wall will be added to the category of permits that receive same-day permitting.
For more complicated permits, the goal is to reduce the turnaround from a two- to five-week range to a maximum of two weeks. Currently, plans are printed and sequentially move through each relevant agency for review, meaning applications spend much of their time sitting in a queue.
The building division is hoping to have new electronic plan-review software online by July 1, which will allow plans to be submitted electronically so staff can simultaneously review applications. To help pay for this software, supervisors also approved a technology fee increase from 5 percent to 6 percent of the building permit cost.
The technology fee and the building permit fees are just two charges in an exhausting list: fees for planning review, grading and drainage review, environmental review and a fire department review can also apply to building projects.
These fees are directly tied to the cost of service, but Marin also levies fees that are intended to offset the additional demand generated by development. A road impact fee is meant to address the impact of construction vehicles, a transportation fee goes toward specific road improvement projects, a planning surcharge fee supports the countywide plan, and an affordable housing fee is applied to new homes and major remodels.
On top of fees collected by the county, fire departments, school districts, utilities and the state can have additional fees and taxes. Not all of these fees apply to every project, but they can quickly add up.
To build an average home in Marin—which, at 2,238 square feet, is valued at $1.8 million—the fees surpass $34,000. The building fee now accounts for $10,000 of that, and in July, the building fee will go up by $6,000.
A fee increase ordinance was originally brought to the board in October, but the Coalition of Sensible Taxpayers wrote a letter alleging that the county failed to provide the data from the fee study to the public. That ordinance proposed an increase of more than 300 percent for some permits, based on a review of six comparator jurisdictions. County counsel agreed that the fee study should have been published, and the building division went back to the drawing board.
“We were collecting the requested information and, in doing so, changed some fees,” Mr. Kelley said. To make it more palatable, the ordinance was amended so no fee would more than double, he said. This meant some fees would have to be above those of comparator jurisdictions, but none more than 2 percent higher.
When Mr. Kelley returned to the board last month, the Coalition of Sensible Taxpayers had no gripes about the process, but it still opposed the policy, and it was backed by the Marin Association of Realtors.
“Taking into account all of the various permitting fees and add-ons—for example, road impact and technology fees—Marin County is poised to win the race to the top of the pack of comparator jurisdictions,” Bruce Vogel said on behalf of the coalition. “Elements of Marin’s building fee proposal are poor public policy, particularly the big fee increases on projects that improve fire preparedness.”
Raising fees for projects recommended by fire safety inspectors and insurance carriers, such as roof replacements, is counterproductive, especially when the county is seeking voter approval to fund a wildfire prevention authority, Mr. Vogel said. Reroofing fees went from $330 to $510.
He added that higher fees for electrical projects are also problematic, as they likely result in more unpermitted work and fire hazards.
Mr. Vogel urged the county to phase in the increase. So did Romeo Arrieta, the chief executive officer of the Marin Association of Realtors.
“We are certainly concerned about the new fee structure arrangement significantly increasing the cost to build homes or to remodel existing homes,” Mr. Arrieta said. “The increased cost or additional burden for compliance may deter homeowners from pursuing necessary improvements, or worse, encourage the avoidance of permits altogether.”
In West Marin, unpermitted building is widespread. The county estimates that as much as 75 percent of construction projects don’t have permits, Supervisor Rodoni said. He hopes that by making it convenient and quick to submit permits online, people will be encouraged to apply for permits, even with the higher cost.
He also said the county will look at reducing permit fees related to home hardening, but impact fees, not building permit fees, are responsible for making Marin’s fees too high.
“Looking at just the building permit, I think we’re comparable to other agencies,” he said. “Looking at the other fees, that’s when they look substantially higher.”
Supervisor Rodoni said the county should explore removing the road impact fee, which is 1 percent of the value of proposed improvements over $10,000. Since that fee was created, Marin voters have approved a half-cent sales tax for core transportation needs, and the California legislature passed the Road Repair and Accountability Act, which invests $26 billion in city and county roads over 10 years.