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Agenda 02/12/2013 Item #16A192/12/2013 16.A.19. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Recommendation to approve a Rezone petition fee reduction request for the proposed Ohlis Rezone and provide direction to the County Manager or his designee to evaluate down zoning applications as part of the Hearing Officer analysis. OBJECTIVE: To have the Board of County Commissioners (BCC) authorize a fee adjustment for a review of a Rezone petition and add down zoning applications to staff's analysis for a Hearing Officer. CONSIDERATIONS: The applicant for the Ohlis Rezone petition is planning to submit an application to rezone the existing sunsetted VFW Planned Unit Development (PUD) from PUD to the Estates (E) zoning district. The VFW PUD was approved by the BCC in Ordinance 75 -29 on January 25, 1975 and subsequently sunsetted with Resolution 2003 -53 on January 28, 2003. The applicant for the rezone purchased the property in 2012 and wishes to rezone the development back to the Estate zoning district. The surrounding parcels have remained Estates zoned and are developed with residential dwellings consistent with this district. In effect this petition will constitute a down zoning action from the more intense VFW use to the less intensive residential use consistent with the surrounding neighborhood. The reduction in fee requested for this Rezone petition is consistent with reduced staff review and processing efforts required for this down zoning request. Staff has conducted the required pre - application meeting with the applicant and no issues were raised during the meeting and staff agreed that review- processing efforts would be reduced due to the relative simplicity of the request. The current fee code, adopted on October 11, 2011 requires petitioners to pay a base review fee of $6,000.00 plus $25.00 per acre to cover, staff reviews and processing, plus public advertising fees. The applicant is seeking a reduction in the base review fee in recognition of the reduced staff efforts noted above. Staff is proposing that the applicant pay for advertising and the actual staff time (not to exceed $1,500.00) required to review and process the rezone. FEE COMPARISON Rezone Petition application fee per fee Code Plus $25.00 /acre $ 6,000.00 Amount of relief sought by applicant: Actual staff time not to exceed $ 1,500.00 The Collier County Growth Management Division / Planning and Regulation Fee Schedule states that only the BCC can reduce or waive fees, therefore staff advised the applicant that BCC approval would be required for this request. Due to the atypical amount of time and effort that will be needed to complete the Rezone process staff supports a fee reduction for the Ohlis Rezone petition. If approved, the applicant will pay for all other applicable fees including advertising fees, etc. according to the adopted fee schedule. The BCC has approved other fee reductions in the past where the average fee for service in the fee schedule is significantly inconsistent with the effort required to provide the service. Packet Page -1298- 2/12/2013 16.A.19. n Additionally, the Board approved item 16Al2 on January 22, 2013 which included the following language in the executive summary: 2. The establishment of a Hearing Officer. This position would be appointed and report directly to the Board. It may also qual fy for funding through the General Fund. Staff requests direction to explore the financial commitment of a Hearing Officer. In addition, to identify ifother land use petitions could be reviewed by the Headng Officer in order to maximize the financial investment of the County as well as utilize their expertise and the quasi -iudicial function they wouldpeerform. The language underlined for emphasis above notes that the role of the Hearing Officer could be expanded to consider other petitions in an expedient, transparent, and cost efficient manner. The Ohlis Rezone is another example where the process could be handled through a Hearing Officer. FISCAL IMPACT: The proposed reduced fee is commensurate with the reduced staff effort required to review and process the Rezone petition. GROWTH MANAGEMENT PLAN IMPACT: The Growth Management Plan (GMP) does not address fees thus no impact to the GMP is anticipated. LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS: This item has been reviewed by the County Attorney. The purpose of regulatory fees is to pay the cost of the regulatory activity for which they are imposed; such fees cannot exceed the cost of the regulatory activity. Accordingly, this item is legally sufficient, and requires majority support for approval. -JAK RECOMMENDATION: That the BCC approve the requested fee reduction and directs the County Manager or his designee to consider down zoning applications as part of the Hearing Officer evaluation. Prepared By: Nick Casalanguida, Administrator, Growth Management Division Packet Page -1299- 2/12/2013 16.A.19. COLLIER COUNTY Board of County Commissioners Item Number: 16.16.A.16.A.19. Item Summary: Recommendation to approve a Rezone petition fee reduction request for the proposed Ohlis Rezone and provide direction to the County Manager or his designee to evaluate down zoning applications as part of the Hearing Officer analysis. Meeting Date: 2/12/2013 Prepared By Name: PuigJudy Title: Operations Analyst, GMD P &R 2/4/2013 9:06:40 AM Submitted by Title: Deputy Administrator - GMD,Business Management & B Name: CasalanguidaNick 2/4/2013 9:06:41 AM Approved By Name: PuigJudy Title: Operations Analyst, GMD P &R Date: 2 /4/2013 9:19:57 AM Name: MarcellaJeanne Title: Executive Secretary,Transportation Planning Date: 2/4/2013 10:08:15 AM Name: FinnEd Title: Senior Budget Analyst, OMB Date: 2/4/2013 3:19:14 PM Name: KlatzkowJeff Title: County Attorney Date: 2/4/2013 4:28:34 PM Packet Page -1300- Name: OchsLeo Title: County Manager Date: 2/5/2013 9:31:08 AM Packet Page -1301- 2/12/2013 16.A.19.