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Home My WebLink About0180.094March 3, 1994 HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL Palo Alto$ California semi-Annual Information Update on Flannj vg Flll1 Cost ReCOVery Program Members of the Council: Report In Bri ef This report is for information purp~ses only; no Council action is requested. Upon approval of the funding for temporary professional planners in fiscal year 1993-94 r the Council directed staff to return at midyear with updated information regarding the full cost recovery program. The Flanning Department has been utilizing temporary professional planners to assist in processing major Planning Division applications, while the Comprehensive Plan and other major development entitlements are in process. Twice Council has approved funds twice for tbe temporary planners. which were to be offset by fees from full cOBt recovery projects. For fiscal year 92-93, $46,800 was provided. and expended, for a temporary planner. Cost recovery fees earned during that fiscal year amo~ted to $95.337. For the current fiscal year, $145 r OOO has been provided for temporary planners. Based on current estimates. it is projected that approximately $110 r 560 of these funds will be expended. Cost recovery earnings are escimated to be $<12.080. Background The City Council previously approved, as part of the 1992-94 Budget and Fee schedule, the concept for full cost recovery fees for major planning projects. The intention of the full cost recovery program was, in part, to allow the hiring of temporary professional planners to assist with application processing during times of peak workload for the Planning Division. The cost of the temporary planner would be offset by fees from full cost recovery applications, whilE ensuring conti~ued high levels of customer A~rvice for all Planning Division applications and related projects. On November 16~ 1992. Council approved a budget .amendment ordinance in the a~Dth~t of $46,BOO to fund u~e of a temporary professional planner for the fiscal year :92-93. One planner was immediately hired on a part-time basis, and the entire $46.600 was expended during the fiscal year. This planner processed many applications (see Table 1) and al~o worked on some non-cost recovery projects, underfilling for cost-recovery work assigned to the projact manager (permanent staff) for Stanford's Sand Hill Corridor dev-elopment applications. On August 2, 1993, the Council approved a budget amendment ordinance in the amount of $145,000 to fund continued, ~~d increased, use of temporary planners in the current 93-94 fiscal year. The primary reason for the increase was the expected start up of the Palo Alto Medical Foundation~E proposed relocation to Urban Lane area. Cll"crent S t atu§ of Temporary PI anners The part-time planner hired in November of 1992 is being retained and is c'~rently processing several cost recovery applications. Since Council approved the additional funding in August of 1993~ an additional part-time planner has been hired. A contract planning manager has also been retained on a part-time basis. These two planners are working on the Palo Alto Medical Foundation project. Prior to hiring, the City executed an agreement with the Poundation, \L~der which PAMF will pay for the pl~er costs incurred prior to the filing of their applications. Once the applications are filed, which is anticipated in February 1994, they will be processed under the full cost recovery program. Cost Recovery PerfOrmance Table 1 (attached) provides a detailed acc~~tin9 of all cost recovery projects completed or in process for both the 1992-93 and the 1993-94 fi6~al years. Based on the information in this table~ as well as estimated work load for the remainder of the 1993-94 fiscal year, cost recovery performance is su!nmariz.ed below. Fees from cost recovery projects are applied to the year in which they were earned (i.e. when the work was done by the planner~ not when billing was sent to the applicanti . CMR,lSO,94 3/3/94 Page 2 Fiscal Year 1992-93 1993-94 • Estimated Division Actual P:lE!venues for Cost Ef:.cQygry Applications $ 95,337 $2.12,080* Temporary Planner Expenses $ 46,800 $110,560* The table above indicates that revenues received from cost recoverj projects are more than adequate to offset temporary planner expenses. However, as indi~ated in the two tables below, when comparing total budgeted revenue for cost recov-ery proj ects against actual reveDl.leS, the actual revenues fall short for FY 92-93, but are expected to be met for FY 93-94. In the tables below, -Department Revenue-is the amount that our FY's 92-94 budget projected would be earned for cost recovery applications. When Council approved funding for the temporary planners, budgeted revenue projections were increased by a corresponding amount (shown as -Temporary Planner Revenue"). In order to meet toeal revenue projections. we must earn both the originally budgeted revenue a as well as the -additional temporary planner revenue. aistorically; the Planning Division has not met projected revenues for planning applications; and as we developed our projections for the upcoming FY 94-95 budget, we uncovered errors in the projections for the FY;s 92-94. However~ we have recently spent considerable time reviev~ng our revenue projections and ocr cost recovery performance. and believe that our revenue projections for the upcoming FY 94-95 budget are more accurate than those for past years. Department Revenue Temporary Planner Revenue TOTAL REVENUE FROM COST RECOVERY APPLICATIONS Temporary Planner Expense CMR,180,94 FY 1.991-93 B);lQSet $ 82,850 46,800 129,650 46,800 ~ $ 62,567 32,770 95,337 46,800 Diff~ -$20,283 -14,030 34,313 0 3/3/94 Page 3 Y'i 1U3-H ~ A!;t,J.liil'" 01 f f~t:'itLU:;;!ii: Department Revenue $ 82,850 $ 34,825 -$48,025 Temporal.Y Planner Revenue 145,000 177,255 + 32,255 TOTAL REVENUE FROM COS T RBCOVERY APPLICATIONS 227,850 212,080 15,770 Temporary Planner Expense 145,000 110,560 34 .. 440 ... EetilUt-ed. Important it~ ~c note regaraing the summary for FY 1993-94 are: • The reduced planner expenses offset the negative revenue, resulting in total actual revenues exceeding budget projections by $18,670; • The temporary/contract planner revenues include $10,166 for the Byxbee House project at 535 Bryant Street. Since these fees were recently waived by the Council. cost recovery revenues will be reduced by this amow.t at year end. • Actual cost recovery revenaee and expenses are estimated based on projections which include, in addition to the various smaller applications expected on a regular basis, only the ongoing Stanford and PAMF proj ects. Should applications for any other large development projects, such as one of the Hyatt sites or the Times Tribune site. be received, both expenses and revenues would increase, Sbould expenses increase beyond the $145,000 already allocated, staff would return to ca~cil with a specific request for additional funding. Accounting ar4 Billing Prpcedures Planning staff has worked Buccessfully with accounting stat! over the last year to develop a cost recovery accounting and billing process. Applicants are now provided a regular status of their account, and billings are initiated when deposits are 80 percent depleted. SmI'Pary and Ccncluaipn The practice of using temporary and contract professional pl~~ers continues to be a successful and effective means to assure the provision of an adequate level of service tor development projects processed by the Planning Division. At this time, staff estimates that the $145,000 currently allocated 3/3/94 Page 4 j , .-.,".- for temporary and contract planners will be sufficient to handle anticipated wor.k loads through June 1994. Should any additional large development applications, or many simv.ltaneous smaller projects, be received, staff vill need to return to Council with &."1. additional reg\lest for temporary/contract planner funding. Funding for temporary and contract planners for fiscal year 1994- 95 viII he add1~essed during review of the Planning Department's proposed ~994-95 budget. ~e~tfuIIY s~tted, XA\'J~l LORI TOP~ r Senior Plannefr ~~ City Manager KENNETH R. SCHRE IBER Director of Planning and Community Environment Attachment: Table 1~ Cost Recov'ery Project Accounting Related CMRs, CMR, 512,92 CMR,426,93 CMR, 180,94 3/3/94 Page 5 ./ r ABLE 1 COST RECOVER1 PRQJfC; ACCQ/NTINt, ~s Of 121 31193 Z{J/t OWt>ES ~ ~ ~~ ~ ~ ~ 4269 E1 Camino f 6.000 $ 6.000 (iarnardd:) 92-93 Yes 340a £1 Camino S 3.000 $ 3.000 92-93 (Cr~S)de Inn) Yes 6:'01640 Page HiJ 1 S 6.336 S 6.336 92-93 (/-1') dlso CPA Yes 4277 Ni ramta S 13.450 $ 1.907 92·93 (Bay Hedlth) $11.M3 93-94 Yes 625 £7 Camino $ 6.056 $ 4.325 (Holiday Inn) 92-93 Yes $ 1.731 93'94 J401 Mill! S 11.663 $ 5.278 (Alma PlaZa) 92-93 110 $ 5,405 93-94 4156 £1 Camino $ 1l.636 $11.536 U'!otel ) 93-94 110 5J5 8rYant 1 10.166 SlO.166 (By~ HoUse) 93-94 Yes Stanford llest $ 5.075 $ 5.075 ("Ulti -fami Iy) 92-93 No $ 0 93'94- Stanford IreS! $ 3.750 $ J.750 (Semor) 92-93 110 $ a 93'94' 4{)O Einerson $ B/J4 $ B/l4 (81iO 93-94 Yes SlTf A/() DESIGN ~ ~ ~GJiL ~ ~ 4{)01 Page 11111 $ 4.924 $ 4.924 92-93 (TOfly Tam; Yes 3000 Alexis $ 3.395 $ 3.395 93-94 iPA HI/Is) No Hiltiidero Cree/( S 12.230 $12.230 93-94 (!'hase Y) 110 Sand Hi 1J Road $ 7.77, s 7.712 92-93 Q 9J-94> 110 -.... ~ -.. ''. ~ •• ~.t .. >,- TABLE 1 (Continued) ENVIRCH£rfTAL IMPACT REPORTS ~ Staff Chi r~~ Stilnford West $ 23.742 Sand Hill ROild 1 22.228 PRE-APPLICATIONS fr:ll.if!;:!. SU ff C~i Cll!:~ ?M1f -Urban lane S 3.625 TOTAl REVENUES RevenJ,!f 123.742 0 122.228 0 RevfQ~ $ 3.625 S 95.337 S 68.615 Year Earned ~ 92·93 No 93-94* 92·93 No 93·94* Yei2r Earr1~~ ~ 93-94 No 92-93 93·94 (includes addltional IS.OOD for Stanford projects) • An additiooal 18. DOD has been cherged to these accounts for 93-94. but is not ShCWl here because the distribution among the projects has not yet been deternnned. '--.:':,.'"