Lake County Municipal Code Art. II Construction Permits, Fees, and Refunds

Footnotes:

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Editor's note— Ord. No. 2861, §§ 2, 3, adopted Feb. 19, 2008, amended Art. II in its entirety to read as herein set out. Former Art. II, §§ 5-9, 5-9A, pertained to similar subject matter, and derived from Ord. No. 1594, § 1, adopted August 26, 1986; Ord. No. 1654, § 16, adopted June 9, 1987; Ord. No. 1901, § 11, adopted Nov. 21, 1989; Ord. No. 2104, § 1, adopted August 4, 1992; Ord. No. 2314, § 21, adopted Oct. 24, 1995.

(a) Construction costs for establishing valuation will be determined by the Building Official based on the current Building Valuation Data and Regional Modifiers as published periodically by the International Conference Code Council.

(b) The valuation of all piers, wharfs and docks will be based on a value of fifteen dollars ($15.00) per square foot of deck area.

(c) Installation and lot prep fees for manufactured homes on private land shall be determined by the Building Official based on the fees authorized by the California Administrative Code, Title 25, Chapter 2. The County Building and safety Divisions shall charge the same permit fee for installation of manufactured homes on private land as specified in Section 1020(c) of said code. Installation and lot prep fees for manufactured homes on private land used for farm labor housing shall be reduced by fifty (50) percent.

(d) A minimum fee of twenty-five dollars ($25.00) shall be placed on all building permits issued by the Building Division except those that are regulated by the State of California.

(e) For "Other Inspections" pursuant to Section 109.3.8 Chapter 1 of the California Building Code which are requested by the owner, a minimum fee of sixty-four dollars ($64.00) shall be charged.

9B.1 Authority. This Section is enacted under the police power of the County and under Government Code Sections 66000 et seq.

9B.2 Findings. Based upon independent Construction Vehicle Impact Analysis Report prepared by the HF&F Consultants, the recommendation of the Department of Public Works, the Board of Supervisors finds and determines as follows:

1. Construction vehicles have a disproportionate impact on the condition of County roads because they are far heavier than other types of vehicles normally traveling on County roads and must do so with far greater frequency.

2. The purpose of this Section and the fee established hereby is to assist the County in funding the cost to repair the damage to County roads caused by construction activity traffic and to offset the cost associated with and caused by the impacts of new construction within the County.

3. In the absence of this program imposing a fair share construction traffic road fee upon new construction, existing and future sources of revenue will be inadequate to fully fund the roadway improvements necessary.

4. The fees generated pursuant to this Section will be used to reconstruct and repair County roadways.

5. New construction in the County generates vehicle trips throughout the County on the existing roadways. Construction traffic has greater wheel loading and, therefore, causes far greater impact on County roads. The fee imposed hereby will be used to repair the damage caused by construction traffic.

9B.3 Definitions. As used in this Section, the following terms shall have the following meanings.

1. Developer means that person or legal entity, who may also be the property owner, who is developing or constructing a project within the unincorporated areas of the County.

2. Project means an undertaking which requires the issuance of a building permit for new construction, reconstruction, remodeling, or expansion of an existing structure, including the hauling of materials and labor, which, therefore, involves construction traffic on County roadways.

9B.4 Construction Traffic Road Fees. Road impact fees shall be collected at the time of the issuance of a building permit by the County and shall be retained in a separate fund to be used only for the reconstruction and repair of County roadways.

Road impact fees shall be based upon the construction costs for all construction projects requiring a building permit wherein the project valuation exceeds ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00) and shall be assessed in the amount of one-half percent (0.5%) of the valuation of each such building permit issued.

Constructions costs for establishing valuation shall be determined by the County Building Official pursuant to Section 5-9.1(a) of the Lake County Code.

At the time of the approval of the project or at the time of the imposition of the fees established by this Section, the County shall provide the Developer with a statement of the amount of the fee and notice that the ninety-day approval period in which the Developer may protest pursuant to Government Code Section 66020 has begun.

9B.5 Appeal Procedure.

1. Any Developer subject to this fee may appeal the amount of the fee based upon the absence of any reasonable relationship or nexus between the impact of the Developer's project and the amount of the fee charged.

2. A Developer appealing a decision under this Section shall file an appeal with Clerk of the Board of Supervisors, who will be responsible for processing the appeal toward a hearing, setting the date and time for the hearing. The appeal shall be in writing and shall state in detail the factual and legal basis for the appeal. The appeal must be filed within ten (10) days following the payment of the fees authorized by this Section.

3. The costs associated with the appeal shall be borne by the appellant.

4. The Board of Supervisors shall hear the appeal. The decision of the Board of Supervisors shall be final.

9B.6 Exemptions. The following projects are exempt from the payment of the Construction Traffic Road Fee:

1. Projects directly related to the provision of low and moderate income housing, as defined by the State Department of Housing and Community Development.

2. Projects where the developer can substantiate to the satisfaction of the Public Works Director that no part of the construction activity for the project requires travel upon County roads such as where all construction materials are delivered via state highways, city streets, and/or the waters of Clear Lake.

9B.7 Within one hundred eighty (180) days after the last day of each fiscal year, the Director of Public Works or his or her designee, shall prepare a report to the Board of Supervisors including the information required by Government Code Section 66006(b)(1) and shall make such report available to the public.

9B.8 These fees may be waived in a development agreement entered into in accordance with the applicable provisions of state and local law in the event that project-specific conditions are imposed that meet the same purpose as the purpose of this fee.

Electric Vehicle Charging Stations which qualify for expedited permit processing, pursuant to Government Code Section 65850.7, shall be subject to the administrative permitting procedures set forth in the County's Electric Vehicle Charging Station Permit Expediting Ordinance.

9C.1. Expedited review process. Consistent with Government Code Section 65850.7, the Building Official shall implement an expedited administrative permit review process for electric vehicle charging stations and adopt a checklist of all requirements with which electric vehicle charging stations shall comply with in order to be eligible for expedited review. The expedited administrative permit review process and checklist may refer to the recommendations in the checklist prescribed by the most current version of the "Plug-In Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Permitting Checklist" of the "Zero-Emission Vehicles in California: Community Readiness Guidebook" published by the Governor's Office of Planning and Research. The County's adopted checklist shall be published on the County's website.

9C.2. Electronic submittals. Consistent with Government Code Section 65850.7, the Building Official shall allow for electronic submittal of permit applications covered by this section and associated supporting documentations. In accepting such permit applications, the Building Official shall also accept electronic signatures on all forms, applications, and other documentation in lieu of a wet signature by any applicant.

9C.3. Association approval. Consistent with Government Code Section 65850.7, the Building Official shall not condition the approval for any electric vehicle charging station permit on the approval of such a system by an association, as that term is defined by Civil Code Section 4080.

9C.4. Permit application processing. A permit application that satisfies the information requirements in the County's adopted checklist shall be deemed complete and be promptly processed. Upon confirmation by the Building Official that the permit application and supporting documents meets the requirements of the County adopted checklist, and is consistent with all applicable laws, the Building Official shall, consistent with Government Code Section 65850.7, approve the application and issue all necessary permits. Such approval does not authorize an applicant to energize or utilize the electric vehicle charging station until approval is granted by the County. If the Building Official determines that the permit application is incomplete, he or she shall issue a written correction notice to the applicant, detailing all deficiencies in the application and any additional information required to be eligible for expedited permit issuance.

9C.5. Technical review. It is the intent of this section to encourage the installation of electric vehicle charging stations by removing obstacles to permitting for charging stations so long as the action does not supersede the Building Official's authority to address higher priority life-safety situations. If the Building Official makes a finding based on substantial evidence that the electric vehicle charging station could have a specific adverse impact upon the public health or safety, as defined in Government Code 65850.7, the County may require the applicant to apply for a use permit.

(Ord. No. 2842, § 1, 10-23-2007; Ord. No. 2926, § 1, 7-6-2010; Ord. No. 3130, § 3, 2-7-2023)