Chapter 3.35
FEES AND CHARGES FOR CITY SERVICES
Sections:
3.35.010 Adoption of fee schedule.
3.35.020 Schedule of revisions.
3.35.030 Reimbursement of costs.
3.35.050 Previously adopted or enacted fees.
3.35.090 Investigation fee for unpermitted or unauthorized work.
Prior legislation: Ords. 08-303, 10-337, 10-344 and 15-447.
3.35.010 Adoption of fee schedule.
The schedule of fees entitled “City of Edgewood Fee Schedule,” which is on file in the office of the city clerk, is hereby designated as the official schedule of city fees and charges pursuant to the authority of this chapter. The fees adopted by this chapter shall supersede any inconsistent fees or charges required in the Edgewood Municipal Code. (Ord. 16-474 § 1 (Exh. A)).
3.35.020 Schedule of revisions.
The schedule of fees and charges adopted pursuant to this chapter may be revised from time to time by the city council for any reason deemed necessary or appropriate, including without limitation in order to respond to changes in relevant costs incurred by the city. Approvals of schedule revisions shall be by resolution. (Ord. 16-474 § 1 (Exh. A)).
3.35.030 Reimbursement of costs.
A. Costs incurred by the city for planning, engineering, legal or other professional services, which services are performed by an independent contractor or consultant for the city for the processing and/or review of permit applications, shall be reimbursed by the applicant in addition to the basic permit fee, if any. In addition, all costs directly attributable to the processing and/or review of a permit application charged by third party service providers and incurred by the city shall also be reimbursed by the applicant.
B. At the time of application for a development use permit, the applicant shall pay all applicable fees including a deposit, in an amount of 100 percent of the anticipated charges, as determined by the director, for reimbursable expenses. The director of community development may require a higher deposit within the first month after notice of complete application if the director reasonably estimates by a calculation done in writing that the deposit in the fee schedule will be inadequate to cover the reimbursable expenses of the application. Payment shall be due within 10 days of request. All reimbursable costs incurred by the city during processing and/or review of the applicant’s permit shall be deducted from the deposit made by the applicant. No interest shall be paid to the applicant on the amount collected by the city as a deposit.
C. In the event the remaining amount of an applicant’s deposit for independent contractor or consultant expenses falls below 10 percent of the original amount of the deposit prior to the conclusion of processing of the application, the director of community development shall require the deposit to be replenished in an amount necessary to cover any estimated further independent contractor expenses. Payment shall be due within 10 days of request.
D. If any amount is past due under this section, it shall bear interest at 12 percent per annum after 30 days of delinquency. Permit processing shall be suspended during any delinquency period and no permit shall be issued until all sums due under this section are fully paid.
E. The director of finance or designee is authorized and directed to assign delinquent accounts not paid within 30 calendar days of the invoice to a collection agency, in accordance with Chapter 3.55 EMC and RCW 19.16.500; provided, that the director shall maintain a list of those accounts so assigned.
F. Any deposited funds not expended upon independent contractors and third party service providers upon completion of permit processing shall be refunded to the applicant within 30 calendar days after the final decision. (Ord. 23-652 § 3 (Exh. A); Ord. 16-474 § 1 (Exh. A)).
3.35.040 Copies.
Copies of reports, regulations, studies and miscellaneous documents not produced in response to a public records request pursuant to Chapter 2.50 EMC shall be equal to the per-page rate provided for in the fee schedule. However, any copying time in excess of one-half hour shall be charged at the per-page rate, plus the normal hourly administrative rate. In the event copying is performed by an outside copy service, the cost shall be the actual cost. (Ord. 16-474 § 1 (Exh. A)).
3.35.050 Previously adopted or enacted fees.
The mandates of this chapter shall not preclude the collection of fees previously adopted or enacted by the city which may have been inadvertently omitted from the schedule adopted hereunder. Previously enacted or adopted fees may be collected at the rate indicated in the adopting document. (Ord. 16-474 § 1 (Exh. A)).
3.35.060 Insufficient funds.
In the event of insufficient funds on a draft, an application for any approval, license, permit, or other authorization shall be deemed null and void. (Ord. 23-652 § 4 (Exh. A)).
3.35.070 Fee exemptions.
A. The city is exempt from paying the fees set forth in the city of Edgewood fee schedule.
B. Administrative decision appeal fees may be waived if the appellant’s gross family income is no more than 80 percent of the Pierce County median income based on the latest information provided by the Washington State Office of Financial Management. Income information shall be verified through the household’s latest tax return. (Ord. 23-652 § 5 (Exh. A)).
3.35.080 Refunds.
A. All fees and charges specified in this code, whether listed in the city of Edgewood fee schedule or not, are nonrefundable unless otherwise specified.
B. Requests for refunds shall be submitted in writing to the city prior to the expiration of the associated application, approval, license, or permit, and shall specify the reason for the request.
C. Refunds may be authorized by the applicable director when one of the following conditions exist:
1. A fee was charged by the city in error or when an application for a permit, license, or approval was required by the city in error. These fees will be refunded at 100 percent.
2. When an application for a permit, license, or approval is withdrawn by the applicant prior to a decision, the applicable director may authorize refunding up to 80 percent of the associated review fees. The amount of the refund shall be based on the amount of effort expended by the city prior to the applicant’s request to withdraw the application, including any actual costs or third-party review.
3. When an applicant requests to cancel an issued permit for site work or construction and it has been 180 days or less from the date of issuance, no work has been done under the issue permit and no inspections have been completed, the applicable director may authorize refunding up to 80 percent of the associated permit and inspection fees.
D. Refunds shall not be granted when:
1. The application, approval, permit or license has expired or otherwise been permitted to lapse by the applicant;
2. The application, approval, permit, or license is for unpermitted or unauthorized work or to otherwise remedy a code violation;
3. An approval, permit, or license has been issued and inspections have begun; or
4. An approval, permit, or license has been revoked.
E. Decisions on requests for refunds shall not be appealable. (Ord. 23-652 § 6 (Exh. A)).
3.35.090 Investigation fee for unpermitted or unauthorized work.
When any use, site work, or construction is initiated prior to obtaining any necessary approval, permit, and/or license required by this code, an investigation fee shall be charged. This fee shall be charged in addition to the application or permit fee and shall be collected whether or not an application is then subsequently issued. The investigation fee shall be $500.00 or double the amount of the application fee or permit fee required by this code, whichever is greater. The payment of such investigation fee shall not exempt any person from compliance with all other provisions of this code nor from penalties prescribed by law. (Ord. 23-652 § 7 (Exh. A)).