Title
Resolution adopting a Citywide Transportation Impact Fee for the City of South San Francisco.
body
WHEREAS, new development projects attract new residents, visitors, and employees to the City, and generate increased transportation needs; and
WHEREAS, Implementing Policy 4.2-I-7 of the City’s General Plan provides that the City should “[c]ontinue to require that new development pays a fair share of the costs of street and other traffic and transportation improvements, based on traffic generated and impacts on service levels”; and
WHEREAS, Implementing Policy 4.2-I-7 of the City’s General Plan provides that the City should “[e]xplore the feasibility of establishing impact fee, especially for improvements required
in the Lindenville area”; and
WHEREAS, Implementing Policy 4.2-I-8 of the City’s General Plan provides that the City should “[d]evelop and implement a standard method to evaluate the traffic impacts of individual development”; and
WHEREAS, Implementing Policy 4.2-I-7 of the City’s General Plan provides that the City should “Where appropriate, consider upfronting portions of improvement costs where the City’s economic development interests may be served”; and
WHEREAS, in 2007, the City adopted Resolution No. 84-2007 imposing an East of 101 Traffic Impact Fee (“East of 101 Fee”) to pay for the cost of transportation infrastructure needed to support new development in the East of 101 area of the City under the authority of Sections 66000 et seq. of the California Government Code (“Mitigation Fee Act”); and
WHEREAS, in 2017, the City adopted Ordinance No. 1539 imposing a Bicycle and Pedestrian Impact Fee (“Bike and Pedestrian Fee”) to pay for the cost of maintaining bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure levels and providing adequate bicycle and pedestrian improvements needed to support new development citywide under the Mitigation Fee Act; and
WHEREAS, these existing fees have helped address specific needs in the City, their reach is limited geographically (East of 101 Fee) or by type of transportation (Bicycle and Pedestrian Fee), and the City has experienced an increased need for a range of multimodal transportation improvements in all areas of the City; and
WHEREAS, in August 2020 a study was prepared for the City by the Matrix Consulting Group to analyze the relationship between new development in the City, the transportation improvements and facilities needed to serve that growth, and the estimated costs of those improvements and facilities, and to analyze new development’s fair share of transportation improvement costs; and
WHEREAS, a copy of the August 2020 study, titled Development Impact Fee Study (“Nexus Study”), is attached hereto as Exhibit A; and
WHEREAS, the calculations associated with a proposed Transportation Impact Fee in the Nexus Study were performed by DKS Associates, as described in detail in Appendix D of the Nexus Study; and
WHEREAS, the Nexus Study has identified $160.8 million in transportation infrastructure improvements-such as roads, sidewalks, traffic lights, bicycle lanes and pathways, curbs and gutters, and medians-needed to accommodate increased demand caused by new development throughout the City; and
WHEREAS, the City seeks to mitigate these transportation impacts caused by new development and to allow the City to recover approximately $33.7 million in costs associated with new development by providing for the payment of the citywide Transportation Impact Fee; and
WHEREAS, the City further wishes to adopt the Transportation Impact Fee to better implement the goals contained in the General Plan and Nexus Study, including establishing fee amounts and the improvements and facilities to be constructed with fee revenue; and
WHEREAS, the City has determined that, by developing a citywide Transportation Impact Fee, it will spread the cost of citywide transportation needs over the entire City limits and thus will ensure that transportation impacts felt throughout the City are accounted for, rather than only accounting for impacts sustained in the East of 101 geographic area; and
WHEREAS, the City has also determined that, by developing a citywide Transportation Impact Fee, it will account for the range of multimodal transportation needs that include but exceed the need for improvements related to bicycle and pedestrian traffic; and
WHEREAS, the City wishes to eliminate the East of 101 and Bicycle and Pedestrian Impact Fees, as applied to new development projects not yet approved by the City, and replace the existing fees with the citywide Transportation Impact Fee; and
WHEREAS, the City further wishes to ensure that, even though the East of 101 and Bicycle and Pedestrian Impact Fees will be phased out, the revenues collected under those fees continue to serve the purposes for which those fees were collected; and
WHEREAS, in accordance with Section 66016 of the Mitigation Fee Act, at least ten (10) days prior to the public hearing at which this Resolution was introduced, the Nexus Study was made available to the public for review; and
WHEREAS, the City Council finds as follows:
A. After considering the Nexus Study, the testimony received at the noticed public meeting at which this resolution was considered, the accompanying staff report, the General Plan, the General Plan EIR, and all correspondence received at or prior to the public meeting (the “Record”), the Council approves and adopts the Nexus Study; and the City Council further finds that the future development in the City will generate the need for the transportation infrastructure necessitating adoption of this resolution.
B. The purpose of the Transportation Impact Fee is to finance public improvements and facilities needed to reduce the transportation-related impacts caused by future development in South San Francisco. The public improvements and facilities are listed in Appendix D of the Nexus Study (hereafter referred to as the “Improvements”) and include multimodal improvements and measures such as roads, sidewalks, traffic lights, bicycle lanes and pathways, curbs and gutters, and medians. The Improvements are needed to accommodate the increased travel demand of new development projected within the City while maintaining current service levels; development within the City will benefit from the Improvements and will pay its fair and proportional share of such Improvements with the implementation of this Fee.
C. The Fee collected pursuant to this resolution shall be used to finance the Improvements or similar improvements consistent with the allowable use of Fee revenue described in the Nexus Study.
D. That the City currently provides transportation infrastructure within the City; that the Fee will be used to maintain current levels and assist the City in meeting its stated goals for infrastructure under the General Plan and other applicable plans; and that no existing deficiencies have been found to exist by the Nexus Study because the Fee is no greater than the City’s existing facility standard and level of investment for transportation infrastructure per equivalent dwelling unit as shown in the Nexus Study. Additionally, adoption of the Fee has no potential for physical effects on the environment because it involves an adoption of certain fees and/or charges imposed by the City, does not commit the City to any specific project, and said fees and/or charges are applicable to future development projects and/or activities, each of which future projects and/or activities will be fully evaluated in full compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) when sufficient physical details regarding said projects and/or activities are available to permit meaningful CEQA review (See CEQA Guidelines, Section 15004(b)(1)). Therefore, approval of the Fee and/or charges is not a “project” for purposes of CEQA, pursuant to CEQA Guidelines, Section 15378(b)(4); and, even if considered a “project” under CEQA, is exempt from CEQA review pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3) because it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that approval of the Fee and/or charges may have a significant effect on the environment.
E. In adopting this resolution, the City Council is exercising its powers under the Mitigation Fee Act, Article XI, §§5 and 7 of the California Constitution, Chapter 5 of Division 1 of the Government Code, commencing with Section 66000, collectively and separately.
F. The Record establishes:
1. That there is a reasonable relationship between the Fee’s use and the type of development for which the Fee is charged because Fee revenue will be used to fund the Improvements, or similar improvements consistent with the allowable use of Fee revenue described in the Nexus Study, that are needed to accommodate development; and
2. That there is a reasonable relationship between the need for the Improvements and the types of development for which the Fee is charged in that new development, both residential and non-residential, will generate increased vehicular, bicycle, and/or pedestrian traffic requiring the enhancement, upgrade, and/or expansion of the City’s existing citywide transportation infrastructure to accommodate that increased traffic; and
3. That there is a reasonable relationship between the amount of the Fee and the cost of the Improvements or portion thereof attributable to development in the City because (1) the Fee is no greater than the existing level of investment in the City’s citywide transportation infrastructure, and (2) the Fee is calculated based on the number of equivalent dwelling units associated with the development and those equivalent dwelling units reflect the relative demand for transportation improvements among development projects by land use type; and
4. That the cost estimates set forth in the Nexus Study are reasonable cost estimates in 2020 dollars for constructing the Improvements, and the Fees expected to be generated by future development will not exceed the projected costs of constructing the Improvements; and
5. The Fees is consistent with the General Plan and, pursuant to Government Code Section 65913.2, the City Council has considered the effects of the Fee with respect to the City’s housing needs as established in the housing element of the General Plan.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of South San Francisco as follows:
1. Transportation Impact Fee Titled
This Fee shall be known as the Transportation Impact Fee and all documents will refer to the Fee by this title.
2. Definitions
A. “Commercial/Retail” shall mean any development constructed or to be constructed on land having a General Plan land use designation or zoning designation for facilities for the purchase or sale of commodities or services and/or the sales, servicing, installation, or repair of such commodities or services and other space uses incidental to these activities. Commercial land uses include but are not limited to: apparel and clothing stores; auto dealers and malls; auto accessories stores; banks and savings and loans; beauty salons; book stores; discount stores and centers; dry cleaners; drug stores; eating and drinking establishments; furniture stores and outlets; general merchandise stores; hardware stores; home furnishings and improvement centers; laundromats; liquor stores; restaurants; service stations; shopping centers; supermarkets; and theaters. "Commercial/Retail" includes the Commercial land use designation in the General Plan.
B. “Fee” is the Transportation Impact Fee imposed by this resolution and codified in South San Francisco Municipal Code chapter 8.73.
C. “Hotel / Visitor” shall mean a commercial facility containing guestrooms for the temporary use of transients where access to individual units is predominantly by means of common interior or exterior hallways
D. “Improvements” shall mean the public improvements and facilities listed in Appendix D of the Nexus Study, or a similar capital project that the City Council finds is consistent with the Nexus Study and consists of an enhancement, upgrade, or expansion of the citywide transportation network.
E. “Industrial” shall mean shall mean any development constructed or to be constructed on land having a General Plan land use or zoning designation for the manufacture, production, assembly, or processing of consumer goods and/or other space uses incidental to these activities. Industrial land uses include but are not limited to: assembly; concrete and asphalt batching plants; contractors’ storage yards; fabrication; lumber yards; manufacturing; outdoor stockyards and service yards; printing; processing; warehouse and distribution; and wholesale and heavy commercial uses. “Industrial” includes the mixed industrial General Plan land use
designation.
F. “Multi-Family” shall mean any development constructed or to be constructed on land with two or more dwelling units on a single lot. Multiple-unit residential types include duplexes and multi-units, such as townhouses, single-unit groups, garden apartments, senior citizen residential developments, multi-story apartment buildings, and transitional residential development.
G. “Nexus Study” shall mean the August 2020 study prepared for the City by the Matrix Consulting Group titled Development Impact Fee Study and attached hereto as Exhibit A.
H. “Office / Research and Development” or “Office / R&D” shall mean any development constructed or to be constructed on land having a General Plan land use or zoning designation for general business offices, medical or professional offices, administrative or headquarters offices, offices for large wholesaling or manufacturing operations, research and/or development, research and development campus development with ancillary retail and services, and other space uses incidental to these activities. Office land uses include but are not limited to: administrative headquarters; business parks; finance offices; insurance offices; legal offices; medical and health services offices and office buildings; professional and administrative offices; professional associations; real estate offices; research and/or development offices and travel agencies.
I. “Single Family” shall mean any development constructed or to be constructed on land with a dwelling unit designed for occupancy by one household, where all rooms are internally connected and internally accessible via habitable space, and located on a separate lot from any other unit (except accessory dwelling units, where permitted).
3. Purpose
The City Council finds and determines that public improvements and facilities must be constructed to accommodate the increased travel demand created by new development projected within the City while maintaining current service levels, to reduce the transportation-related impacts caused by this new development, and to implement the transportation-related goals contained in the General Plan. The purpose of the Fee is to finance these public improvements and facilities, and for each new development to pay its fair and proportional share of these improvements.
4. Application of Fee
A. The Fee shall apply to all residential and non-residential developments, except the Fee shall not apply to any development projects undertaken by the City or any public or semi-public development on lands designated Public/Quasi Public, School, and Parks and Recreation on the General Plan Land Use Map, so long as such development does not generate a need for additional transportation infrastructure needed to serve new development.
B. The City Council may waive, at its discretion and upon request by the developer, the application of the Fee for any residential development that targets households earning 120 percent or less of the area median income. Any waiver granted shall only waive that portion of the Fee that is attributable to the housing units that meet the 120 percent threshold.
C. The Fee shall apply to all development projects, as specified, whether consisting of construction of a new building or intensification of use or expansion of an existing building, including a vacant building. An intensification of use occurs when a development project would pay a higher fee under the proposed use compared to the existing permitted use based on the current Fee schedule, as set forth in Exhibit B. Accessory dwelling units added within the existing building footprint are not considered an intensification of use and no Fee will be applied.
D. Any use of land that does not clearly conform to one of the use categories specifically defined in this resolution shall be assigned by the City Manager, or his or her designee, to the “Other” land use category (in Table 1 of Section 5).
E. The Fee shall apply to any non-residential development with an application that is deemed complete on or after the date the Fee goes into effect. The Fee shall apply to any residential development with an application deemed complete on or after January 1, 2022.
5. Amount of Fee
The amount of the Fee shall be as shown in the “Adopted Transportation Impact Fee” column in Table 1, below, which is less than the maximum fee justified in the Nexus Study. The Fee includes a two percent charge for program administration. The program administration charge may be increased to four percent, but shall be no greater than the cost incurred by the City to administer the Fee program.
Table 1: Transportation Impact Fee (2020 dollars)
|
Land Use |
Equivalent Dwelling Unit (EDU) Rate |
Cost per EDU |
Maximum Justified Transportation Impact Fee (not including administration charge) |
Adopted Transportation Impact Fee |
|
Residential |
|
|
|
|
|
Single Family |
1.00 |
$26,840 |
$26,840 per dwelling unit |
$6,721.37 per dwelling unit |
|
Multi-Family |
0.58 |
$26,840 |
$15,467 per dwelling unit |
$3,873.30 per dwelling unit |
|
Non-Residential |
|
|
|
|
|
Commercial/Retail |
1.20 |
$26,840 |
$32.28 per square foot |
$25.42 per square foot |
|
Hotel/Motel |
1.22 |
$26,840 |
$22,861 per room |
$2,450 per room |
|
Office/R&D |
1.15 |
$26,840 |
$30.85 per square foot |
$29.15 per square foot |
|
Industrial |
0.60 |
$26,840 |
$16.07 per square foot |
$13.15 per square foot |
|
Other |
Determined on a project basis |
$26,840 |
|
Determined on a project bases per square foot |
6. Calculation of Fee
The calculation of the Fee due for a development, whether residential or non-residential, shall be based the Fee in effect at the time that payment of the Fee is required. The amount of the Fee due shall be calculated based on the applicable formula in Exhibit B, attached hereto, unless otherwise provided by the Administrative Guidelines issued pursuant to Section 13.
7. Timing of Payment of Fee
A. Non-residential development. The Fee shall be charged and paid for a non-residential development when the building permit is issued for construction of such building or structure.
B. Single Family development. The Fee shall be charged and paid for any Single Family development upon the date of final inspection or issuance of the certificate of occupancy, whichever occurs first. However, if the Fee is to reimburse the City for expenditures previously made, or if the City determines that the Fee will be collected for improvements for which an account has been established and funds appropriated and for which the City has adopted a proposed construction schedule prior to issuance of the building permit for such residential development, then the Fee shall be charged and paid upon issuance of the building permit for such development. With respect to a residential development proposed by a nonprofit housing developer in which at least forty-nine percent of the total units are reserved for occupancy by lower income households (as defined in Health and Safety Code Section 50079.5) at an affordable rent (as defined in Health and Safety Code Section 50053), the payment procedures described in Government Code Section 66007(b)(2)(A)-(B) shall apply.
C. Multi-Family development. The Fee shall be charged and paid for any Multi-Family development on lump-sum basis when the first dwelling in the development receives its final inspection or certificate of occupancy, whichever occurs first. However, if the Fee is to reimburse the City for expenditures previously made, or if the City determines that the Fee will be collected for improvements for which an account has been established and funds appropriated and for which the City has adopted a proposed construction schedule prior to issuance of the building permit for such residential development, then the Fee shall be charged and paid upon issuance of the building permit for such development. With respect to a residential development proposed by a nonprofit housing developer in which at least forty-nine percent of the total units are reserved for occupancy by lower income households (as defined in Health and Safety Code Section 50079.5) at an affordable rent (as defined in Health and Safety Code Section 50053), the payment procedures described in Government Code Section 66007(b)(2)(A)-(B) shall apply.
8. Use of Fee Revenue
The revenues raised by payment of the Fee shall be accounted for in a City capital facilities fund. A separate and special account within the fund shall be used to account for revenues, along with any interest earnings on such account. The revenues (and interest) shall be used for the following purposes:
A. To pay for design, engineering, environmental review, permits, right-of-way acquisition, utility relocation, project management, and construction of the Improvements, and the reasonable costs of outside consultant studies related thereto;
B. To reimburse the City for transportation improvements that otherwise would have been eligible for funding with fee revenue and that were constructed by the City with funds, other than gifts or grants intended by the grantor to be used for traffic improvements, from other sources together with accrued interest;
C. To provide a fee credit and/or reimbursement to developers who have constructed transportation improvements that otherwise would have been eligible for funding with fee revenue where such construction is beyond that which would otherwise be required for approval of the proposed development such as dedications, setbacks, frontage improvements, and/or development-specific transportation mitigation measures which are required by local ordinance, standards, or other practice, and based on actual cost of construction; and/or
D. To pay for and/or reimburse costs of program development and ongoing administration of the Fee program, including, but not limited to, the cost of studies, legal costs, and other costs of updating the fee;
9. Developer Construction of Improvements
If a developer is required, as a condition of approval of a permit, to construct a transportation improvement that has been designated to be financed with the Fee, then the developer shall receive a credit against the amount of the Fee that otherwise would be levied on the development project. If the cost of the improvement or portion of the improvement as represented in the Fee program, adjusted for inflation, that is the developer’s responsibility is greater than the Fee obligation for the development project, then a reimbursement agreement with the developer shall be offered by the City. The reimbursement amount shall equal the difference between the Fee obligation and the actual cost of the improvement that is the developer’s responsibility. Reimbursements shall be paid only when and to the extent that moneys are available in the Fee fund. Credits must be approved by the City Manager or his or her designee.
10. Periodic Review
The Fee shall be reviewed periodically as indicated below or as provided for in the Administrative Guidelines:
A. Within 180 days following the end of each fiscal year the City Manager, or his or her designee, shall make available to the public information regarding the Fee pursuant to Government Code Section 66006.
B. Pursuant to Government Code Section 66002, the City Council shall annually review, based on the current Capital Improvement Program, the approximate location, size, time of availability and estimates of cost for all Improvements to be financed with the Fee.
C. Pursuant to Government Code Section 66001(d), for the fifth fiscal year following the first deposit into the Fee fund, and every five years thereafter, the City shall make certain findings with respect to that portion of the Fee fund remaining unexpended, whether committed or uncommitted.
11. Automatic Increase in Fees
Unless otherwise indicated by an updated Nexus Study, beginning July 1, 2021 and each July 1 thereafter, the City Manager, or his or her designee, shall adjust the Fee in accordance with the annual percentage increase in the Engineering New Record Construction Cost Index (CCI) for the San Francisco area for the month of May over the same CCI for the month of May of the prior year.
12. Effect on East of 101 and Bicycle and Pedestrian Impact Fees
The City Council intends that the Fee replace the East of 101 and Bicycle and Pedestrian Impact Fees for all new development projects subject to the Fee. The City Manager, or his or her designee, shall ensure that any existing or future revenues collected under the East of 101 and Bicycle and Pedestrian Impact Fees are maintained and accounted for as required by the operative legislation governing those fees. To the extent permitted by the governing legislation, nothing shall prevent the City Manager from transferring or applying revenues from those fees to the Improvements called for under the Fee.
13. Administrative Guidelines
The City Manager may approve and maintain Administrative Guidelines to facilitate implementation of the Fee pursuant to this resolution. Such guidelines must be consistent with the provisions of this resolution and any operative ordinance governing the Fee.
14. Severability
Each component of the Fee and all portions of this resolution are severable. Should any individual component of the Fee or other provision of this resolution be adjudged to be invalid and unenforceable, the remaining provisions shall be and continue to be fully effective, and the Fee shall be fully effective except as to that portion that has been judged to be invalid.
15. Effective Date
This resolution shall become effective immediately and pursuant to Government Code Sections 66017 and 66019, and the Fee shall be effective sixty (60) days from the effective date of the resolution.
* * * * *