Every now and then, the City of San Luis Obispo reviews its list of fees and updates the prices to make sure they match what it actually costs to provide these services. This helps everyone plan their expenses better when they need something from the City. Here you will find the latest information regarding City fee studies.

User Fees

Like many municipal government agencies, the City of San Luis Obispo charges fees for using highly individualized services. But how does the City determine the price of those fees?  That's where a fee study comes in. 

Public Input Opportunities

June 3 - 14, 2024: Public review and feedback period via Open City Hall (see submitted statements)

July 2, 2024: City Council Public Hearing at City Hall, 990 Palm Street

• Visit slocity.org/agendas to download the staff report and meeting agenda packet one week prior to the hearing
• Email comments to emailcouncil@slocity.org.

About the Fee Study

To ensure that we are recovering the full cost of providing these services and are not overcharging users, the city studies its fees about every five years. Not only does this help maintain a balanced budget, but it also ensures that only the people who use the services pay for them (taking the burden off taxpayers for services they aren't using regularly). 

Every year, though, user fees are adjusted based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and impact fees are adjusted annually by the California Construction Cost Index (CCCI) for impact fees, as the City has been impacted by cost increases and inflationary pressures on labor, materials and supplies. In rare cases, additional fee changes have been made to ensure that cost are recovered in line with Council-approved guidelines. 

The City provides a list of all user fees in a document called the "fee schedule" to keep track of the fees and help everyone know how much they need to pay for using these services, which include:

• Planning, engineering, and building and safety permitting services for projects on private property like construction permits, construction inspections, and rezoning. 
• Public Works services, like parking permits; 
• Business-related services, like retail cannabis business applications or business licenses; 
• Police and fire department services, such as response to excessive false alarms or hazardous materials handling; 
• and Utilities services, such as water meter installations on private property.

In California, user fees are required to conform to the statutory requirements of the California Constitution, Proposition 218, and the California Code of Regulations. The law also requires that the City Council adopt fees by either ordinance or resolution. Any fees set higher than the estimated total cost of providing the related services must be approved by a popular vote of two-thirds of voters because the charge would then be considered a tax and not a fee. 

The scope of the User Fee Study encompasses a review and calculation of the user fees listed in the existing Comprehensive Fee Schedule and charged by the following City of San Luis Obispo Departments, as well as any general government fees charged by various departments (copies, recordings, etc).

• Community Development
• Public Works
• Parks & Recreation
• Police
• Fire
• Finance
• City Clerk
• Utilities

This study has been postponed. More information will be provided soon. 

Contact Us

For questions or comments, please contact Debbie Malicoat, dmalicoat@slocity.org.