The application fees for a residential or commercial variance in Warrenton have increased from $125 to $1,500, after the board approved the measure at its March 18 meeting.
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The application fees for a residential or commercial variance in Warrenton have increased from $125 to $1,500, after the board approved the measure at its March 18 meeting.
City Administrator Brandie Walters said the increase was because of costs associated with paying a court reporter to attend and record variance proceedings per Missouri Revised Statutes section 89.080.
She said the city was recently informed by their legal counsel a court reporter is required to attend those proceedings, including board decisions at the planning and zoning commission and the board of aldermen and the prerequisite public hearing for a variance.
In order to recoup those costs, Walters said they increased the fee schedule.
“We weren’t aware that you had to have a court recorder at all those hearings,” said Walters.
She did clarify that variance applications in Warrenton are rare and the last one approved by the city took place in 2019.
The city held a public hearing on the increases at the March 6 planning and zoning commission meeting, and according to the amendment, there were no comments at the hearing.
She said the changes would not impact any existing variances and would only be applied to future applications.
The city based its fee schedule on the costs of court reporters and other cities with similar ordinances. Walters said in their research they found those costs typically start at $1,000 and increase depending on the length of the required transcript. She said a large portion of those costs are also related to after hours travel expenses.
Both the Warrenton Board of Aldermen and the planning and zoning commission meet at 6 p.m. on weeknights, outside of normal business hours.
“To ensure the city can fully recover these costs, as well as administrative costs associated with (variances) we believe it is necessary to adjust our fee schedule accordingly,” said Walters.
Property owners can request variances to make changes to their property that are outside of the acceptable land uses their property is zoned as.
The changes to the fee schedule also imposed a $100 fee to vacate utility easements on their property. The city had previously been offering the service for free but Walters said administrative costs related to the process had been piling up and the fee was set to help cover those costs.
