City of Findlay planning staff presented a proposed revision of zoning and permitting fees designed to recover a larger share of the Planning Department’s operating budget and to simplify the fee schedule.

Staff told the committee the proposal generally doubles the current fee schedule. Using a three‑year average of permit activity, the proposed fees would raise the department’s permit revenue to cover about 33% of its operating budget; using 2025 year‑to‑date activity annualized, staff estimated the proposed schedule would cover nearly 40% of operating costs. Staff emphasized they did not attempt to fully fund the department from user fees because doing so could make permits prohibitively expensive and discourage compliance. Eric, a planning staff member, said the proposal was informed by neighboring jurisdictions’ fee levels and by a desire to remain user-friendly for businesses and residents.

The committee discussed simplification of square‑foot fee tiers (for example, making a single residential fee up to 2,500 square feet and using broader increments for larger projects), sign fees (square‑foot based), sidewalk‑cafe permits (annual renewals and ADA compliance checks), and penalties for work without permits (outlined as multiples of the permit fee). Committee members asked staff to ensure simplification would not materially reduce projected revenue. Staff and committee also discussed increasing fees for legal notices tied to appeals and vacations — items that have not been updated in decades and for which current fees (historically $75) do not cover modern publication and legal costs; staff proposed increasing those fees and returning with refined figures.

The committee did not vote to adopt fees at this meeting. Members asked staff to further refine the fee schedule, consolidate rows where practical, and return with a revised proposal at the Committee’s October meeting so the city can consider adopting the changes before the 2026 budget cycle.