A8
ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT
February 25, 1997
TO: Vancouver City Council
FROM: Director of Permits & Licenses
and the Director of Finance
SUBJECT: Minor Amendments to Trade Permit Fee Schedules
RECOMMENDATION:
A. THAT Council approve minor amendments to the
Electrical By-law (B/L 5563) and the Secondary Suite
By-law (B/L 6553) to ensure consistency with the
recent comprehensive fee review.
B. THAT the Director of Legal Services be instructed to
prepare the necessary By-law amendments.
C. THAT upon approval of this report, the Director of
Permits & Licenses notify the construction industry
and the general public of the new fees.
GENERAL MANAGERS COMMENTS
The General Managers of Corporate and Community Services
RECOMMEND approval of A, B and C and note that these
amendments are of a minor housekeeping nature.
COUNCIL POLICY
On January 17, 1991, Council resolved that every department/board
review services for which fees are now charged to ensure full
cost recovery, or that fees are equivalent to competitive charges
where the fee is of a market nature.
PURPOSE
This report recommends minor adjustments to the Electrical
By-law and the By-law for inspections of secondary suites to
ensure that there is consistency with the recent trade permit
fee increases.
DISCUSSION
On January 30, 1997 Council approved changes to the trade permit
fee schedules. After approval of these adjustments staff became
aware of some minor inconsistencies that need to be adjusted so
that applicants pay uniform fees. Specifically, there is a need
to adjust the hourly rate for secondary suite inspections and
the ad valorem based electrical fees for work in excess of
$100,000.
This report proposes minor amendments to By-laws 5563 and 6553 to
ensure that trade permit fees are uniform and inherited errors
are adjusted.
Electrical By-law (B/L 5563)
There are some inherited errors in the Electrical By-law that
need to be adjusted, as detailed in Appendix A, and include:
Within Schedule A, section 1:
When the estimated cost exceeds $100,000
but does not exceed $500,000....................... $2,002.00
When the estimated cost exceeds $500,000
but does not exceed $1,000,000..................... $5,522.00
When the estimated cost exceeds $1,000,000 ........ $8,822.00
By-law 5563, Schedule A, section 1 should therefore be amended to
read:
When the estimated cost exceeds $100,000
but does not exceed $500,000....................... $1,992.00
When the estimated cost exceeds $500,000
but does not exceed $1,000,000..................... $5,592.00
When the estimated cost exceeds $1,000,000 ........ $9,092.00
Secondary Suite By-law (B/L 6553)
Revisions to the trade permit fee schedules carried out as part
of the comprehensive fee review and approved by Council adjusted
the hourly rate for inspections to $100.
Within By-law 6553 there is a section that relates to the
Secondary Suites Program which states:
3. Where an application for a special inspection of a suite is
made within 60 days of the notification date, the applicant
shall pay a fee, including all of the inspections referred
to in section 1, of $86.00.
By-law 6553 should be amended so that the hourly rate is
increased to $100 to be consistent with other trade permit
inspections. As well, while this By-law was drafted as part of
the introduction of the secondary suite program to encourage
compliance with the building code, there is a need to include an
additional section for those applicants who ask for inspections
after 60 days notification. Therefore the proposed amendments,
detailed in Appendix B, state the following:
3. For a special inspection of a suite the applicant shall pay
a fee:
(a) where the application is made within 60
days of the notification date..............$100.00
(b) where the application is made more than 60
days after the notification date...........$300.00
In addition to these specific inspections for secondary suites,
the applicable trade permit inspections and fees must also be
paid to ensure compliance with various City By-laws.
The secondary suite program is currently 100% cost recovery with
a small offset from the special inspection fees. The majority of
the cost recovered through surcharges to the trade permit and
development application fees which is in accordance with Council
policy established on February 27, 1996.
CONCLUSION
These minor amendments are necessary so that the trade permit fee
schedules maintain uniformity and are consistent with Council s
recent approval of trade permit fees as part of the comprehensive
review.
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