During Tuesday’s FY26 fee schedule workshop, county planning staff and commissioners discussed adding explicit fees for commercial solar energy site‑plan reviews and a proposed fee for a pre‑Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (pre‑CPCN) site‑plan review.

The county’s draft FY26 fee schedule circulated in the meeting packet highlights proposed additional fees for major site-plan reviews and specifically calls out commercial solar systems. Planning staff asked whether the county should charge for a pre‑CPCN review — an early, informal review of incomplete filings submitted to the county before developers file with the Public Service Commission (PSC).

Why it matters: Planning staff said developers frequently submit grossly inadequate pre‑application materials that require significant staff time to review and return with deficiency notices. Commissioners and the county attorney said fees are intended to cover the cost of services rather than generate revenue, and they saw no statutory prohibition to charging a fee if the charge is proportionate to staff time.

Key details: County counsel and planning staff agreed to quantify staff hours spent on typical pre‑CPCN reviews so they can propose a commensurate fee. Commissioners asked staff to investigate the PSC filing fee (noted in the meeting as $10,000 but not confirmed) and to follow up by email with more precise figures. Staff committed to return with a recommended fee amount and the hours the recommendation is based on.

What’s next: Planning and codes staff will calculate the average hours spent reviewing pre‑application filings and present a recommended fee schedule at a future budget workshop. The fee recommendation will be weighed against state rules and the county’s ordinance on fees.

Provenance: Workshop discussion and requests for follow-up appear in the transcript from ~740–1033.

Ending: Commissioners signaled support for a staff recommendation rather than immediate adoption; no fee was adopted at Tuesday’s workshop.