Belvedere council OKs new fees to generate $594K more each year

Belvedere will increase its building and planning fees beginning July 1, a move aimed at allowing the city to recover more costs from development projects and free up general-fund money for citywide initiatives.

The City Council voted unanimously at its April 14 meeting to adopt the new fee structure, which is expected to generate an additional $594,000 annually for the city. The council had previously signaled its intent to approve the new fees at its March meeting.

The increases are based on a study from consultant ClearSource Financial that found Belvedere currently recovers only 53% of costs for services like home remodels and other development projects. The city collects about $1.07 million annually in fee revenues but spends about $2.04 million providing these services, requiring it to pull nearly $968,000 from the general fund to cover the gap.

The new fee structure would immediately increase cost recovery to 82% with a target of reaching 91% in future years through annual inflationary adjustments. Building services would reach 100% cost recovery in the first year.

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