City Council

(55) 25-1424 PUBLIC SAFETY and BUDGET AND FINANCE COMMITTEES’ REPORT relative to developing a permanent City policy for waiving rebuilding fees for residents affected by natural disasters to ensure a consistent and equitable approach to disaster recovery. Recommendations for Council action, pursuant to Motion (Rodriguez - Lee): 1. INSTRUCT the City Administrative Officer (CAO) and Chief Legislative Analyst (CLA), with the assistance of the City Attorney and all relevant City departments, to develop and report to Council on a permanent City policy for fee waivers for disaster-impacted residents, including those affected by wildfires, floods, earthquakes, and other declared emergencies. The report should include the following: a. Identify eligible fee types, including building, plan-check, development impact, and related fees; and, define eligibility criteria for affected property owners. b. Include considerations to differentiate benefits based on whether property owners are insured, underinsured, or uninsured. c. Establish safeguards, such as fee caps or project scope limitations, to prevent unintended fiscal impact on other residents or departments. d. Provide mechanisms to coordinate with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, or other funding sources to recover waived fees where possible; and, identify contingency funding sources if reimbursement is unavailable. 2. REQUEST the City Attorney to report to Council with a draft ordinance implementing this permanent disaster fee policy. Fiscal Impact Statement: Neither the CAO nor the CLA has completed a financial analysis of this report.