(Riley County, KS – March 20, 2023) Starting this month, some fees associated with environmental health permits, land use permits, and licensing processes will increase to help offset county costs. However, Riley County will continue to cover the bulk of the costs for all Planning & Development and Environmental Health Services.
“The applicant will still only be responsible for a portion of the expense,” said Planning and Development Department Director, Amanda Webb. “The increases will help offset county costs, but we are not putting the entire burden on the applicant. Our goal is a balanced and fair approach that reflects responsible stewardship of tax funds.”
Fees for services such as wastewater system repair permits, mobile home park licensing, and publishing of public notices will increase, but the county will continue to absorb the remainder of the costs as part of the annual Planning & Development Budget.
“Previously, we weren’t charging applicants to publish the required public notices and the existing fees were not covering these expenses,” said Webb. “Charging a flat fee seemed like a fair approach.”
Mobile home park (MHP) licensing fees have increased based on the intensive amount of staff time needed for the process. Previously, applicants were charged $5 per unit, for either a new license or a renewal license, with a maximum fee of $300. Applicants will be charged a flat fee of $150 for initial licenses and $75 for renewal licenses plus $5 per unit over 50 units, both with a maximum of $500.
“A lot of work goes into licensing or renewing a license for mobile home parks, including site inspections of each unit, each space, and the entire facility,” said Webb.
Summary of Fee Changes
- Added flat $50 for applications that require a public hearing and public notice publishing.
- Added flat $50 for applications that require resolution publishing.
- Added fees for two new land use processes added with the January 1, 2022 Land Development Regulations – Administrative Adjustment and Exception – both $100.
- Increased major wastewater repair permit fee to $100 (increase of $25).
- Added minor wastewater repair permit fee to $50 (increase of $50).
- Increased fees for Alternative System Installer initial license ($150) and renewal license ($50). Both are considered increases because the department was previously only charging a base fee for standard installers and the alternative installer came along with it, whether someone did it or not.
- Increased fee for Excavation initial license to $200 (increase of $50). The renewal license decreased to $100 (decrease of $50).
- Increased fees for Mobile Home Park licenses – increased initial license fee to $150 + $5 per unit over 50 units ($500 max). Increased renewal license fee to $75 + $5 per unit over 50 units ($500 max).
The Planning and Development Department has a staff of 5.5 FTE employees to serve the unincorporated areas of Riley County, which covers roughly 600 square miles. Their mission is to coordinate the design, adoption and implementation of comprehensive planning which shall strive to ensure that all resources of the county are preserved, developed and managed consistently with adopted policies that promote the highest quality of life for present and future residents.
Find more information about Riley County Planning and Development and Environmental Health at https://www.rileycountyks.gov/367/Planning-Development or by calling 785-537-6332.
