SIMI VALLEY : Council Delays Vote on Developer Fees

Bowing to complaints from building-industry officials and local business leaders, the Simi Valley City Council has decided to postpone a decision on whether to increase development fees.

However, the council voted Tuesday night to approve slight increases in dozens of service fees. The city’s fee schedule, which includes everything from installing water meters to returned check charges, was adopted in 1984 and is updated every year.

The most significant increases proposed this year were in planning and processing fees, some of which would have cost hundreds of dollars more than they do now. But building-industry and business officials complained that if the fees were approved, the city’s economic development would be harmed because small businesses would not shy away.

“We feel these fees would place an unfair burden on the business community,” said Lloyd Boland, president of the Simi Valley Chamber of Commerce. “This sends a strong signal to incoming businesses that we don’t want them.”

Boland reminded the council that new businesses bring increased tax revenues and services that the community needs.

Paul Tryon, executive director of the Ventura County chapter of the Building Industry Assn., agreed and urged the council to work with its staff to come up with a compromise.

After hearing testimony from Boland and Tryon, the council directed its staff to reexamine the proposed planning fee increases and to report back to the panel at its Jan. 28 meeting.