Staff Report: Public Hearing Cost Recovery
A staff report recommending an increase in the public hearing deposit to fully cover rising advertising and notification costs.
TOWN OF VIEW ROYAL COUNCIL REPORT
TO: Council DATE: August 16, 2012 FROM: Dawn Miles MEETING DATE: September 4, 2012 FILE NO.: 0570-04
PUBLIC HEARING COST RECOVERY
RECOMMENDATION:
THAT Council considers first, second, and third reading to Bylaw No. 831, 2012 to amend the Development Procedures Bylaw No. 730, 2009.
CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER'S COMMENTS:
I concur with the recommendation.
DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT SERVICES:
I concur with the recommendation.
PURPOSE OF REPORT:
To forward the review of public hearing and advertising fees that is currently set for the Town of View Royal and other municipalities for the purpose of making an amendment to Development Procedure Bylaw No. 730, 2009 which would require a deposit of $2500.00 in order to recover full advertising costs for public hearings. Any additional costs related to the notification for public hearings are to be paid in full by the applicant.
BACKGROUND:
The advertising costs associated with public hearing notification requirements have been increasing steadily. The public hearing fee has been set at a static amount and has not been covering the costs incurred by the notification process for public hearings.
PROJECT INFORMATION:
The current fee for a Public Hearing Fee in View Royal is $1200.00. The average application requires 2 ads in the Goldstream Gazette and notification to individual households. The average mail out is approximately 360 people. The hard costs total is an average of $2032.50 not including staff time.
Six municipalities were contacted for their fees, deposits, and methods of cost recovery as follows:
| Municipality | Public Hearing Fee | Recovery Methods |
|---|---|---|
| View Royal | $1200.00 fee | Additional costs not recovered |
| Oak Bay | $2500.00 deposit | Plus additional if needed |
| Saanich | $500 fee for the first Bylaw $300 for each additional Bylaw | Fees currently under review |
| Victoria | $1200.00 deposit | They are reviewing to increase, but do bill for any additional costs to the applicant. |
| Langford | $2200.00 fee | |
| Colwood | $1000.00 | Fees currently under review. |
| Esquimalt | $1300.00 deposit | They are reviewing to increase, but do bill for any additional costs to the applicant. |
It is proposed that there be a change from a Public Hearing fee to a deposit and increase the deposit amount to $2500.00 with additional wording to include the ability to bill for any charges incurred over the deposit amount. This would ensure that the hard costs are being fully recovered.
If the Public Hearing Deposit were to be increase, it would, in most cases, be sufficient to cover all costs incurred for the public hearing. We would be recovering all costs incurred making the notification process cost neutral. When costs for advertising increase we would retain the ability to recover further funds with additional billing. The need to do additional billing would be rare. With the increase of the initial fee, the amounts, if any, to be recovered would be significantly smaller. This makes the risk of lost funds for the municipality smaller, and additional work for billing kept at a minimum.
BUDGET IMPLICATIONS:
The required advertising set out by Section 892 of the Local Government Act for notification has been steadily increasing it cost. This amendment would provide the Town with a mechanism to recover all advertising costs for public hearings to avoid the Town and taxpayer subsidizing the notification costs related to Rezoning, Temporary Commercial Use Permits, and Official Community Plan amendment applications.
SUSTAINABILITY CONSIDERATIONS:
As stated previously most municipalities are increasing their fees to cover the costs of notification for Public Hearings and are currently recovering costs not covered by the deposits taken for Public Hearings. This would bring View Royal in line with the other municipalities.
ALTERNATIVES TO STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
- Option A: THAT the deposit for a Public Hearing be set at $1200, with any additional costs related to the notification for a public hearing be recovered in full from the applicant.
- Option B: THAT the Public Hearing Fee be set at $2500.
RECOMMENDATION:
THAT Council considers first, second, and third reading to Bylaw No. 831, 2012 to amend the Development Procedures Bylaw No. 730, 2009.
SUBMITTED BY: Dawn Miles, Development and Licensing Services Clerk
REVIEWED BY: Lindsay Chase, Director of Development Services
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