Council to Vote on Building Fee

The City Council tonight is scheduled to vote on a $725 increase in the fee for building a single-family home in the city.

The money would go into a city fund to buy land for new parks.

The city’s existing Park Acquisition and Development Fee for a single-family home is $2,395.

The fee is one of several developers must pay for approval to build a new house. The cost ultimately is passed on to the home buyer.

A City Council study found that the park-acquisition fee had not been increased since 1982.

The report calls for no increase in Huntington Beach fees on construction of new apartments with two bedrooms or less. But the report says an increase, from the present $1,941 to a suggested $2,529, should be made in the fee for building new apartments with three or more bedrooms.

In other business scheduled for tonight’s council meeting, Councilman Don MacAllister has asked for a staff report on the proposed youth sports complex in Central Park following the city’s passage Nov. 6 of Measure C. That citizens’ initiative prohibits sale or lease of city park or beach land without a citywide vote. It also prohibits, without a citywide vote, construction of any new buildings in the parks that would exceed 3,000 square feet or which would cost more than $100,000.

Some critics of Measure C have charged that its restrictions mean the city cannot build, without a citywide vote, the proposed new gym, indoor pool and other projects tentatively scheduled for Central Park.