SEC. 8.43. MAYOR'S OFFICE OF HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATIVE FEES.

(a) Authority. The Mayor's Office of Housing and Community Development or its successor ("MOHCD") is hereby authorized to charge fees to defray the cost of issuing, administering, and processing documents related to certain housing transactions. Said fees shall be due at the time of filing an application. Failure to pay such fees shall result in a return of the application as incomplete to the applicant. Any persons requesting or requiring the following services shall pay the following fees:

Fees charged for other actions not specified above shall be based on actual costs that MOHCD incurs in administering and processing the action or procedure and shall be charged on a time and materials basis. MOHCD shall provide the applicant with a written estimate of said costs at the time of application, and the applicant shall pay such fees prior to the time that the application is deemed complete. To the extent that the estimated fees do not cover actual costs, any outstanding amount due shall be a condition of MOHCD's final decision on the action or procedure. To the extent that the estimated fees exceeded the actual costs, MOHCD shall refund the excess amount to the applicant within a reasonable period after MOHCD's final decision on the action or procedure.

(b) Additional Costs. In instances where administration of any application or document is or will exceed the fee amount established pursuant to Subsection 8.43(a), the Director of the Mayor's Office of Housing and Community Development, in his or her discretion, may require an applicant to pay a sum in excess of the subject fee amounts. This additional sum shall be sufficient to recover actual costs that MOHCD incurs and shall be charged on a time and materials basis. The Director also may charge any time or materials costs that other agencies, boards, commissions, or departments of the City, including the City Attorney's Office, incur in connection with the processing or administration of a particular application. Whenever additional fees are or will be charged, the Director, upon request of the applicant, shall provide in writing the basis for the additional fees or an estimate of the additional fees to be charged.

(c) Payment of fees charged under this Code does not waive the fee requirements of other ordinances and rules and regulations pursuant thereto.

(d) Fee Calculation Method. Establishment of the fees for each category and use specified in Subsection 8.43(a) shall be based on the Department's actual costs to process and administer the particular application. Said fees may include the actual costs that other agencies, boards, commission, or department of the City incur in connection with processing or administering these programs. Beginning with fiscal year 2011-2012, fees set in this Section may be adjusted each year, without further action by the Board of Supervisors, to reflect changes in the relevant Consumer Price Index, as determined by the Controller. No later than April 15th of each year, the Director shall submit MOHCD's current fee schedule to the Controller, who shall apply the price index adjustment to produce a new fee schedule for the following year. No later than May 15th of each year, the Controller shall file a report with the Board of Supervisors reporting the new fee schedule and certifying that: (a) the fees produce sufficient revenue to support the costs of providing the services for which each fee is assessed, and (b) the fees do not produce revenue which is significantly more than the costs of providing the services for which each fee is assessed. The Controller shall, if necessary, adjust the fees upward or downward for the upcoming fiscal year as appropriate to ensure that the Mayor's Office of Housing and Community Development recovers the costs of operation without producing revenue that is significantly more than such costs. The adjusted rates shall become operative on July 1.

(Added by Ord. 186-10, File No. 100705, App. 7/23/2010; amended by Ord. 163-14, File No. 140591, App. 7/31/2014, Eff. 8/30/2014)