Fire Safety Permit Fees City Council Meeting of

Fire Safety Permit Fees City Council Meeting of November 25, 2019

Issue: The City charges a flat fee of $35 for all fire related permits. This includes permits for automatic sprinkler systems, fire alarms, fire control panels, etc. The City does not have its own Fire Marshal and currently contracts with the Riverside Fire Authority (RFA) to do plan reviews and inspections for these types of fire permits. The City’s cost to review and inspect fire suppression plans and projects costs significantly more than the fee charged for the service.

Discussion: Typically, other jurisdictions calculate plan review and inspection fees based upon valuation in the same way that building permit fees are calculated. Riverside Fire Authority currently charges 1. 8 percent of the valuation of the fire system plus a $50 administration fee for permits issued on behalf of Centralia. These permits are not issued by the City but rather directly from Riverside Fire Authority.

Proposed Changes It is recommended that the City Council amend the fee schedule, CMC 17, Appendix A to more accurately reflect the charges incurred by the city for fire safety permits. Staff proposes a fee of 1. 9 percent that would cover plan review, inspections, and administration costs. Fire Safety Permits would be issued by the City of Chehalis. This would not affect other fire code related permits such as fireworks stands which currently has a fee of $100; only construction related activities.

Proposed Changes (cont. ) Small projects that do not require a full fire safety permit and do not require a plan review, but they will require inspections. It is proposed that for minor fire sprinkler projects involving less than 10 sprinkler heads or modifications to existing fire panels we charge a flat rate of $200 to cover administrative permit work and inspections. If the proposed work will require the reinspection of more than 10 sprinkler heads, the permit will be processed as a full fire safety permit.

Proposed Fire Safety Permit Fees CITY/COUNTY $1, 000 $25, 000 $50, 000 $100, 000 SMALL WORKS (10 SPRINKLER HEADS OR LESS, CHANGE OF FIRE SUPPRESSION EQUIPMENT W/O PLAN REVIEW) Centralia (Riverside Fire Authority) $68 $500. 00 $950. 00 $1, 850. 00 All work based upon value Varies From $50 to 65% of the permit fee $156. 00 Only for work on 10 or less sprinkler heads Tumwater $103. 37 $916. 25 $1, 440. 86 $2, 220. 16 Longview $86. 71 $862. 95 $1, 400. 41 $2, 227. 00 Kelso $86. 71 $862. 95 $1, 400. 41 $2, 247. 70 Lewis County $76. 28 $770. 39 $1, 267. 26 $1, 956. 51 All work based upon value $19 $475 $950. 00 $1, 900. 00 $200 flat rate for both Chehalis

Fiscal Impact: Currently the City pays Riverside Fire Authority a flat sum annually for fire marshal services. In 2019, fire marshal services cost $27, 500. To date, in 2019 we have had 27 permits totaling $945 in assessed fees. This fee increase will allow the City to recover monies that will be spent in the future for fire services.

Recommendation: It is recommended that the City Council adopt Resolution No. 18 -2019 on first and final reading to modify the Schedule of Fees and Charges codified in the Chehalis Municipal Code under Title 17, Appendix A as follows: Change the current $35 fire safety permit fee to a flat rate of 1. 9% with no administrative fees added. Create a modified safety permit fee entitled “Minor Fire Safety Modifications Permit” for work that involves less than ten (10) sprinkler heads or modifications to existing fire panels, for a flat fee of $200.

Questions?

Fire Safety Permit Fees City Council Meeting of November 25, 2019