[Previous entry: "PC Reverses Vote, Recommends Wireless Communication Rules Into UDC"] [Next entry: "Firm Hired To Manage SJ Islands Scenic Byway Project"]

01/20/2010: "$1,000.00 Add On To “Development Permits” To Pay For Old & New Garbage"

Irony and schizophrenia were two words that may have come to mind for those watching the County Council at a special work session meeting Tuesday as they debated how to come up with $1.3M to fund the county solid waste department.

Those words were not used, but two others. "unintended consequences" were used a number of times as objections to what may happen if this or that idea was adopted as a way to reduce the creation of garbage, increase re-cycling, reduce the number of trips to the dump, and somehow generate more money, somehow, other than from dumping fees.

And after hours of brainstorming they dropped the idea -at least for now- of placing a new parcel fee tax on each developed property, or going to some form of “mandatory” curb side pick-up. Instead they came up with a development fee, a “gate fee”, and charging more for each ton and each can of garbage.

The council was told by Public Works staff that one of the main reasons for the fall off in revenue was the loss of construction debris, as a result of the fall off in new starts in the construction industry; but that the solid waste division of public works had been running in the red long before the construction slow down, and so new funding was needed just to get out of the historical hole, and for the future.

One idea that came back a number of times, and each time seemed to become more attractive, was to simply come up with a big round number and slap it on as a new charge for receiving a permit to develop property. In simple terms, raise a pile of money by "taxing" the new guy -and raise the fees to use the dump

Councilman Howie Rosenfeld said there may be some legal problems with imposing an impact fee, but he liked the basic idea.

Rosenfeld may have remembered that the County had imposed an “Impact Fee” years ago on all new development permits, but lost the right after the State Supreme Court ruled against them, and the County had to return all the money, plus interest.

County Administrator Pete Rose said it would not be an impact fee, but a system development fee. He told the council that they sit as the directors of a utility.

That seemed to clear the way for Councilman Rich Peterson to made a motion to “direct staff to create a draft ordinance” that includes a $1,000.00 fee on new development -with an exception for affordable housing projects; an increase in the cost to dump garbage, and a new $2.00 fee to get though the gate to dump garbage and to re-cycle.

The vote was 5 to1, with Councilmenber Lovel Pratt expressing a concern the additional use fees would result in an increase in illegal dumping and burning of garbage. In the end she voted against the measure, but had been instrumental in the affordable housing exception to the development fee.

Councilman Rosenfeld said he believed the costs would continue to rise, and at some point “the voters need a chance to weight in on it.” The last act of the day was to reach a consensus that at some point they would ask the votes to express an opinion.

After the meeting Councilman Peterson said what defines development will have to be worked out in the draft, but he envisioned it would apply to new homes, and perhaps commercial development.

The Draft is due from staff no later than by the 26th of January. At some point there will be public hearings if the County decides to move forward on the proposed changes.