BOARD AGENDA MEMORANDUM
Government Code § 84308 Applies: Yes ☐ No ☒
(If “YES” Complete Attachment A - Gov. Code § 84308)
SUBJECT: Title
Consider the April 14, 2025, Board Policy Monitoring Committee Recommendation to Adopt an Amended and Restated Resolution Adopting a Standard Rate Schedule for Services and Activities Regulated by the Water Resources Protection Ordinance and for Certain Licenses and Costs Associated with Real Property Transactions.
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RECOMMENDATION: Recommendation
A. Adopt the Resolution AN AMENDED AND RESTATED RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE SANTA CLARA VALLEY WATER DISTRICT ADOPTING A STANDARD RATE SCHEDULE FOR SERVICES AND ACTIVITIES REGULATED BY THE WATER RESOURCES PROTECTION ORDINANCE AND FOR CERTAIN LICENSES AND COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH REAL PROPERTY TRANSACTIONS; and
B. Provide feedback and recommendations to staff as necessary.
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SUMMARY:
On November 23, 2010, the Board adopted Resolution No. 10-86 Adopting a Standard Rate Schedule for Services and Activities Regulated by the Water Resources Protection Ordinance and for Certain Licenses and Costs Associated with Real Property Transactions. The Board agreed that the recommended fees outlined in the Rate Schedule represented the reasonable cost to Valley Water to administer permits and other real property transactions. The Rate Schedule went into effect January 3, 2011.
The permit fees are not considered to be taxes under the express provisions of Section 1 (e) (3) and (4) of Article XIII C of the California Constitution.
The Rate Schedule has not been updated since January 3, 2011. Although labor rates have been updated each year, certain fixed fees that reflected staff costs in 2011, remain the same. The recommended fee update adjusts these fixed fees to reflect current labor rates and the time required for staff to review, approve, and process a permit. Also, the cost of permit inspections is recommended to include the actual inspector labor hours and minimum administrative time the inspector spends on each permit. Permit and inspection costs vary by the permit type due to differences in permitting complexity, inspection duration, and the work required to complete documentation.
Updating the Rate Schedule will also address recommendations in the May 2021, Board audit “Community Projects Review Unit: Opportunities to Improve Permit Processing.” The audit included a recommendation to consider setting a goal for cost recovery from fees charged for permit services and a recommendation to update the current fee schedule. Staff determined that setting a specific goal for cost recovery would not be practical due to allowable exemptions that are supported by the Board, and staff cannot anticipate the annual permit requests that will be exempt or non-exempt from permit fees. However, staff recommends that certain fixed fees and deposits in the fee schedule be updated to reflect increases in administrative labor costs and then regularly update the fee schedule every 5 years. Updating the fee schedule in this manner would increase the cost recovery for those permits that are not exempt from fees.
Other staff recommended updates
• Charge a fixed fee for certain repetitive high-volume permits, including utility crossings, soil borings and temporary vehicular access, for up to two submittals (original and one resubmittal to address comments). This would provide some applicants more certainty on fees, allow staff to recover costs for applications that require more than the standard review time, and reduce administrative costs of tracking time and invoicing.
• Include new exemptions for certain public agency projects that are determined to provide Valley Water a net benefit to Valley Water’s mission that exceeds the costs of a permit and for property owners performing minor work in Valley Water easements that encumber their property.
• Clarify license fee costs for temporary construction uses and encroachment remediation licenses. Temporary use and encroachment remediation license fees are proposed to be $1.50/sq. ft./month (as recommended by Valley Water’s Real Estate Services Unit), adjusted annually by 5%, until the next Standard Rate Schedule update. For proposed temporary uses longer than 2 years, an applicant must negotiate a License with our Real Estate Services Unit.
• Replace the refundable key deposit with a requirement that Permittees either supply their own lock or use a temporary lock provided by Community Projects Review Unit’s (CPRU) construction inspector. This would address security concerns associated with Valley Water issuing keys, require Permittees to coordinate access with CPRU’s construction inspector, and reduce staff time associated with issuing, refunding, and tracking keys.
The proposed Board Resolution and associated Exhibit A with the proposed updated fee schedule is shown in Attachment 3.
The proposed updated Resolution maintains authorization for Valley Water’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to enter into agreements with other public entities for a mutual waivers of similar permit fees, when the CEO determines that doing so serves Valley Water’s best interests.
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AND EQUITY IMPACT:
The Standard Rate Schedule for Services and Activities Regulated by the Water Resources Protection Ordinance and for Certain Licenses and Costs Associated with Real Property Transactions is not subject to environmental justice analysis.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
Based on the permits issued from fiscal year 2023 to date, the Water Resources Protection Ordinance has generated a total of $2,407,323 in revenue over three years. This equates to an average annual revenue of approximately $802,441, which is allocated to Fund 12 Watersheds and Fund 61 Water Utility. If the Board approves the updated Resolution, staff expects average annual revenue to increase a minimum of $110,000 based on increased filing fees and updated inspection fees alone.
CEQA:
The recommended action is exempt from the requirements of CEQA pursuant to the statutory exemption of Public Resources Code Section 21080 (b) (8) and CCR Title 14 Code of Regulations (CEQA Guidelines) Section 15273 (a) for modifications to fees and charges by a public agency, which are necessary to meet operating expenses.
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment 1: SCVWD Resolution No. 10-86
Attachment 2: Proposed Changes to Standard Rate Schedule
Attachment 3: Resolution
UNCLASSIFIED MANAGER: Manager
Lisa Bankosh, 408-630-2618