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HEARING - The Board is asked to consider a request from the Rescue Fire Protection District ("District") to adopt and authorize the Chair to sign Resolution 063-2018 revising development impact mitigation fees for the District. (Est. Time: 15 Min.)
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DISCUSSION / BACKGROUND
The California Mitigation Fee Act (Cal. Gov. Code §§ 66000-66025) provides for the establishment of fees on new development for the purpose of mitigating the effects of development on existing public facilities. Special districts do not have statutory authority to impose these fees. As a result, the Board of Supervisors has passed an ordinance providing for the establishment of such fees on behalf of special districts. The ordinance was codified as Chapter 13.20. Development impact mitigation fees were first collected on the District's behalf in 1991. The District's fee was last updated in 2007.
The District has contracted with SCI Consulting Group to review the fee and provide a nexus study report using the "existing facility standard methodology." This method uses the District's ratio of existing fire protection facilities, apparatus, and equipment to existing development in order to determine new development's share of the cost to expand the District's system as growth occurs. Population data is derived from the 2010 census. Estimated total housing units and nonresidential building area are based on 2017 County Assessor data. The value of existing fire protection facilities, apparatus, and equipment is based on the replacement value for like items. The nexus study has been reviewed by County staff and appears to meet all the requirements of the California Mitigation Fee Act.
The current fee, established by Resolution 290-2007 (Legistar file #07-1775) is $1.01 per square foot of residential commercial, industrial, and institutional new construction for dwellings or additions greater than 500 square feet. The proposed fees are as follows:
Residential Development Per Living Area Sq. Ft.
Single Family Housing $1.26
Multi-Family Housing $2.26
Mobile Home $1.89
Nonresidential Development Per Building Sq. Ft.
Retail/Commercial $1.96
Office $2.44
Industrial $1.82
Agriculture $0.80
Warehouse/Distribution $1.27
The District Board approved the nexus study and adopted the recommended fees on August 12, 2015, at a noticed public hearing.
Notice of today's public hearing was published in the Mountain Democrat on April 13, 2018 and April 20, 2018. The nexus study and staff report were made available for public review on April 10, 2018.
If approved by the Board, the proposed fees will become effective 60 days following the Board's adoption of the resolution. The County Building and Planning 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 fee revenue to offset the actual and necessary costs of administering the fee program. The CAO is working with all affected departments to determine an appropriate methodology for recovering costs associated with impact fee program administration.
ALTERNATIVES
If the Board does not adopt this resolution, the existing fees would continue in effect.
OTHER DEPARTMENT / AGENCY INVOLVEMENT
Rescue Fire Protection District; County Counsel
CAO RECOMMENDATION
Approve as recommended.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
There is no direct fiscal impact to the County related to adoption of the fee other than the cost to notice the required public hearing. The calculation, collection, and disbursement of fee revenue require some County staff time, the cost of which may be recovered through an administrative fee.
CLERK OF THE BOARD FOLLOW UP ACTIONS
N/A
STRATEGIC PLAN COMPONENT
N/A
CONTACT
Don Ashton, Chief Administrative Officer
Sue Hennike, Principal Analyst