2011 2:00:00 PM

Monday, October 10, 2011 2:00 PM
Legislative Building, 745 4th Street, Sparks, NV 89431

Planning and Zoning Public Hearings and Action Items: 8.1

Title: Public Hearing, consideration and possible action Resolution No. 3206, a Resolution revising fees related to development services provided by the City of Sparks specifically adjusting fees for Special Use Permits, Site Plan Reviews, Code Amendments, and Expired Tentative Subdivision Maps.

Petitioner/Presenter: City of Sparks/Jim Rundle, Senior Planner

Recommendation: Staff recommends the City Council amend the Resolution adjusting certain fees associated with development services provided by the City of Sparks.

Financial Impact: N/A

Business Impact (Per NRS 237):
A Business Impact Statement is not required because this is not a rule.

Agenda Item Brief: To stimulate business investment and promote job growth in the City of Sparks staff is proposing to reduce or eliminate fees associated with Special Use Permits, Site Plan Reviews, Code Amendments, and review of expired Tentative Maps.

Background: The Development Services Enterprise Fund (DSEF) was created by City Council action in 1999. The intent was to have the development community pay for services the City provided to review, entitle, permit and inspect the land use approvals and development activity. Services included in the fund range from Planned Developments to Special Use Permit review. At a recent City Council retreat, the City Council requested staff look at amendments to the development codes to remove barriers to development and job creation. This proposal is to amend the resolution which governs the fees for development services such as Special Use Permits, Site Plan Reviews, Code Amendments, and Tentative Maps. Special Use Permits are a prerequisite to establishment of certain uses in certain zoning districts. Uses requiring a Special Use Permit are specified by the respective zoning district. Currently, there are three types of Special Use Permits: Major, Routine and Minor. These three delineations are based on the amount of staff time typically devoted to the type of special use permit. For example, a major Special Use Permit would be a new casino in the TC (Tourist Commercial) zoning district. A minor Special Use Permit might be an amendment to a previously approved Special Use Permit. A major requires a $10,000 deposit, a routine is $13,385 and a minor is $7,495. Staff is proposing to eliminate the different types of Special Use Permits and simply charge applicants a fee of $120 per hour of staff time. A deposit of $2,500 is proposed for a Special Use Permit. Staff would be required to track time associated with the entitlement and charge toward the deposit. If the project required more time than the deposit provided staff would bill the applicant for the remaining fees. This is the process used when reviewing Planned Development Handbooks. If less time and materials are required the remainder of the deposit will be refunded (as is with a handbook review process.) The proposal and motivation for revising the Site Plan Review fee is very similar to that of the Special Use Permit. Currently there are two types of Site Plan Reviews: routine and minor. The fee associated with a routine Site Plan Review is $6,975 and a minor is $4,250. The purpose of a Site Plan Review is to determine whether a proposed use, building, structure addition or change to any building, structure or use will conform to the zoning ordinance, building and fire codes. The Site Plan Review insures development provides an aesthetically acceptable and well ordered community serving the interests of public health, safety and general welfare. The Site Plan Review process is an administrative process and does not include any public hearings. Staff is proposing to remove the two types of Site Plan Reviews and require a deposit of $1,500 to move through the process. Again, this $1,500 deposit would be time and material based and requires staff to track time to charge against the deposit. If City costs exceed the deposit amount the applicant would be billed for the remaining charges. The fee schedule currently requires a fee of $450 to administer a code amendment requested by a citizen. As any code amendment initially requires sponsorship by a City Council member or the Mayor, and ultimately the City Council has to vote to approve staff working on the Code Amendment, it may be appropriate to eliminate the fee entirely. By directing staff, through a vote of the City Council, the Council is essentially the sponsor of the Code Amendment. Lastly, staff is proposing revising the fee for review of an expired Tentative Subdivision Map. The fee is currently $16,050. As described above with Special Use Permit and Site Plan Review, staff is proposing a fee for review of an expired Tentative Subdivision Map based on time and materials with a deposit of $2,500. Staff anticipates that the proposed revisions will significantly reduce the cost of obtaining a Special Use Permit and Site Plan Review entitlement and renewing an expired Tentative Subdivision map in most cases if not all cases. Resolution #3078 has been attached to this staff report and the proposed reduced fees are listed in Exhibit "A" in bold in a "line out strike out" format.

Analysis: See "Background"

Alternatives:

Recommended Motion: I move to adopt Resolution ______revising fees related to development services provided by the City of Sparks for Special Use Permits, Site Plan Review, Code Amendments, and Review of Expired Tentative Subdivision Maps.

Attached Files:

Resolution No.docx

Resolution No.pdf

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