The cost of figuring out what to do about vegetation growing in Marin’s parklands soared 33 percent this week as Civic Center officials spent another $205,000 on consultants, bringing the planning tab to more than $800,000.

The Board of Supervisors more than doubled a contract for environmental consultants Nichols-Berman of Benicia, which was paid $197,252 in 2011 to “fulfill environmental review requirements” of the county’s vegetation and biodiversity management plan. With another $205,219 approved Tuesday, the firm’s $402,371 environmental study of the plan is costing $6,000 more than another consultant’s $396,200 bill for the plan itself.

The vegetation plan, drafted by consultants May & Associates Inc. of San Francisco, stirred initial controversy amid concern over costs, as well as its recommendation the county abandon traditional fire fuel break strategy, saying it hurt habitat on 15,500 acres of Marin County Open Space District land.

The vegetation management plan is aimed at increasing wildland fire safety while protecting habitat by enabling managers to make “best practices” decisions about fire hazards, controlling non-native plants and protecting “special status” species.

Max Korten, assistant parks chief, later calculated total cost of expenses involved with plan development and environmental review at $824,852.

“The good news is that these programmatic plans have a considerable cost savings over time,” he said in an email, calling the vegetation plan a “science-based tool that will help Marin County Parks prioritize the very best and most important projects within the preserves.” The key goals, he added, are protecting wildlife habitat, combating invasive weeds, increasing biodiversity and protecting watersheds while reducing the risk of wildfire.

County board members on Tuesday had mixed feelings about the soaring tab for environmental review of the plan, but all voted to approve the latest funding request by parks officials.

“It makes sense to me,” Supervisor Katie Rice said, calculating the tab at roughly $150 an hour. “I’m supportive of this,” she added, indicating the board’s hands were tied. “It’s all about the California Environmental Quality Act,” she said. “We need to do it right.”

Supervisor Steve Kinsey noted that costs were rising and expressed interest in carving out less expensive deals. “It’s a lot of money,” Kinsey noted. “We’ve found we’re spending a lot of money on this plan,” he observed, wondering if the county “can get our money’s worth by having a less expensive environmental review process.”

Kinsey’s commentary recalled a flap last year, when he balked at paying a consultant $45,000 to study rerouting 1,000 feet of trail near Fairfax. “I would hope the staff could take on (more such projects) with the qualified staff we have,” Kinsey said at the time.

Open space planner James Raives conceded on Tuesday the vegetation plan study was more expensive than envisioned. The tab is “a little higher than we expected,” he said.

Although supervisors were told in 2011 that consultants could “fulfill” environmental review requirements under the initial $197,252 contract, a memo from Raives on Tuesday said staff “did not include funding for the final document” that must provide responses to public comments.

“Staff could not predict the number of comment letters or the scope of concerns raised in the letters,” he said in a report, citing “50 comment letters addressing numerous issues.” Specifically, concern about county use of herbicides in open space land required study, he told the board, adding, “I can’t think of any other issues.”

The vegetation plan, which is in addition to the county’s trails management plan developed at similar cost, stirred controversy five years ago when critics called consultants a waste of money.

At that time, civic watchdog Ron Marinoff of Lucas Valley argued that fire officials could do the job — and a senior county staffer privately agreed. But Linda Dahl, who reigned as parks chief at the time, said county fire officials lacked the scientific, biological and related expertise to do what was required in drafting the plan.

Questions about the use of consultants also swirled Tuesday as Supervisor Damon Connolly inquired about the merits of tripling a consulting contract for David Barkan to develop a strategic plan for the health department. Connolly noted a plan to give Barkan $105,000 more, on top of an existing $50,000 contract, was tucked into the board’s consent calendar.

“Is this a function that could be performed by in-house staff?” Connolly asked.

“It’s important to have an outside person come in, and frankly, shake things up a little bit,” replied Dr. Grant Colfax, who was appointed county health chief last April. “This money is well spent.”