A lengthy discussion was had on Monday night at the City Council meeting on the topic of various fees for infrastructure costs within the Clovis housing industry. The discussion, amongst the council and city staff, mentioned numbers, housing jargon, and industrial terms that implicated one thing, the price of housing in Clovis is going to rise.
Council members alike had many of the same questions to ask city staff from the Planning and Development Services Department. This Planning and Services Department has been having discussion on the topic since March according to their staff, but did not have knowledge of such a high rise in price until recently. With rising costs in almost every aspect of life now, this rise in housing is emulated.
Three items were considered at Monday’s City Council meeting which included the Master Development Fee Schedule, a resolution amending the Plan Check, Inspection Services, Encroachment Permits and Community Investment Program rates, as well as a request to approve the 2022 City of Clovis Planning Division Fee Schedule.
In consultation with the industry, staff has also tracked the CCI and recognized that the “numbers have continued to go up”. The last time that a development fee update was officially made was eighteen months ago according to staff, and the reasoning behind this update being so long ago was because of a “code” written in which a year and a half’s worth of time is passed before numbers are transposed to council.
Ultimately, staff looked for direction from council in regards with how to proceed with the three items, but before the council took a vote, multiple members of the building industry took to the podium to discuss their opposition to the numbers provided by staff. The main issue members of the building industry had was the cost of building homes. These “developer fees” will be passed on to homebuyers, resulting in the rise in cost of buying a home. With these extra costs, homebuyers will be less likely to buy in Clovis if the prices continue to be too steep.
“We wanted to do the full update but we’re suggesting half implementation”, said staff to council. The council ultimately voted 3-2 in favor of raising prices 15%, and not the 27%-40% that staff had originally asked for.