03/02/2009 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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CITY F IN • l KE MEMORANDUM DATE: February 4, 2009 TO: Gordon Heitke, City Administrator FROM: Michael Grochala, Community Development Director RE: City Development Escrow Policy DeHaven Billing Review At the January 26, 2009 City Council Work Session, Mr. John DeHaven, 1612 Birch Street, presented his concerns regarding expenditures charged to his escrow deposit for city review of a minor subdivision application. Mr. DeHaven believes he has been overcharged and is requesting reimbursement of charges attributed to the City Attorney and staff. The total amount billed to the escrow account was $630.02. The City Council requested that staff and the City Attorney review this and report back to the council. Background In August of 2008 Mr. DeHaven's wife, Martha Houle, submitted an application for a minor subdivision of their property located at 1612 Birch Street. On August 21, 2008 Ms. Houle was notified in writing that the minor subdivision application was incomplete. Included in the "incomplete" list was that no escrow deposit was submitted. The letter also addressed a number of advisory comments intended to aid the applicant in future submittals including potential title problems based on their legal description. The City Council was updated on the status of the minor subdivision request at the September 2, 2008 City Council Work Session. This discussion included a review of the incomplete and title problems as well as the escrow requirements. On September 11, 2008 a complete application was received including the required escrow deposit. On September 26, 2008 an executed "Declaration of Protective Covenants" and a "Deed of Appurtenant Easement" was submitted to the city for review. Copies of the documents were forwarded to the City Attorney for review. Comments on the documents were received from the City Attorney on October 6, 2008. The staff report and approval letter for the minor subdivision was completed on October 7, 2008. The approval included three conditions as follows: J: \correspondence \City Council\houle escrow.doc • •