The cost of a single-family home building permit could increase by as much as 60 percent under impact and mitigation fees being proposed by the city's planning department.

The proposed fees will be the subject of an open house from 4-7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 9, at the Sequim Transit Center, 190 W. Cedar St.

The fees would help pay for development's impacts to parks and recreation, transportation, government buildings such as the police station and city hall and public safety.

Planning Director Dennis Lefevre said impact fees are charged to developers for citywide impacts to infrastructure created by their developments.

Mitigation fees are assessed through the State Environmental Policy Act review process and are specific to infrastructure in the area surrounding a project.

If council approves all the fees, they could add as much as $9,037 to the current $15,800 building permit cost for a single-family home in the city, including the general facilities charges for connecting to water and sewer service.

They would target four areas: general government buildings, such as a new city hall; parks and recreation, such as improving Keeler Park; police and public safety buildings, such as a new police department; and transportation.

Sequim would become the first North Olympic Peninsula city to charge impact and mitigation fees.

The Feb. 9 open house will include a question-and-answer session and an opportunity for written comments.

Staff from the city and its consultant, Henderson and Young, will present those comments and questions to the council during a study session from 5-6 p.m. Monday, Feb. 22, at the Sequim Transit Center, 190 W. Cedar St.

The proposed impact fees will be presented at a planning commission meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 16, at the Transit Center. They also will be presented at a Monday, Feb. 8, meeting and a Monday, March 8, public hearing, both beginning at 6 p.m. at the Transit Center.

The planning commission first reviewed the proposed fees at its Tuesday, Feb. 2, meeting.



Study the study

Drafts of the rate studies used to determine the fees are available on the city's Web page (www.ci.sequim.wa.us); at the Sequim Library, 630 N. Sequim Ave.; City Hall, 152 W. Cedar St.; and the Planning and Public Works Department, 615 N. Fifth Ave.



Reach Brian Gawley at bgawley@sequimgazette.com.