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Master Fee Schedule. As proposed, the fees would be increased annually using the CCI starting January 1, 2017 and staff and the Council will review fees biannually as part of the 2 -year budget process to work towards the goal of full cost recovery. Staff is also requesting that the Council direct staff to review these findings and recommendations with the Chamber of Commerce and Economic Vitality Committee, incorporate their comments into the report, and return to the Council on June 16, 2015 to approval as part of the 2 -year budget review. Vice Mayor Brown asked if the new technology fee would be a separate line item or embedded within the overall fee structure. Ms. Wagner referred her to pages 4 and 5 the Master Fee Schedule, explaining that the fee would be a 5% surcharge on the total of all fees associated with a particular permit. She made a point to thank management staff from the various departments involved for all of their hard work. Mayor Thome opened and closed the public hearing. Mayor Thome said that Pleasanton has acquired a reputation for being a very expensive place to do business and obtain permits, and hope this report would shed some light on the inaccuracy of that assessment. He said it is also important that people recognize that a significant portion of costs of doing business is related to pass through fees that go to other agencies. Councilmember Narum said she supported the proposed appeal fee increase but asked that staff consider refunding all, or least a substantial portion, of that if an appeal is successful. She explained that the intent is eliminate some of the less substantive appeals the city has seen rather than punish people for bringing those that are truly legitimate. She also thought the CUP fee increase ($150 to $3,000) was too steep given the city's outdated zoning code. She thought the majority of CUP applicants were likely small businesses who could struggle with a fee this high, particularly once added to their other fees. She said she supported a review by the Chamber of Commerce and Economic Vitality Committee but thought the public could benefit from having the opportunity to attend even one open meeting on the matter. The Mayor and Vice Mayor felt that this meeting as well as the one on June 16th should be sufficient. Vice Mayor Brown said it was incredible to learn that the General Fund has essentially subsidized these activities to the tune of $4.5 million per year which, assuming a population of 72,000, equates to a per capita subsidy of $63.70. She said she was very pleased to with staff's careful analysis and recommendations and is excited to get closer to the goal of full cost recovery. Councilmember Olson said that from a business perspective it is simply unconscionable that the city has not increased these fees in over 20 years. Based on that, as well as staffs careful control over costs, he strongly supported the proposed fee structure. MOTION: It was m/s by Pentin /Olson to approve the staff recommendation to review the recommended increases in user fees for development related services and direct staff to review the findings and recommendations with the Pleasanton Chamber of Commerce and the City's Economic Vitality Committee; incorporate their comments in the report and return to the City Council in June, 2015 with a recommended updated Master Fee Schedule for Council's approval. Motion passed by the following vote: AYES: Councilmembers Brown, Narum, Olson, Pentin, Mayor Thorne NOES: None ABSENT: None City Council Agenda Page 10 of 11 April 07, 2015