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9.b) Request for Reduction of Fees, Luginbill Chiropractic , � Meeting Date: 07/19/2011 Agenda Item: (� /�� /' �� City Council Agenda Report City of Scandia 14727 209t" St. North Scandia, MN 55073 (651) 433-2274 Action Requested: Consider the request from Dr. Steve Luginbill, Croix Ridge Chiropractic, for a reduction in the city's fees for the Conditional Use Permit (CUP)recently approved for the clinic. Deadline/ Timeline: N/A Background: • The CUP for the chiropractic office at 21150 Ozark Ave. was approved in May. The Development Code requires a CUP for medical offices. • Ordinance No. 123 provides that applicants pay a non-refundable application fee, plus reimburse the city for all out-of-pocket costs that are incurred for processing, reviewing and hearing the application. An escrow deposit is collected against the out-of- pocket expenses. The application fee in this case was $200, and a $300 escrow deposit (the minimum) was collected. • At the time the application was submitted, the fees were explained to Dr. Luginbill, including the possibility that out-of-pocket expenses could and often do exceed the escrow deposit. We explained that fees would include any billings from the City's planning consultants. • The application was submitted shortly before the deadline to schedule a public hearing for the May Planning Commission meeting. This was a fairly simple application, as no new construction was planned. But because of other workload and the approaching deadline, it was referred to the City Planner for review. • TKDA assigns reviews to the staff person who can most economically and effectively complete the work. Because Associate Planner Berry Farrington is on maternity leave, TKDA has been temporarily sharing an assistant planner with another firm (Stevens Engineers.) The draft report was assigned to him. Staff provided information about the site, so a site visit by the planner was not necessary. The applicant was not billed for time at the Planning Commission or Council meetings. The total cost of planning services for the application was $291.15. • The planner reviewed the application for completeness, and Page 1 of 2 07/12/11 � i followed up with the applicant for needed information not provided on the application form. It was reviewed for general compliance with the Development Code and the specific criteria for Conditional Use Permits. The draft report was reviewed with the City Administrator and finalized with attachments. It was then presented to the Planning Commission for their public hearing, and a resolution with findings and conditions was prepared for City Council action. • Other costs incurred by the City included a parcel search/mailing labels from Washington County, publishing the hearing notice and the cost to record the approving resolution. The total costs were $462.59, so the applicant was billed $162.59 ($462.591ess the $300.00 escrow.) • Prior to receiving the letter from Dr. Luginbill, staff was approached by Nancy Peterson, one of the owners of the building. She questioned the need for a planning review. I explained the ordinance requirements and the invoices. • In his letter, Dr. Luginbill questioned whether the fees are reasonable based on the size of the space and the minimal amount of improvements they made, and whether as renters they should be responsible for the fees. • Unlike building permits (many of which vary in cost based on the value of construction) fees for zoning permits such as CUPs have no relationship to the size or cost of any construction that might be incidental to the application. Some of the costs (such as the recording parcel search and recording fees) are fixed. The"non- fixed" costs (the planning fees) were relatively low compared to most other recent CUP applications. • As the applicant, Dr. Luginbill assumed responsibility for the costs of the application. Whether the owner of the property should be responsible for any of these costs is between those parties. Recommendation: I recommend that the Council deny the request for a reduction in the fees for the Croix Ridge Chiropractic Conditional Use Permit. The applicant is required to reimburse the city for the remaining $162.59 in costs as a condition of approval of the CUP. Attachments/ • Letter from Dr. Steve Luginbill, Croix Ridge Chiropractic, dated Materials provided: July 7, 2011 • Invoice No. 1050 dated 6/27/11 • Ordinance No. 123 ContaCt(s): Dr. Steve Luginbill, 651 433-5880 Prepared by: Anne Hurlburt, Administrator (luginbill CUP fees) Page 2 of 2 07/12/11 Steven R. Luginbill, DC Croig Ridge Chiropractic 21150 Ozark Avenue, Scandia 55073 O�ce 651-433-5880 F�651-433-5008 July 7, 2011 Attn: Randall Simonson, Mayor City Council, City of Scandia Dear Mr. Mayor and City Councii, My wife 1an and I are new to the area and are excited about setting up our chiropractic o#fice to serve peopte in the Scandia/M�rine area. We are asking the town council to reconsider the fees set on the Conditional Use Permit for our rental space (Unit#1D Scandia Plaza 11). It seems that the charges are somewhat excessive for the very little we are doing to the space. We have only pain#ed the walls and installed new carpeting. No other improvements have been made or are planned. We ask for a reconsideration of paying an initial$200.00 CUP#ee and then another$300.00 escrow and now, recently, ano#her$126.59 is being asked for. We have a small space of 617 square feet and wonder why$626.59 is being asked of us especially since we are only the ren#ers. Thank you for your consideration of this matter. Sincerely, -' ._ �-�� -{-�- �� / � � Dr. Steve R. Luginbill and Jan luginbil! ,.�� ..��[�� - � + . � : � i i �ITY OF SC;ANGlA ----__��___.�.� City of Scandia �'��('�(�� 14727 209th Street N Scandia, MN 55073 Number 1050 ��T�;� 651-433-2274 Date 6/27/2011 Bill To Dr. Steven Luginbill 25444 Sawmill Avenue Shafer, MN, 55074 Terms Please submit a check payable to the "City of Scandia" upon receipt. Description Amount Parcel Search, Washington County ►nvoice No. 1009937 $99.64 Public Hearing Notice, ECN` Invoice No. IT 00153796 $25.80 Planning Services, TKDA Invoice No. 00201 1 001 1 57 $194.10 Planning Services, TKDA invoice No. 002011001374 $97.05 Resolution No. 05-17-11-02 Recording Fee, Washington County $46.00 SUBTOTAL $462.59 Less Escrow Deposit paid 04/08/2011 ($300.00) Total $162.59 :Amount Due $162.59 These are the incurred expenses to date regarding the Conditional Use Permit issued to Croix Ridge Chiropractic on May 17, 2011. Thank you for your prompt payment. CITY OF SCANDIA ORDINANCE NO.: 123 AN ORDINANCE ESTABLISHING FEES FOR PLANNING AND ZONING APPLICATIONS TO THE CITY OF SCANDIA AND REPEALING ORDINANCE NO. 95 The City Council of the City of Scandia,Washington County, Minnesota hereby ordains: Section 1. Plannin�and ZoninE Apulication Fees. (A) Applications for consideration of any planning, zoning and/or subdivision and zoning requests pursuant to the Development Code of the City of Scandia shall be accompanied by the fees as specified in this ordinance. No application shall be considered complete until the fees have been paid. Application fees are not refundable. (B) In addition to the application fee, applicants shall be required to reimburse the city for all out-of-pocket costs that are incurred for processing, reviewing and hearing the application. These costs shall include, but are not limited to: parcel searches; publication and mailing of notices; review by the city's engineering, planning and other consultants; legal costs, and recording fees. A minimum escrow deposit to cover these costs shall be collected by the city at the time of application. The Zoning Administrator shall have discretion to increase the amount of the escrow for any application at any time if the city's costs are reasonably expected to exceed the minimum amount. The Zoning Administrator shall also have discretion to require an escrow deposit even where no minimum amount is specified by this ordinance, if authorized by the Development Code. (C) Applications for projects requiring more than one type of review (for example, a Conditional Use Permit and a Preliminary Plat) shall include the cumulative total of all application fees specified for each type of review. The minimum escrow deposit shall be the cumulative total for each type of application required for the project, unless the Zoning Administrator determines that this amount would significantly exceed the city's reasonable expenses to review the applications, in which case the amount of the escrow deposit may be reduced. (D) After review of the application has been completed and all costs have been paid, any costs exceeding the escrow balance shall be invoiced to the applicant. Any escrow balance remaining shall be refunded to the applicant. No interest shall be paid on escrow deposits. (E) Amendments to previously approved applications shall require the payment of the same fees as for the initial permit application, except for Plan Modifications not requiring review by the Planning Commission and City Council or as otherwise provided by the Development Code. 1 (F) Fee Schedule: Application Tvpe Anplication Fee Escrow Minimum Variance $150.00 $325.00 • Variance Extension $50.00 Conditional Use Permit(CUP) • Open Space Conservation Subdivision CUP $750.00 $2,000.00 • Planned Unit Development CUP $500.00 $550.00 • All other Conditional Use Permits $200.00 $300.00 • CUP Extension $50.00 Interim Use Permit $200.00 $325.00 Administrative Permits • Driveway Access $25.00 $500.00 • Grading/Land Alteration $125.00 $250.00 • Land Clearing $75.00 • All other Administrative Permits $50.00 Site Plan Review • Pre-application sketch review, Open Space $500.00 $500.00 Conservation Subdivision • Pre-application sketch review,Planned Unit $500.00 $500.00 Development • Pre-application sketch review, all other $50.00 • Site Plan Review,Minor Projects $100.00 $250.00 • Site Plan Review,Major Projects $250.00 $500.00 • Plan Modification $50.00 • Site Plan Extension $50.00 Amendment • Rezoning(Map Amendment) $500.00 $575.00 • Amendment-Development Code Text $500.00 $500.00 • Amendment-Comprehensive Plan Map $500.00 $575.00 • Amendment--Comprehensive Plan Text $500.00 $500.00 Sign(permanent) $25.00 Environmental Review • EAW(Environmental Assessment Worksheet) $750.00 $2,000.00 • EIS (Environmental Impact Statement) $750.00 $10,000.00 Subdivision • Minor Subdivision $100.00 $550.00 • Preliminary Plat/Major Subdivision $250.00 $1,000.00 • Final Plat $200.00 $1,000.00 2 Section 2. Repeal. Ordinance No. 95, adopted on November 16, 2007, is hereby repealed. Passed and adopted by the City Council of the City of Scandia this 3rd day of November, 2010. Dennis D. Seefeldt, Mayor ATTEST: Anne Hurlburt, Clerk/Administrator 3