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4 <br />USER FEE REPORT II (CONTINUED) <br />Planning -Erosion Control <br />In follow up to the May 6, 1998 report on user fees, we have further reviewed the fees in <br />this program area. Concerns related to the time and effort spent on intense urban projects, <br />the possible need for additional staff to increase the level of oversight that can be <br />provided in the field for erosion control activities, and changes to the current fee schedule <br />that would be needed to fund this higher level of oversight, have been discussed in detail <br />with the appropriate Planning Department Staff. <br />Categorization of Erosion Control Sites <br />Erosion Control Supervisor Warren Faircloth has provided the following information <br />regarding disturbance classifications used and changes in the nature of development over <br />the years that should be considered in deliberations about changes to the County's current <br />erosion control fee scheduler <br />Rural: outside of municipalities; only a small portion of the site will be disturbed; <br />typically a private, gravel road. <br />Urban: those that do not clearly meet the definition of a rural disturbance; located <br />within a municipality; less than 50% of tract disturbed; and a paved road to NC DOT <br />standards. <br />• Intense Urban: 50% or more of the tract uncovered; typically apartments and <br />commercial sites. <br />Concerning the burden placed on "mom and pop" developers, there are few of these. <br />Most private roads (a rural disturbance) in the past few years have been built by <br />developers who subdivided and then sold the lots. The erosion control plan preparation <br />by a surveyor is probably a more substantial cost ($500 to $1,000) than the fees (currently <br />about $62 + $132 = $194) fora 1,000' long road. The occasional "mom and pop" <br />situations can usually be handled by phasing the road construction so that permits are not <br />required. <br />The rural and urban projects, in general, take less time because there is room for the <br />required erosion and sediment control devices to be put out of the way of construction <br />and are less likely to be damaged. On the Intense Urban sites this is not the case due to <br />the density; therefore, more frequent inspections are needed to ensure devices have not <br />been damaged or removed. <br />Raising only the Intense Urban fee could pose a problem if there is a down turn in the <br />economy and this type of development stops, as it did a few years ago when commercial <br />