Land use director says permit fees cover ~50% of costs; wildfire and code updates coming

Director Lambo briefed the Quality of Life Committee on several land‑use initiatives and cost‑recovery challenges. She reported that the department currently recovers roughly 50% of processing costs for permits, inspections and licenses and that fees were last updated in 2021; staff plan a phased approach to fee adjustments and may recommend annual percentage indexing to reflect increasing costs.

Lambo also said staff will bring a draft future land use map and character frameworks to a study session, and provided an overview of the land development code update and historic preservation amendments. She noted a parallel track of work with the fire department to draft wildland‑urban‑interface standards intended to harden structures and improve wildfire response, and said staff will hold workshops with departments and return to council with recommendations and timelines.