It’s not just the building department turmoil or the building restrictions that have some residents up in arms. Atherton’s excavation surcharge, a $22-per-cubic-yard fee that’s triggered whenever dirt is hauled on- or off-site, has incited vociferous protests and threats of legal action.
The City Council imposed the fee in mid-May of 2005, to pay for damage to the town’s roads caused by heavy, dirt-laden trucks. A study commissioned by the town found that passenger vehicles have a negligible impact on roads, but that heavy construction vehicles — and particularly trucks loaded with dirt from basement excavations — are the major cause of the estimated $1.5 million in annual damage to Atherton roads.
Because of the controversy, the fate of the off-haul fee is uncertain. The council requested a review of the legal status of the excavation surcharge and it’s on the agenda of the Wednesday, September 20, City Council meeting.
Atherton has issued 20 excavation permits and collected a little over $350,000 in fees, according to Gary Binger, the town’s interim planning/building administrator. Because of questions about the legality of the fee, since the end of June the town has entered into four standstill agreements with property owners, allowing excavation projects to go forward without paying the fee, he said. The standstill agreements preserve Atherton’s right to collect the fees later.
One of the Atherton homeowners with a standstill agreement is state Controller Steve Westly. Mr. Binger could not provide the Almanac with the dollar value of the fees associated with the standstill agreements, as some of the building plans, including the Westlys’, are being revised, he said.
Mayor Charles Marsala said he couldn’t comment on whether the town would have to refund the excavation fees if the City Council reverses itself following the legal review.
The excavation fee is also tied to the upheaval in the building department. An internal audit found the building department failed to charge about $134,000 in excavation fees when the surcharge first took effect. Although duplicitous developers were blamed in several of the cases, the audit indicated that building department staff helped some property owners avoid paying fees and mishandled their permit applications.
INFORMATION
The Atherton City Council is set to discuss the controversial surcharge on excavation off-haul at its regular meeting on Wednesday, September 20, at the Jennings Pavilion in Holbrook-Palmer Park, 150 Watkins Avenue. The meeting starts at 7 p.m. Call 752-0500.
