Fortuna council adopts new fee schedule, shifts most building permits to valuation-based fees

The Fortuna City Council unanimously adopted Resolution 2026-18 on May 18, 2026, updating the city’s schedule of fees and charges for administrative services, the building department, community development, parks and recreation, police, River Lodge, transit, and water and wastewater.

City staff told the council the fee package is intended to respond to rising operational costs and to improve transparency. “There’s an increase to a majority of the building department fees of 2.9%, which is consistent with the consumer price index for 2025,” said city staff during the presentation. The staff described a second, larger change that will base most building permit fees (excluding over-the-counter permits such as roofing and water-heater permits) on estimated construction valuation to align Fortuna’s approach with neighboring cities.

Staff said the valuation-based change is designed to give applicants clearer expectations about fees and to support long-term sustainability of the building division. According to the staff presentation, the building department’s proposed expense budget for 2026–27 is $341,627; the proposed fee revenue is $332,325, leaving a general fund subsidy of about $9,302. Staff estimated the valuation-based adjustments would bring in approximately $8,500 and noted that moving to full cost recovery would require about an additional 3% across the board.

Council members asked how a typical single-family home would be affected. City staff said it depends on valuation but that sample scenarios showed single-family permits could be about 10%–15% higher under the new structure; over-the-counter permits were largely held to the 2.9% CPI adjustment to avoid burdening small repairs.

A member of the public and councilors requested that future fee discussions consider how fees and any program subsidies could support recreation opportunities for youth and affordable housing; staff noted fee reductions would need to be offset by cuts elsewhere or by grants.

The ordinance was moved, seconded and adopted by roll call vote: Council member Conley Aye; Council member Stevens Yes; Mayor Pro Tem Trent Yes; Mayor Mike Johnson Yes. The council also removed a duplicative permit-issuance fee listed under individual building-permit categories so that a single issuance fee appears at the start of the schedule.

The resolution takes effect as adopted; the staff presentation, comparison charts to Arcata and Eureka, and the full fee schedule are available with the city agenda materials online.