REAL ESTATE : County, Cities Called Inconsistent in Amounts Set for Developer Fees

Orange County and its 27 cities do not take a very consistent stance regarding developer fees, says a recent survey for the local building industry.

Developer fees are the fees local governments charge developers for the cost of providing roads, sewers and the like to their new subdivisions.

The builders frequently complain that the fees are higher than the amount the city actually requires to pave the roads and lay sewer pipe.

One example of what the industry called an “inconsistent” fee structure: Building permit fees were $644 in Orange, $689 in Stanton, $900 in Laguna Beach and $1,695 in San Juan Capistrano.

The Orange County region of the Building Industry Assn. of Southern California, which commissioned the study, said fees in the county are higher on the average than elsewhere in the state. About 30% of the price of a new home pays for taxes, development fees and “the costs involved in the lengthy building approval process,” the trade association said.