The Hoquiam City Council will take a long hard look at the city’s shorelines permit application fee structure after hearing testimony Monday from Port of Grays Harbor Executive Director Gary Nelson that the current structure making the city look unfriendly to larger projects.
“We have a long legacy of industrial use on our waterfront,” said Port Director Gary Nelson. “Look past the BHP application and reaffirm the goals of the city and the Port.”
Nelson said the existing fee structure based on a percentage of the total cost of a project, which unfairly punishes larger scale projects. The current structure fee is $7,000 for the first million and $1,000 for each following million. When a $440 million project like BHP’s, the costs to the developer can be well above the costs incurred when considering the permit application.
“I think we need to take more input from the Port and other stakeholders,” said Winkelman. “The city shouldn’t be making money on the fee, it should just be used to cover the costs associated with the application. This is a large project we’re hoping to get here.”
