Lacey City Council leans toward lowering controversial land-use appeal fee
The city of Lacey’s controversial administrative appeal fee — the most expensive appeal fee in Thurston County — could be lowered, refunded, or both.
The Lacey City Council discussed making changes to that fee during its work session Thursday night. The council was spurred to discuss the fee after residents complained about it last year.
Jubilee residents John and Margaret Green took issue with a land-clearing permit near their home that was approved by the city last fall. Although the appeal period had already lapsed, they were nevertheless stunned by what it would have cost them — $2,179 — to have their concerns heard by a hearings examiner. Instead, they complained directly to the council.
After hearing from the Greens, Lacey Mayor Andy Ryder agreed the cost needed to be discussed, which ultimately resulted in Thursday’s work session.
Councilman Lenny Greenstein recalled the Green’s testimony.
“It felt like, in there eyes, we were protecting the developer and charging them a fee well beyond their means, and that it was set to purposely keep them out of the process,” he said.
Greenstein added that the fee “seemed too high to me.”
The city used to charge about $1,000 to appeal land-use decisions to the hearings examiner, but in 2016 the city decided to undertake a fee study to better recover its costs. The appeal fee was raised to $2,000 in 2017, then grew to $2,179 through annual adjustments.
Although the city aims to recover 75 percent of its costs through its fees, that would have resulted in an appeal fee of $5,400. Realizing that would be too burdensome, it was cut to $2,000, a 26 percent cost recovery rate.
The council was presented with some options Thursday night. They could lower the fee, or keep it at the same rate, but offer a refund if the appellants are successful. The idea of a refund seemed to win the support of Greenstein and Ryder.
There also was some push back from city staff. Public Works Director Scott Egger warned the council about lowering the fee to the point that any citizen can make an emotional appeal, which will cost the city money.
“I just want to make it accessible,” said Councilwoman Carolyn Cox about the fee. As it is now, the fee is a reach for some people, she said. “Let’s keep the little guy in mind.”
Administrative appeal fees in the region
▪ Lacey: $2,179.
▪ Thurston County: $1,249.
▪ Olympia: $1,000.
▪ Puyallup: $570-$800.
▪ Lakewood: $450.
▪ Tumwater: $200. The fee used to be $100.
Source: City of Lacey.
This story was originally published March 6, 2020 at 5:45 AM.
