Title
HEARING - Chief Administrative Office recommending the Board to consider a request from the El Dorado Hills County Water District to adopt and authorize the Chair to sign Resolution 001-2026, approving the updated Fire Impact Fee Nexus Study and increasing development impact mitigation fees for the El Dorado Hills Fire Department.
FUNDING: Development Impact Fees.
Body
DISCUSSION / BACKGROUND
The California Mitigation Fee Act (Gov. Code §66000 et seq.) authorizes the establishment of fees to offset the impacts of new development on public facilities, ensuring that service levels are maintained as growth occurs. Because individual Special Districts lack the authority to impose these fees independently, the County establishes and collects the fees on their behalf. In compliance with the Mitigation Fee Act (“Act”), the revenue is deposited into separate, dedicated accounts for each district.
Fire impact mitigation fees were first collected on the District's behalf in 1985. The current fees are based on a Nexus Study (“Study”) that outlines the legal and policy basis for the development-impact mitigation fee within the District.
The District contracted with SCI Consulting Group to provide an updated Fire Impact Fee Nexus Study (“Study”) using the system-wide, existing facility-standard methodology. The facility-standard methodology is a commonly used method for determining fire impact fees.
To calculate the fee using this method, the current level of service is first determined by dividing the total value of existing fire protection facilities by the current service population to establish a per capita facility standard. Then, projected population and employment growth from new development are estimated and multiplied by the per capita standard to find the total cost of additional facilities needed to maintain the existing service level. The resulting cost is allocated across different land use types based on their expected demand for fire services, demonstrating a clear nexus and proportionality between the fee and the impact of new development.
The Study has been reviewed by County staff and meets the requirements of the Act.
The fee was last updated in 2022, by adoption of Resolution 171-2022 (Legistar file 22-2032). The current and proposed fees are as follows:
Residential Development Existing Fee New Fee
Single-Family Housing $1.06 $1.65
Multi-Family Housing $1.69 $2.14
Mobile Home $1.21 $1.82
Assisted Living Facility $1.70 $3.30
Accessory Dwelling Unit < 750 sq. ft. Exempt Exempt
Accessory Dwelling Unit ≥ 750 sq. ft. $0 $1.65
Nonresidential Development Existing Fee New Fee
Retail/Commercial $1.75 $3.19
Office $2.19 $4.33
Industrial $1.60 $2.85
Agriculture $0.68 $0.42
Warehouse/Distribution $1.09 $1.52
Under Government Code §66016.5(a)(7), studies must be adopted at a public hearing with at least 30 days’ notice. The notice for today's hearing was published in the Mountain Democrat on November 21 and December 5, 2025. The nexus study was made available for public review starting November 21, 2025.
If approved by the Board, the revised fees will become effective 60 days following the Board's adoption of the resolution. The County Planning and Building Department currently calculates and collects the fee and will continue to do so as provided in the collection and indemnity agreement approved by the Board of Supervisors on December 19, 2017 (Legistar file 17-1355). That agreement provides for the County to retain up to 1% of the fee revenue to offset the actual and necessary costs of administering the fee program.
The County has entered into an agreement with the District, whereby the District agrees to "hold County harmless and defend County and its employees, officers, and agents from any claim, liability, or action" resulting from the County’s calculation, imposition, and collection of impact fees on the District’s behalf.
ALTERNATIVES
The Board could choose not to adopt this resolution, and the existing fees would continue in effect.
PRIOR BOARD ACTION
See above in the Discussion/Background section.
OTHER DEPARTMENT / AGENCY INVOLVEMENT
County Counsel
El Dorado Hills County Water District - El Dorado Hills Fire
FINANCIAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact on the County. Impact mitigation fees are collected by the County on behalf of the district and held in a separate account. The account balance as of November 5, 2025, is $3,366,306.
CLERK OF THE BOARD FOLLOW UP ACTIONS
N/A
STRATEGIC PLAN COMPONENT
N/A
CONTACT
Tara Stout, Principal Management Analyst