The city planning department is requesting an adjustment to their fee structure to allow for pass through fees to a third party consultant.

A public hearing was scheduled for Aug. 2 but will be bumped to Aug. 16 to allow for proper public notice.

In 2021, the City Commission adopted fees to cover costs associated with staff review of civil engineering plans and construction oversight for new development projects as well as providing project management for capital project for other city departments.

City adjusts engineering fees for development process [2021]

Due to staff shortages, the city hired a third party consulting engineer to assist with those review process and the proposed adjustment to the fee structure will allow the city to bill applicants for the costs of the third party consultant as a pass-through.

In 2019, the city was planning to transfer plan review, construction oversight and project management duties from the engineering division in public works to the planning department. As part of that plan, a new funding structure and and budget was developed to cover those costs.

City considering adjustment to engineering fees for development [2021]

But there have been engineer vacancies since that time and “staff has determined that it is in the best interest of the city as well as the development community that we engage with a third party engineering firm to help review and process development proposals that include infrastructure construction and/or on-site stormwater improvements,” according to the staff report.

Those changes meant the approved fee structure may not be most appropriate, according to staff, and the change allows staff to pass the costs of the third party consultant to the project applicant or developer.

Demand for new housing high in Great Falls area; costs slow development

“It may also prove to be beneficial to maintain the relationship long term in order to have the ability to increase capacity and efficiency during seasonal spikes in development activity or community growth surges. PCD has found it very beneficial to have that tool in our bag in the building safety division for building permit review. The development community has been very appreciative of the increase in responsiveness and quicker service the increased capacity affords,” according to city staff.

Cascade County also adjusted their planning fees recently.

During the July 12 meeting, commissioners approved new fees that increased any process requiring a public hearing to $500.

The commission also approved a $100 planning fee for survey reviews where a draft plat, amended plat or certificate of survey is reviewed for compliance with the Montana Subdivision and Platting Act. That law allows the county to charge up to $100 for the review.

The county planning department’s budget relies on revenue generated from fees and the fee structure hadn’t been updated in years, according to county planning staff.

“With the rising costs of inflation and time since fees have been update to reflect current administrative costs, a fee adjustment is needed. The proposed fee schedule was developed by assessing costs of public hearings, administrative
project reviews, operating costs, etc. A permit application differs in the amount of time based on the type of permit application. Every permit application involves significant time between staff and the applicant to get an application sufficiently completed and on-going correspondence throughout the permitting process,” according to county planning staff.

Katie Hanning of the Homebuilders Association of Great Falls said that she was unaware of the proposed fee changes until after they were approved. She also serves on the county zoning board, which often conducts public hearings on land use actions.

Hanning told The Electric her organization would be sending a letter to the county commission related to the fee changes.

She said that lumber prices are up nearly 200 percent, which adds about $14,500 to a single-family home construction.

“Lumber is just one of the many products used to build a home that has increased. Increases in fees are just one more added cost to building a home and in turn, will price many families out of the market,” Hanning told The Electric.