The Cupertino Courier

News

Building fees adjusted after study

By Cody Kraatz

A lengthy new fee schedule for all types of construction--from banks and Laundromats to re-roofing projects and swimming pools--was adopted March 6 by the Cupertino City Council.

The new fee schedule is designed to recover the cost of staff time involved in approving building applications.

At the March 6 meeting, Mayor Kris Wang asked whether a cap was necessary to keep fees from rising too quickly.

"The cap is the reasonable cost of providing the service," said Charles Kilian, city attorney.

"Actually, the residential numbers came down, so the residents overall are going to benefit. Overall, this is a more beneficial structure for them," said Steve Piasecki, director of community development.

Recent court cases alleged the city's building fees were illegal because they were calculated based on the cost of a project. The new fees are calculated in a more legally defensible way, said city staff.

Piasecki praised the consultants from Maximus Inc. that prepared the new fee schedule.

"They worked extremely hard at this," said Piasecki. "We really think it is overall fair, both to the residents of the community and that we no longer need to be subsidizing any of these fee areas."

Only certain solar power systems will be subsidized by the city, keeping the fee at $300 because the council wants to encourage green building.

Some types of fees are higher and others are cheaper now.

"You've got some big swings in both directions," said David Woo, the city's finance director.