Belvedere could recover $545,000 a year with fee boost

Belvedere plans to significantly increase its building and planning fees to recover more costs from development projects and free up general-fund money for citywide initiatives.

The City Council voted unanimously March 10 to schedule an April public hearing to potentially adopt a new fee structure that would take effect July 1. The changes could generate an additional $545,000 annually for the city.

Belvedere currently recovers only 53% of costs for services like home remodels and other development projects, according to a study by consultants ClearSource Financial. The city collects about $1.07 million annually in fee revenues but spends about $2.04 million providing these services, requiring it to pull nearly $968,000 from the general fund to cover the gap.

“I think it’s a better, more fair way to allocate tax dollars,” City Manager Robert Zadnik said. He said the costs of building projects like home remodels should not be subsidized by the rest of the community.

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