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ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT
Date: April 26, 1995
Dept. File No. H333
TO: Vancouver City Council
FROM: General Manager of Engineering Services
SUBJECT: Review of Permit Fees
RECOMMENDATION
A. THAT fees for Anchor Rod permits be charged on the
basis of $35 per square metre of excavation face.
B. THAT fees for Street Area Permits be established as
follows:
Permit Fee
- Minimum fee, up to 20 m2 . . . . . . . . . $ 35
- Each square metre in excess of
20 m2, up to maximum fee . . . . . . . . . $ 3.20
- Maximum fee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 250
C. THAT fees for Temporary Crossing Permits be established
as follows:
Permit Fee
- Single and two family dwelling
(no demolition) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 105
- Single and two family dwellings
(with demolition) . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 155
- Commercial & multi-residential
without excavation . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 470
- Commercial & multi-residential
with excavation, less than three stories . $ 875
- Commercial & multi-residential
with excavation, three stories or more . . $1,750
- Roadway Rental Fees per lane
per half-day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 500
D. THAT fees for provision of Building Grades be
established as follows:
Length of Property Abutting Fee
0 m to 31 m $ 370
over 31 m to 90 m $ 740
over 90 m to 150 m $ 1,100
over 150 m to 300 m $ 1,640
over 300 m $ 2 , 2 3 0
E. THAT fees for Boulevard Crossing Permits be increased
to a minimum $250, plus an additional $30 for each foot
of length in excess of 36 feet.
F. THAT all revenue from Boulevard Crossing Permit fees be
directed to a fund for removal of disused or abandoned
crossings.
G. THAT Council direct the Director of Legal Services to
prepare the necessary by-law amendments which will
implement these new fee schedules, effective
July 1, 1995.
COUNCIL POLICY
Council on January 17, 1991 resolved:
THAT every Department/Board review services for which fees are
now charged to ensure that fees are recovering the full cost of
the services to the City, or are equivalent to competitive
charges where the fee is of a market nature, rather than for cost
recovery.
PURPOSE
The purpose of this report is to recommend revised fee structures
for permits which are issued by the Engineering Department for
work within the street allowance adjacent to private
developments. These permits authorize the use of City property
by developers for construction activities. Fee increases are
also proposed for building grades which are prepared by the
Engineering Department.
BACKGROUND
Developers wishing to build a structure on private property are
required to obtain some or all of the following permits for the
portions of their work that relate to City streets.
- Anchor Rod Permit: for permission to install anchor rods
(for temporary support of excavations) which extend into
City property.
- Street Area Permit: for permission to install an
encroachment (e.g. construct sidewalk) on City property
- Building Grade Fee: for the City providing elevations to be
met at the property line, as part of building design
- Temporary Crossing Permit: for permission to use City
street allowance for access for construction purposes
- Boulevard Crossing Permit: collected from those
establishing new commercial boulevard crossings, to pay for
the removal of abandoned crossings.This report reviews the
basis of the fees for each of these permits and recommends
adjustments where appropriate.
INTRODUCTION
Any building construction on private property has an impact on
City streets. Anchor rods are frequently driven back from the
face of excavations onto City property. Hoarding is constructed
around excavations, often extending on City land. Lumber, steel,
concrete and other building materials are unloaded from trucks
parked in the curb lane. The erection of some of the larger
building components such as tower cranes, precast cladding and
beams also sometimes takes place from the street.
Regulating these construction activities so as to protect the
interests of the City generates costs which are recovered via
various fee mechanisms. The following section describes each of
these fees, and recommends adjustments to the fee structure for
1995 as necessary.
PERMIT FEES
1. Anchor Rod Permit
(a) Description of Permit
The building industry has made increasing use of
tieback anchor rods as a cost-effective means of
shoring excavations. These anchor rods are grouted
into the adjacent ground and are tensioned to provide
support to the vertical face of an excavation. When
the construction of the building is complete, the
anchor rods are usually left in the ground as it is
expensive and often impractical to remove them.
In 1986, Council approved the introduction of a fee
which is intended to cover the present value of future
costs of working around or removing anchor rods during
excavation for future underground utilities. Monies
collected from this fee are directed into general
revenue. The fee of $20/m2 of excavation face where
the rods encroached into street or lane right-of-way
was significantly lower than using other methods of
shoring or being required to remove the anchor rods.
In 1991, the fee was increased to $30/m2.
(b) Recommended Fee Structure for 1995
It is recommended that the fee for anchor rods be
increased to $35/m2, which is an average increase of 4%
per year since 1991. The average area of excavation
surface shored each year using anchor rods is 16,100m2.
The estimated revenue for 1995 for anchor rod permits
is $564,000.2. Street Area Permit
(a) Description of Permit
The City receives numerous requests from property
owners and developers to construct improvements on City
property, such as to install a decorative sidewalk or
to repair damage caused during construction on adjacent
private property. Where this work is constructed by
the property owner, a Street Area Permit is required,
which includes a fee to cover the cost of City
inspection.
The present fees were established in 1992. At that
time, Council approved a rate structure which
subsidized the flat rate applied to small jobs (those
under 20 m2), where the construction cost is typically
in the range of $120 - $500. The purpose of the
subsidy is to reduce the likelihood that such work is
done without any permit, and thus without any
opportunity for the City to confirm that its
construction standards have been met. Substandard work
could subsequently become a public safety hazard, or at
least a maintenance problem for the City. The cost of
this subsidy in 1995 is estimated to be $14,000.
(b) Recommended Fee Structure for 1995
An increase in current volumes over the last two years
has resulted in revenues in excess of costs. In 1995,
we are recommending that an area of inequity in the
current fee structure be corrected. We have found that
some of the larger jobs for which Street Area Permits
are being issued are being charged a fee which far
exceeds the actual cost of inspection. In a few cases,
Street Area Permit fees are as much as $2,000, while
the actual cost of inspection is around $250. For this
reason, it is recommended that the maximum fee charged
for a Street Area Permit be limited to $250 in 1995.
Street area Permit revenues will be reduced by $17,000
annually as a result of this capping. Because of the
increased permit volumes being experienced, however,
the remainder of the Street Area Permit rate structure
need not be adjusted to make up the lost revenue from
this change.
The proposed fee structure for Street Area Permits is:
Existing Proposed
Fee Fee
Minimum fee, up to 20 m2 $ 35 $ 35
Each square metre in
excess of 20 m2, up to
maximum fee $ 3.20 $ 3.20
Maximum Fee None
$250 3.Building Grade Fee
(a) Description of Permit
A fee is charged to prospective developers for work
done by the Engineering Department in providing
officially established building grades. This
information is used by developers to design the
elevation of building entrances and by the City to
accomodate permanent street improvements which are
often constructed many years after the building has
been built. Since this information also benefits the
City, the fee is based on a 50% cost recovery target.
(b) Recommended Fee Structure for 1995
Building grade fees were last increased in 1992 and
should be increased for inflation over three years and
to reflect current volumes of requests for building
grades to meet the cost recovery target.
The proposed fees are:
Length of Property Existing Proposed
Abutting Street Fee Fee
and/or Lane
0 m to 31 m $ 280 $ 370
31 m to 90 m $ 560 $ 740
90 m to 150 m $ 840 $ 1,100
150 m to 300 m $ 1,240 $ 1,640
over 300 m $ 1,690 $ 2,230
4. Temporary Crossing Permit
(a) Description of Permit
Construction activity virtually always requires the
delivery of construction materials and often the
removal of demolition or excavation debris. The
movement of these materials between the site and the
street is usually facilitated by allowing developers or
their contractors the use of a portion of the City
street allowance. Lumber, steel, concrete and other
building materials are unloaded from trucks parked in
the curb lane. The erection of some of the larger
building components such as tower cranes, precast
cladding and beams sometimes take place from the
street.
The Temporary Crossing Permit authorizes developers and
contractors to use the City street allowance for these
construction activities. There are two aspects of the
permit: a refundable deposit and a non-refundable fee.
The refundable deposit is collected to provide for the
repair of any damage done to City property, or if the
developer repairs all damage himself, then the deposit
is returned to the developer upon completion of the
project. The non-refundable fee portion is collected
to recover City costs of administering the permit
program. This fee recovers the cost of issuing
permits, site inspections before, during and after
construction, billing and collections. The inspections
are required to ensure that the amount of street use is
not excessive and that damage to City property is
repaired.
An additional fee, known as the Roadway Rental Fee, was
instituted in 1989. This fee is charged for the rental
of portions of arterial roadways for special
construction operations such as tower crane erection.
The intent of the fee is to encourage contractors to
plan their construction operations so as to minimize
the need for the use of arterial street space. As a
result, disruption to traffic is minimized.
(b) Recommended Fee Structure for 1995
The fee structure for Temporary Crossing Permits was
last adjusted in 1992. The proposed 1995 fee structure
reflects an approximate 23% increase in fees to reflect
current permitting volumes and inflation. No change is
recommended to the Roadway Rental Fee, since the
current fee of $500 is effective in keeping all but
essential construction activities off arterial streets.
Existing Proposed
Fee Fee
Single and two family dwellings
(no demolition) $ 85 $ 105
Single and two family dwellings
(with demolition) $ 125 $ 155
Commercial & multi-residential
without excavation $ 380 $ 470
Commercial & multi-residential
with excavation, less than
three stories $ 710 $ 875
Commercial & multi-residential
with excavation, three
stories or more $1,425
$1,750(c)Roadway Rental FeesExistingProposed
Fee Fee
Per lane per half-day $ 500 $ 500
(5) Boulevard Crossing Permit
(a) Description of Permit
Throughout the City, there are a number of abandoned
boulevard crossings which serve commercial driveways
that are no longer in use. These disused crossings
create problems for parking meter installations,
parking enforcement, and streetscape aesthetics.
Crossings are abandoned when buildings are altered or
demolished, so that some crossings are no longer
required. When redevelopment occurs, measures are
taken to ensure the removal of these abandoned
crossings at the expense of the developer as a
requirement of the development permit.
Crossings are regulated by the Crossings By-law, which
requires the owner of the adjacent property to pay all
costs for each new installation and to remove abandoned
crossings which serve his property. However, there are
many abandoned crossings adjacent to properties which
are not likely to be developed in the near future. A
minimum crossing permit fee of $200 per new commercial
crossing is charged ($190 goes into a fund for removal
of disused crossings, and the remaining $10 is in lieu
of an annual rental of the boulevard space occupied by
the crossing. Any crossing over 36 feet wide is
charged an additional $30 for every foot over 36 feet.
(b) Recommended Fee Structure for 1995
The current crossing fee of $200 was established in
1987. It is recommended that the minimum fee of $200
be increased to $250, which is an average increase of
3.5% a year since 1987. In the past two years, an
average of 56 new crossings per year were installed.
The proposed fee would generate a revenue of $14,000
($250 x 56) per year, to be applied to the fund for
removal of the abandoned crossings.
As the Encroachment By-law no longer requires an annual
rental charge for boulevard crossings, it is also
recommended that the full amount be credited to the
fund for removal of abandoned crossings.SUMMARY
The proposed revised fees outlined in this report are intended to
bring revenues in line with current costs and permit volumes. As
explained in the report, the Street Area Permit fee includes a
subsidy to the smallest permits of approximately $17,000.
Based on the projected number of permits issued, these increases
represent an increase in annual revenues of $186,000. With
implementation part way through the year, the increase in
revenues for 1995 is projected to be approximately $100,000.
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