Title
Department of Transportation recommends that the Planning Commission approve the Finding of Consistency of the 2024 Major Update of the Traffic Impact Fee Program with the General Plan.
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DISCUSSION / BACKGROUND
A Traffic Impact Fee (TIF) is a fee levied by a local government or public agency to ensure that new development projects pay for all or a portion of the costs of providing public infrastructure or services to the new development. Since 1984, the County has adopted and updated various TIF programs to ensure that new development on the western slope pays the costs of constructing and improving county and state roads necessary to serve new development. The TIF, formerly the TIM Fee, is paid at the time of issuance of a building permit (e.g., for single family home or non-residential buildings) or when appropriate if no building permit is being issued. TIFs are calculated pursuant to Government Code 66000 et. seq. (known as the Mitigation Fee Act) and the County’s General Plan policy. Generally, fees are based on the type of land use, location, impact on roads, and level of service (LOS).
The 2024 Major Update of the Traffic Impact Fee (TIF) Program is being developed consistent with General Plan policies, including Policy TC-Xb which states, “At least every five years, prepare a Traffic Impact Mitigation Fee Program specifying roadway improvements to be completed within the next 20 years to ensure compliance with all applicable level of service and other standards in this plan…”
The following steps outline the Major Update process:
1. Transportation and its consultant developed a 20-year growth forecast and allocated the projected growth to the various subcounty areas. Board workshops were held on December 5, 2023 (Legistar Item 23-2051), January 9, 2024 (Legistar Item 23-2241), and April 2, 2024 (Legistar Item 24-0548). Staff also provided an informational workshop to the Planning Commission on March 14, 2024 (Legistar Item 24-0414) regarding the growth projections and growth allocations.
2. Transportation and its consultant updated the Travel Demand Model (TDM) to account for development that occurred since the prior Major Update in 2020, and to reflect the Board-adopted growth forecasts. The TDM was then utilized to prepare a deficiency analysis that identified the necessary roadway improvements necessary to accommodate the projected growth. The list of projects resulting from this analysis are included in Attachment B.
3. Transportation held a workshop on August 13, 2024 (Legistar Item 24-1412), to present the deficiency analysis, to update the percentage-shift of local-serving commercial uses to residential uses based on updated economic data, and to provide information and a recommendation to the Board on reducing the amount of state and federal grant funding that is assumed to be available to the TIF Program.
4. Transportation held a final workshop on October 22, 2024 (Legistar Item 24-1457), to provide the Board with information and to receive direction on how residential and non-residential fee offsets should be applied to the TIF Zones given the prior Board decision to reduce the assumed grant funding during this Major Update cycle.
Transportation will be returning to the Board for final adoption of the updated TIF Program on December 3, 2024.
Attachment A provides a detailed discussion of the Findings of Consistency for the 2024 Major Update of the TIF Program with the General Plan. Attachment B includes a list of projects included in the updated TIF Program based upon the needs analysis performed through 2045. Staff is requesting the Planning Commission approve Findings of Consistency of the 2024 TIF Program Major Update with the General Plan.
CONTACT
Rafael Martinez, Director
Zach Oates, Sr. Civil Engineer
Department of Transportation