It is recommended that the City Council:

1.  Adopt ordinance revising certain fees in the building, residential, mechanical, plumbing, electrical, and Sign Codes of the City of Fort Worth; and

2.  Adopt ordinance revising fees in Article XII, Fee Schedules of Chapter 2 Administration of the City of Fort Worth relating to development, zoning and platting applications.

The Planning and Development Department provides application, permit, and inspection services for land development and building development in Fort Worth.  Every two years, Staff reviews development related fees to determine if they adequately cover the cost of the associated services. The last major fee adjustment for the above-referenced services occurred on April 1, 2014 (M&C G-18167, Ordinance Nos.  21189-04-2014 and 21190-04-2014) following Staff reviews and meetings with various stakeholder groups in the development community.

For the current proposed adjustments, Staff again conducted an internal review and then met with impacted stakeholder groups, including the Real Estate Council of Greater Fort Worth, representatives of the Greater Fort Worth Builders Association, and the Development Advisory Committee to discuss the proposed fee adjustments. The proposed fee adjustments are all below regional or national median levels and enjoy general support among stakeholders.

Staff recommends that the City Council approve the fee changes to enable the Planning and Development Department to continue to improve development processes and enhance customer service. It is expected that the fee adjustments will result in approximately $535,000.00 in additional revenue. This revenue is assumed in revenue projections for the Fiscal Year 2017 budget.