Agenda - Council - 11/12/2019 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Community Development Director Gladhill explained that the fees are per unit, not based on lot size. He stated that the fees are determined based on the different City CIPs. Councilmember Musgrove believed that the stormwater fee should increase to ensure that the City costs are covered. Community Development Director Gladhill confirmed that will come back to the Council in November for review. Councilmember Riley asked the difference between the stormwater management and stormwater utility fees. Finance Director Lund explained the difference between the two, noting that stormwater management funds new projects while stormwater utility funds maintenance activities. Councilmember Heinrich referenced the park dedication comparatives and noted that it appears Ramsey is on the median to high range and asked if that could be reduced. She stated that it seems that is where Ramsey is coming in high. Parks and Assistant Public Works Superintendent Riverblood confirmed that staff could look into that although he was unsure what the manner of that would be because of the different variables. He explained that the park and trail dedication fees are based off the City's Park CIP. He explained that there is a huge gap in revenue projections. He stated that while neighboring communities may have a lesser park dedication rate, their projected park system does not have the same want or need. He stated that some of the other communities mentioned are funding parks and trails through other methods, such as municipal liquor store proceeds. Councilmember Riley stated that he would not want the Ramsey numbers to be out of line. He asked if staff has heard that Ramsey is not getting development because of its fees. Community Development Director Gladhill commented that there is a significant amount of development in Ramsey, that is actually taxing staff to process the applications. He noted that there has been an immense amount of growth. Councilmember Riley noted that the City received some strong feedback a few years ago from Dennis Sharp and asked if those comments were incorporated into the City fees. Community Development Director Gladhill confirmed that feedback was used to provide additional balance when the fees were revamped in 2016. He reviewed some of the improvements and tweaks that were made throughout the past ten years to reduce the City fees. Councilmember Kuzma stated that he has not received complaints about the fees but more the time it takes to process permits. He stated that he would not be in favor of spending time reducing fees and would be more interested in further streamlining the process. City Council Work Session / October 22, 2019 Page 6 of 8