Section 106 of the International Fire Code is hereby amended to read as follows:

106.1 Fees. A permit shall not be issued until the fees have been paid, nor shall an amendment to a permit be released until the additional fee, if any, has been paid.

106.2 Schedule of permit fees. A fee for each permit shall be paid as required, in accordance with Section 106.6.

These fees shall be reviewed annually, and, effective January 1 of each year, administratively increased or decreased to the nearest whole dollar by an adjustment to reflect the current published annual change in the Seattle Consumer Price Index for Wage Earners and Clerical Workers – June to June timeframe. This does not apply to the Inspection Fee (23.11.106.6.9) which is to be reviewed and adjusted by City Council every two years.

A fee schedule (Fire Prevention Fee Schedule) reflecting the base fees in Table 106.6 and any applicable administrative adjustment pursuant to this section will be made available to the public.

106.3 Work commencing before permit issuance. Any person who commences any work, activity or operation regulated by this code before obtaining the necessary permits shall reimburse the City for all expenses related to any enforcement proceedings and be subject to a penalty levied in an amount up to double the fee required for the work, activity or operation commenced prior to obtaining the necessary permits which shall be in addition to the required permit fees.

This provision does not apply to emergency work, activity or operations when it is proved to the satisfaction of the Fire Marshal that such work, activity or operation was urgently necessary and that it was not practical to obtain a permit before commencement of the work, activity or operation.

In all such cases, a permit must be obtained as soon as it is practical to do so; and if there is an unreasonable delay in obtaining the permit, a double fee (as provided for in this ordinance) will be charged. The payment of this double fee does not relieve any person from fully complying with the requirements of the Bellevue City Code in the execution of the work or from any other penalties prescribed by law. Such person may also be required to reimburse the City for all expenses related to any enforcement proceedings as determined by the Fire Marshal.

106.4 Related fees. The payment of the fee for the construction, alteration, removal or demolition of work done in connection to or concurrently with the work or activity authorized by a permit shall not relieve the applicant or holder of the permit from the payment of other fees that are prescribed by law.

106.5 Refunds. The applicable governing authority is authorized to establish a refund policy.

Section 106.6 Fees.

106.6.1 Operational permit fees. A fee of $127.00, subject to adjustment as specified in BCC 23.11.106.2, shall be charged annually for each type of operational permit (as defined in International Fire Code Section 105.6).

Exceptions:

1. Tenants requiring multiple operational permits in the same building shall be charged only one operational permit fee per calendar year.

2. No fees shall be charged for candles in a place of assembly or parade floats.

3. Fees shall be waived for:

1. Government agencies

2. Non-profit organizations exempt from federal income tax under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

106.6.2. Pyrotechnical effects permits. A base fee of $232.00, subject to adjustment as specified in BCC 23.11.106.2, shall be charged for pyrotechnical effects permits.

106.6.3 Construction permit fees. The fee for each permit shall be as set forth in the fee ordinance, as now or hereafter amended.

106.6.4 Re-inspection fee. A re-inspection fee may be assessed when all of the following criteria have been met:

• Code violations have been identified by the fire code official.

• A written notice has been issued to the responsible party, identifying the code violations and a time period to make corrections.

• The code violations have not been corrected within the specified period.

The fee shall be $173.00/hour, subject to adjustment as specified in BCC 23.11.106.2, with a one hour minimum.

106.6.5 Event Fee. When the fire chief determines it is necessary to preserve the public health, safety and welfare, event sponsors may be required to compensate the department for staffing and equipment in an amount calculated according to the Washington State Fire Chiefs Association’s fee schedule together with Fire Prevention hourly staffing rate as published in Development Services Fee Ordinance 6263 or as amended.

106.6.6 Confidence Test Report Filing Fee. Effective January 1, 2017, confidence test reports must be filed with “The Compliance Engine” (www.thecomplianceengine.com). A $25.00 filing fee remitted to Brycer L.L.C is required at the time of filing. Brycer L.L.C will retain $10.00 and 6% of the total filing fee and return the balance to the City of Bellevue to partially offset an incremental increase in staffing required to fully implement this program.

106.6.6.1 Late Report Filing Fee. Confidence test reports that are not filed within five business days of the inspection or maintenance completion are subject to an additional $10.00 fee in accordance with BCC 23.11.108.3.1.

106.6.7 Insufficient Funds. Any applicant whose payment of fees is returned to the City for Non-Sufficient Funds, or whose credit card payment is denied, will be charged the City standard insufficient funds fee. The original fees and the returned check fee are due and payable within five (5) working days of notification.

106.6.8 Late Fee. All balances 30 days or greater past the invoice date are assessed a late charge of 1%, with a minimum charge of $25 per month.

106.6.9 Inspection fee. The fire chief, or their designee, is authorized to assess a fire inspection fee for inspections made of commercial and multifamily buildings under International Fire Code Chapter 1, Section 104. The fire inspection fee shall be assessed at the time the inspection is made. The fire chief or their designee shall calculate the inspection fee based on the following formula for each building or occupancy:

(Square Foot Factor)* multiplied by (Occupancy Factor)** multiplied by (Base Rate)*** = Inspection Fee

The Square Foot Factor and Occupancy Factor shall be determined by the fire chief, or their designee performing the inspection. The Base Rate shall be set by city council.

106.6.9.1 Square Foot Factor

The *Square Foot Factor shall be determined as follows:

#0 = Under 1,000 Sq. Ft.

#1 = 1,000 Sq. Ft. or larger up to;

#2 = 3,000 Sq. Ft. or larger up to;

#3 = 10,000 Sq. Ft. or larger up to;

#4 = 40,000 Sq. Ft. or larger up to;

#5 = 80,000 Sq. Ft. or larger up to;

#6 = 100,000 Sq. Ft. or larger.

106.6.9.1.1 Covered Mall Buildings. The square footage for Covered Mall Buildings shall not include anchor buildings, which will be assessed separately. For Covered Mall Building 500,000 sq. ft or larger, the square footage factor shall be as follows:

#7= 500,000 Sq. Ft. or larger up to;

#8 = 750,000 Sq. Ft. or larger up to;

#9 = 1,000,000 Sq. Ft. or larger.

106.6.9.2 Occupancy Factor. The ** Occupancy Factor shall be determined as follows:

.1 Group R Townhomes & single-story Group S self-storage warehouses.

.3 Group R Buildings not exceeding 3 stories in height; Group S Self-storage warehouses not exceeding 3 stories in height; Group S stand-alone parking garages and covered boat moorage.

1.0 All buildings or portions of buildings classified as Group A Division 3, B, M, R (not to include Group R Division 3) and U occupancies.

2.0 All buildings or portions of buildings classified as Group A, Division 1, 2 and 4, E, S or LC occupancies.

3.0 All buildings classified as high-rise buildings; all covered mall buildings not to include anchor buildings; all buildings or portions of buildings classified as Group F, H or I occupancies.

106.6.9.2.1 High-Rise Buildings with common podiums. When multiple High-Rise buildings are located above a common podium, the associated parking garage and podium areas shall be assigned an occupancy factor of 2 and treated as one building.

106.6.9.2.2 Mixed Occupancy Buildings. All occupancy classifications are in accordance with the International Building Code (IBC) as amended by Chapter 51-50 WAC. Mixed occupancy buildings shall be classified for the purpose of the occupancy factor based upon the predominate occupancy of the building by square footage.

106.6.9.3 Base Rate. *** Base Rate = $180.00 commencing January 1, 2020.

106.6.10 Maximum Fee. Where multiple buildings have a single owner and comprise a single complex, the maximum fee for a single complex containing Group E or R occupancies that do not exceed 4 stories in height shall be $3,240.00

106.6.11 Exemptions from inspection fee. Buildings owned by nonprofit organizations exempt from federal income tax under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, buildings owned by the federal government, and buildings less than 1,000 square feet are exempt from the fire inspection fees established in BCC 23.11.106.6.9. This exemption does not apply to nonprofit organizations when a majority of the building is occupied by tenants not exempt from federal income tax under Section 501(c)(3).

106.6.12 Reinspection and special inspections. The fire inspection fee shall cover the initial inspection and one follow-up visit, if necessary, to determine correction of any violations. Any additional follow-up inspections necessitated by noncompliance or inspections for which no fee is specifically indicated, shall be assessed a fee at the time of the inspection and at the rates established in BCC 23.11.106.6.4.

106.6.13 Adjustment to base rate. The base rate used in BCC 23.11.106.6.9.3 shall be set by city council and reviewed in 2020 and every two years thereafter, or as otherwise necessary, to accomplish cost recovery for the fire inspection program. The base rate shall be adjusted to account for inflation, additional commercial and multifamily square footage subject to fire inspection which has been added within the city, and additional fire inspection resources or personnel necessary to perform fire inspections on a regular basis.

106.6.14 Inspection fee – Payment obligation. The obligation to pay the fee assessed pursuant to BCC 23.11.106.6.9 or 23.11.106.6.12 shall be the responsibility of the building or complex owner.

106.6.15 Inspection fee – Collection procedure. The fees established in BCC 23.11.106.6.9 and 23.11.106.6.12 shall be billed to the party responsible. All balances 30 days or greater past the date of original assessment shall incur late charges pursuant to BCC 23.11.106.6.8.

The director of finance and asset management, or their designee, may use any lawful means to collect the balance or write off the obligation.