Galt planning fees to increase

The last time Galt increased its planning service fees, Dan Quayle was next in line for the presidency of the United States.

City Council members voted 4-1 last night to change that, doubling, tripling and in some cases creating new planning fees for everything from use permits to zone change applications to subdivision map reviews.

The city had not increased the fees since 1990, Community Development Director Curt Campion said.

He noted City Manager Ted Anderson called for the fee review and increases, in an effort to recover the cost of the services provided.

"This makes sense," Councilman Tim Raboy said at the city's regular council meeting. "It's actually a good time to do it because we don't have a lot of development applications, so, not a lot of people are going to say, 'This is going to affect me.'"

The council held off on decisions for two fee increases. They'll reconsider increases at a later time for a site plan review fee for commercial and industrial projects, and an appeals fee related to City Council and planning commission rulings. Campion recommended the site plan fee jump from $260 to $2,040 and the appeals fee increase from $304 to $730.

In other action

The Galt City Council also approved at $1,165,000 contract with West Yost Associates. The company will design tertiary filtration and UV disinfection upgrade improvements for Galt's wastewater treatment plant.

The city solicited proposals from 12 qualified engineering firms for the work, according to a city report.

A citizens' oversight committee aided in the selection of West Yost, which has worked with the city on matters related to the plant upgrade since 2004.

The council approved the contract 5-0.

— News-Sentinel staff

New charges created include ones for pre-application meetings, notices to newspapers, developer agreements and several others.

Council member Barbara Payne issued the only "no" vote on the matter. She argued the increases will send the wrong message to the business community.

"With the current economic situation, it just doesn't seem to be the right time to be increasing fees," she said.

Mike Guttridge, owner of Mike Guttridge Realty in Elk Grove and a prominent developer in Galt, said he's OK with the increases, given the nearly two decades since the city has updated them.

The fees are "minuscule" compared with the overall cost of building a subdivision, Guttridge said.

"For a small homeowner or business owner, it might be a problem," he noted.

Contact reporter Chris Nichols at chrisn@lodinews.com.

Reader Feedback

T&C wrote on Aug 20, 2008 8:21 PM:

" Is anyone besides Starbuck's or Walmart planning anything in Galt in the next ten years? If you've got more than one planner working, you're overstaffed. "

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galt citizen wrote on Aug 20, 2008 7:01 AM:

" You can surely tell Barbara Payne is up for re-election. She votes NO to increase these fees, however her proven track record in the last 4 years shows otherwise. She voted to pay $160,000 consulting fee to cram a 50 cent sales tax measure down our throats which will effect every citizen in this town, those on fixed incomes, seniors, the unemployed and those facing foreclosure. You can't fool us! "

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