Council updates development application fees, adds standard notification fee

The Rockwall City Council unanimously adopted a text amendment on April 20 to update the Unified Development Code fee schedule for development applications. City staff said the current schedule dates to 2005 and no longer covers administrative and notification costs.

Key changes approved include establishing a $150 notification fee for all cases requiring public notice, standardizing acreage calculations to $20 per acre for fee computation, raising base fees for many application types, and differentiating residential and nonresidential application costs so residential specific‑use permits remain relatively lower.

Planning staff said the fee increases are intended to recover administrative costs rather than generate revenue; the Planning & Zoning Commission recommended approval 7–0. Councilmember Campbell moved approval; Councilmember Dennis Lewis seconded and the council voted unanimously to adopt the ordinance amending Section 10 (fee schedule) of Article 11 of the UDC.