CITY OF SEATTLE
ORDINANCE __________________
COUNCIL BILL __________________
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AN ORDINANCE relating to street and sidewalk use; amending the Street Use Permit Fee Schedule authorized by Section 15.04.074 of the Seattle Municipal Code.
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WHEREAS, Section 15.04.074 of the Seattle Municipal Code authorizes and directs the Director of Transportation to prepare and recommend to the City Council, for passage by ordinance, a schedule of fees applicable to all street and sidewalk use permits (“the Street Use Permit Fee Schedule”) commensurate with the cost of administering, reviewing, inspecting, and policing involved in issuing and continuing the permits and the uses granted by the permits; and
WHEREAS, Street Use fees currently do not cover the full cost of permit issuance, inspection, and plan review, and Street Use permits must fully recover their cost to comply with the Seattle Municipal Code; and
WHEREAS, it is appropriate that those wishing to use public rights-of-way should bear the costs associated with obtaining appropriate street and sidewalk use permits; and
WHEREAS, Ordinance 124905 updated Street Use rates effective on March 31, 2016, based on wages and salaries in effect at that time. Since that time, the City, and the Coalition of City Unions and other bargaining units have agreed to annual wage increases of 2 percent in 2015, 2 percent in 2016, 2.5 percent in 2017, and 2.75 percent in 2018; and
WHEREAS, permit costs are largely determined by labor costs and overhead charges and the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index serves as a basis for estimating future cost increases; and
WHEREAS, the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) seeks to maintain adequate staffing as permit volumes fluctuate with the demand for use of public rights-of-way; NOW, THEREFORE,
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY OF SEATTLE AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) Street Use Permit Fee Schedule, last substantially amended by Ordinance 124905, is replaced by the SDOT Street Use Permit Fee Schedule attached as Attachment A to this ordinance.
Section 2. Relationship to pending formal parklet program legislation. The fee schedule proposed in Attachment A references a permit review fee for “parklets open to the public” the term commonly used to describe public amenities in curb space or other parking spaces that facilitate useable open space, landscaping, or active recreation. The reference to parklets is provided for clarity and consistency among fees. Nothing in this ordinance shall authorize collecting a fee for parklets (use code 53) until after the effective date of legislation authorizing parklets.
Section 3. Annual adjustments to base permit and hourly fees. For fees listed in the SDOT Street Use Permit Fee Schedule attached as Attachment A to this ordinance and described as being “subject to annual adjustment,” the Director of Transportation (Director) shall adjust the fees annually as provided in this Section.
A. For 2018, the Director shall adjust the fees upward by 2.75 percent.
B. For 2019 and subsequent years, the Director shall adjust the fess based on changes in the purchasing power of the dollar during the preceding calendar year shown by the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers for Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton, WA, First Six Months (CPI), published in or about August of each year by the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. The CPI-based adjustments shall use 2018 as the base year.
C. No adjusted fee shall be effective unless it is included in a schedule of adjusted fees the Director files with the City Clerk. If the Director files a schedule of adjusted fees with the City Clerk on or before December 1 of a given year, the adjusted fees shall become effective on January 1 of the following year. If the Director files a schedule of adjusted fees with the City Clerk after December 1 of a given year, the adjusted fees shall become effective on the first day of the calendar month following the 30th day after the day the Director filed the schedule.
D. The failure of the Director to adjust the fees for any given year shall not limit the Director’s mandate and authority to adjust the fees in subsequent years, but in no case may the Director adjust the fees upward by more than ten percent at any one time.
Section 4. This ordinance and attachment shall take effect on January 1, 2017.
Passed by the City Council the ________ day of _________________________, 2016, and signed by me in open session in authentication of its passage this _____ day of _________________________, 2016.
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President ____________ of the City Council
Approved by me this ________ day of _________________________, 2016.
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Edward B. Murray, Mayor
Filed by me this ________ day of _________________________, 2016.
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Monica Martinez Simmons, City Clerk
(Seal)
Attachments:
Attachment A - Seattle Department of Transportation Street Use Permit Fee Schedule