On June 3, City Council approved changes to the Master Fee Schedule, which affects multiple departments. Changes include new parking citations for blocking bike lanes or parking within 20 feet of crosswalks, reduced fees for home improvement upgrades, increased fees for concealed carry weapon permits, and a new fee for monitoring vacant buildings.
Council also approved amending the Universal Residential Design Ordinance to ensure that townhome-style developments are no longer penalized by accessibility requirements they physically cannot meet. Finally, Council approved a 3% annual increase in sewer service charges.
Master Fee Schedule updates
Senior Financial Analyst Carlos Figueroa presented proposed updates to the FY 2025-26 Master Fee Schedule (link downloads document). The revisions aim to align City fees with inflation, ensure cost recovery, and support effective service delivery.
Key changes include:
- Public Works: Added parking citations—$75 (for parking in bike lanes), $45 (for parking in Electric Vehicle charging spaces), $40 (for parking within 20 feet of crosswalks).
- Library: Eliminated lost card and item processing fees; added replacement fees for new equipment (e.g., laptops).
- Police: Increased Concealed Carry Weapon (CCW) permit fees to better reflect the time and resources needed for processing applications.
- Fire: For FY 25-26, increased non-emergency medical fees by 9%, raised inspection fees, and bundled first responder fees into ambulance transport fees. Free services maintained include nonmedical assistance, patient refusals, Dead on Arrival (DOA) calls, and law enforcement calls. The department is targeting full cost recovery in seven years.
- Code Enforcement: Added a $2,906 vacant building monitoring fee and a $981 tobacco retailer license fee. Replaced an unpermitted work penalty with a staff-time-based fee.
- Planning and Building: Reduced home improvement fees to encourage upgrades, increased planning fees to cover costs, increased technology fee, and added mechanical, electrical, and plumbing inspection fees.
- Other: Special event permits increased by 2.7%; rent program fees increased by 1.3%. Staff recommended that the Council adopt the new schedule to maintain service quality and fiscal stability.
Council comment
Vice Mayor Michele Pryor asked how residents will know not to park within 20 feet of a crosswalk. Public Works Director Erin Smith explained that the City plans on painting curbs for clarity. The goal is to improve visibility and pedestrian safety.
Councilmember Tony Daysog questioned the steep increase in ambulance transport fees from $3,665 in the previous year to $4,530. Fire Chief Nick Luby explained that the City is one of four agencies with its own transport rights under a contract with Alameda County. The County sets an allowable rate based on the Consumer Price Index and cost studies. While the City could technically charge less, they follow the County standard for parity across jurisdictions.
Assistant City Manager Amy Wooldridge added that there is a financial hardship program for uninsured individuals, ensuring that some can receive services at no cost, depending on their income.
Councilmember Tracy Jensen inquired whether the vacant building fee applies to both commercial and residential properties. Staff clarified that it applies to any vacant building or lot citywide and covers the monthly inspections by city staff to ensure the property does not pose health, safety, or nuisance risks as required by the vacant building ordinance. Property owners may apply for an exemption based on hardship, rehabilitation in progress, active marketing, or temporary vacancy such as for travel.
Council unanimously approved the updated Master Fee Schedule with a 5-0 vote.
Universal Design Ordinance updates
Staff Planner Tristan Suire presented proposed amendments to Alameda’s Universal Design Ordinance, which promotes housing accessibility. The proposed changes aim to enhance implementation and address challenges associated with townhome-style developments.
The Universal Design Ordinance is not state-mandated but reflects Alameda’s commitment to accessible housing. It requires 100% of new units in new housing projects to be visitable, where some rooms are accessible from an exterior entry, and 30% of units in projects with five or more units to be universally designed to meet additional accessibility requirements.
Townhomes frequently require waivers due to their elevated foundations, which are necessary for sea-level rise adaptation, making accessible entries impractical, and multistory layouts that limit accessible room design.
The proposed changes introduce narrow, targeted exemptions for townhouses, exempting features that are physically infeasible and retaining features that can still be accommodated (e.g., wall reinforcements in bathrooms to accommodate handrails). The changes also differentiate between small and large projects, recognizing the greater ease of varying building features in larger projects.
Proposed changes included exempting townhomes with less than 150 square feet of habitable first-floor space (typically due to garages) from the visitability requirements and townhome developments with fewer than 10 units from the 30% universal design requirement. Features that can be accommodated will still be required.
There will also be updates to decision-making authority, terminology, and administrative requirements. The proposed amendments were previously reviewed by the Planning Board and Commission on Persons with Disabilities, receiving unanimous recommendations for approval.
Council unanimously approved the update.
Sewer rate increase
Public Works Director Erin Smith presented a proposed ordinance to increase Alameda’s sewer service charges by 3% annually for the next five years.
Alameda owns the local sewer collection system, which connects to East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) interceptor pipes. The system is separate from the stormwater network, but leaks and cross-connections allow stormwater into sewer pipes, causing capacity issues during wet weather.
In 2014, Alameda entered into a 23-year consent decree with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Department of Justice, and the local water board, which required reductions in wet weather flows to allow the phasing out of EBMUD’s wet weather treatment facilities. Key obligations included replacing pipelines, renovating pump stations, and reducing overflows. The City met its first EPA performance check-in in 2022; the next one is scheduled for 2030.
The City proposed a 3% annual rate revenue increase over five years to fund necessary capital projects, among other obligations. In April, the City mailed notice of the proposed rate increase to over 19,000 property owners. If a majority of property owners were to protest, the increase could not proceed. The City received only seven protests.
Council voted unanimously to approve the sewer rate increase.
Contributing writer Karin K. Jensen covers boards and commissions for the Alameda Post. Contact her via [email protected]. Her writing is collected at https://linktr.ee/karinkjensen and https://alamedapost.com/Karin-K-Jensen.
